Happy 4th!

Keith had a 4-day weekend for the July 4th holiday, so we tried to make the most of it by getting out and having some family fun. The morning of the 4th, we headed west to Antioch and hiked the hills of the Black Diamond Mines park. The park is built around some old coal (i.e. black diamond) mines that have been turned into visitor attractions. Unfortunately the mines weren't open that day, but we could peer through the gates into the mine shafts. Creepy. And cold. Outside, it was about 85 degrees. The cold air coming out of the mines must have been 50 degrees, maybe colder. Even though we didn't get to check out the mine shafts, the hike was amazing. The hills here in the East Bay are just gorgeous. In the spring, when the grass is still green, the hills look like they were artificially placed here because they're too-perfectly-formed mounds...like something out of a Dr. Seuss book.

Father's Day 2009

We had a great Father's Day visit with Keith's dad, Grandpa Pat, who came down from Rohnert Park (up in Sonoma county, ~1 1/2 hours away). Kenzie showed off her new big-girl bike (photos to be posted soon), and Ginger showed off her new summer 'do. Gingi looks about 5 years younger and 10 lbs skinnier (she wasn't fat, just fluffy), and the best part...she doesn't shed anymore. Niiiice.




Before...

And after. It may be hard to see the difference via photos, but it's a huge change. She bounces off the walls like a puppy now.

The Great School Debate

I've been going back and forth with the question of whether to send Mackenzie to preschool (well, now it's technically pre-kindergarten) for a while now. In June, the school around the corner from us, The Dainty Center and Willow Wood School, was having their 29th birthday celebration and annual kids' faire. We decided to check it out, so the girls got to visit the school's petting zoo and student-run organic garden, and they participated in a bunch of different game booths. They alternated between "intrigued" and "terrified" while visiting the goats, sheep, chickens, bunnies, peacocks, and geese. Pretty funny, until the geese started nibbling on people's butts...

Happy 8th Anniversary. For a few hours, at least...

For our anniversaries, Keith and I always seem to buy something for each other that's a bit out of the "ordinary." One year, we bought a new sofa set. This year, our 8th anniversary (!!), we traded in both of our cars (bye bye to Keith's other love, the Lexus IS-F) and bought something a bit more "practical" for our lifestyle with two growing kiddos (hopefully another?!) and two big pups. Say hello to The Truck.

And this is The Truck's first "ouch." Somebody hit our truck (and ran) only a few hours after we brought it home. The only place it could have happened was in the grocery store parking lot while Keith ran in to buy some chocolate cake for our anniversary. We didn't even notice the damage until the following afternoon, when our neighbor pointed it out. They caused over $3300 in damage, and we haven't been able to open the tailgate since then. To add insult to injury, it's been over 3 weeks since this happened, and the truck is finally going into the shop for repairs this upcoming Monday thanks to our oh-so-unhelpful insurance claims rep. I won't even go there....

Playing catch up

I never seem to stay current with this blog, but I'm working on it! Kind of like the checkbook ledger...These first few pics are from a while back and include a visit to Danville (~45 minutes southwest of our place) to see Grandma Linda while she was visiting friend and business partner, Rosemarie.

Next up is Giselle's 2nd birthday party with Grammie Phyllis. I can't believe our *baby* is now two years old. She's such a sweetheart, always kissing and hugging everyone. And she wholeheartedly looks up to her big sis. She copies nearly everything Mackenzie does but, just to throw in a little sarcasm, likes to irk Miss Perfectionista Kennie. Giselle can count and recite her alphabet (although it may be tough to decipher if you're not with her 24/7 and understand Giselle-speak). But to bug her big sister, she'll say "ABs, ABs, ABs, RRRRRRRR." And Kennie responds "Giselle, that's NOT right! Stop doing that!!!" Very funny if you see it in person and see the absolute exasperation on K's face.