Old Friends Play in the Bay!

One of my favorite friends road-tripped it up from San Clemente to visit and we EXPLORED the Bay.

That aquarium is stunning and so educational! The kids had a blast and Colleen and I were utterly exhausted!!! But the next morning we rallied and walked to the coolest little park and the kids kept the party going…

Later that day, back in the East Bay…

These two friends had the BEST time playing and fit right in at the zoo…

I feel blessed to have such GREAT Friends who in the digital friendship age, make a huge effort to come visit! To see our kids LOVING to play together is perfect for us since this means that we get to sit back, have a drink, and watch…lord knows, we need one.

Museum Spoiled!

The East Bay is truly missing a great Children’s Museum and believe me, I’ve searched far and wide. Today we checked out Habitot out in Berkeley, and I was pretty disappointed; it was tiny, smelled odd, took 45 minutes to park and was an hour drive in traffic.

But the boys did have fun for awhile  while I tried to adjust my sour grapes attitude of annoyance.

If anything, I got some cute pics of the boys being their silly selves, and I felt grateful for the amazing opportunity we had in Houston last year, home of the best Children’s Museum in the country. Not shockingly, the boys were ready to leave after about 30 mins as well. So yes, I fully admit we are all museum spoiled!  Here’s to hoping the East Bay will one day follow in Houston’s footsteps.

Rain, Rain, Don’t Go Away!

Gus and I are both solar-powered, humidity-loving sun-worshippers, but even we appreciate a lil’ rain now and then! A shower here and there is all the Bay has gotten all winter. A rainy day walk seemed fitting since who knows when it will be back!

And not surprisingly, it was just a little sprinkle now and then, but the boys still LOVED the whole “crazyness” of taking a rainy walk into downtown. Please come back soon, Rain! WE NEED YOU!!!

Coach Argenal’s 6th Man

I must give a shout out to the best 6th man team around. Family, friends, past players, and even old co-workers ventured into Pioneer territory this season to cheer on Gus in his first year.

And who can forget his two biggest fans?

Gus is so lucky to have such a powerful and loving 6th man behind him! Go Pioneers!

Valentine’s Flash Back

V-day 12 years ago was our very first date. Gus took me to Barnes and Nobles (pic below) while we waited for our reservation at Bandera. I remember it like yesterday. It makes me literally laugh out loud to think about how young we were and how much fun we had that night.

We have a lot more wrinkles now, and I have way more gray hair (Gus only has 1 or 2, unfair!), but every memory we have was built upon that first date. February 14th is a day perhaps more important (albeit cheesy) than any other day of our lives. Thankful for every single day with Gus since. Cheers to all of us that have found a forever love!

Bo Knows Preschool

Two different Preschools in one year? No problem. This boy was FIRED UP to say the least about his new school in Pleasanton and especially for the new friends he would meet.

Nevermind my giant thumb in the left corner, but this pic perfectly conveys the enthusiasm this boy has for learning and his fearlessness of new social situations. Bo knows how to make this change easy on his parents, though, we both still cried!

Later, Hayward

Its no secret to anyone who’s talked with me about Hayward, that it wasn’t a good fit for our young family.  After scouring the east bay, I quickly fell in love with Pleasanton and we actually found something available right away. The only problem? It was right in the middle of season…so I called on the strongest women I know, some tireless Turners.

Though Katels isn’t in this pic, she equally helped out, and even Reece and Capri joined the chaotic moving party. Momma and Katels, you are simply the BEST. And Momma, I can’t stop laughing about the mattress.

Before Gus arrived in the bay after a grueling double loss roadtrip, we had the family sign up (compliments of Suzanne and Justin), the furniture laid out and even a few boxes emptied in our new Townhouse in downtown P-Town.

I had to include this little pic on our last morning in Hayward. One of the things we did all love were all the deer that visited us daily, and it looks like they came one last time to say goodbye.

So we surprised Gus when he arrived back to the Hayward house ready to move in the pouring rain, and instead he found the house sparkling clean and empty. I couldn’t have done it without my amazing family of strong, selfless women and some very generous Mormon Missionaries (new neighbors who saw us unloading and offered help)!!! It was way harder than we could’ve imagined and we were EXHAUSTED to say the least, but Gus’s utter SHOCK and sincere appreciation made it all worth it.

Now it’s time to hit up the hot tub; apartment living has it’s perks!