Wrapping up 2012 (October)

During the month of October we made another trip up to Humboldt to celebrate my dad's birthday. We enjoyed an Italian meal at my parent's house (rigatoni and homemade meatballs). Hannah of course loved the cake that she got to help Nonni decorate. :)  We enjoyed a weekend filled with lots of cousin play time!

Jordyn getting a hold of my Nonne's hair (one of her favorite things to do) while playing around on the ground

It is so much fun watching Jordyn and Lilly interact together. Whenever they are together they are so enamored by one another. Sometimes they'll just stare, studying each others faces, other times they'll take turns squealing in delight or seeing who can make the loudest raspberry sound. :)  They love touching (and grabbing) each other and so far do really well sharing toys. Watching our girls play together brings indescribable amounts of happiness to both Nicole and I. I can't wait to see all the fun (and mischief) these two will get in to.  :)

Happy Jordyn loving her jumperoo

It's been awhile since Josh and I have been able to travel to Tahoe and enjoy Oktoberfest. We used to go every year with friends and always had a blast! We enjoyed Oktoberfest just down the street in Cotati a few years ago and this year enjoyed the day at our friend's Ramona and Andy's house for their first annual Oktoberfest. Andy and some of his friends (one of which brews beer for Lagunitas), got together and began brewing their own beer (Bare Knuckle Brewery) not long ago. They perfected their technique and had 4 delicious beers on tap. The weather was amazing! We enjoyed some delicious food, refreshing beer and had fun playing games such as ladder ball and a HUGE version of Jenga (a main attraction).  If was a fun for Josh and I to be able to experience Oktoberfest (kid free) and close to home. At some point we'll get back up to Tahoe to partake in the Oktoberfest activities once again, but for the meantime this will be perfect!

Mandy, Ramona and me

Jenga time!!

with my love

Once again this year we headed out to the Tolay Fall Festival for the pumpkin patch and other fun fall activities. We have taken Hannah there the past 2 years and love it. It is absolutely perfect for her age. There are so many fun activities....a “creatures” barn full of creepy critters, a straw maze, a petting zoo, lawn games (potato sack races, etc...), food stands, a Native American village, old-fashioned crafts for kids (Hannah loved making a corn husk doll), and a pumpkin seed spitting contest. :)  Of course the highlight is the hay ride out to the pumpkin patch. Again, we had beautiful weather and enjoyed a special family day together.

excited for Jordyn's first trip to the pumpkin patch

Hay ride

best shot I could get of the two of them in the pumpkin patch

found her perfect pumpkin

sucking on her perfect pumpkin that big sis picked out

Wrapping up 2012 (September)

In (yet another) attempt to wrap up 2012 and (maybe) begin to be a little better with staying up to date on here, I'm going to quickly summarize the end of 2012 month by month through pictures and brief descriptions.

In September we enjoyed our last game of the A's season with a group of friends. This also happened to be Jordyn's first A's game. She was entertained by the crowd, the cheers and of course her sister.  :)

 I enjoyed a night away with Michelle, Ramona and Molly during the month of Sept.  We try and make this trip once (if not twice) a year and it is always a blast. First stop Trader Joes in Petaluma for snacks, followed by shopping in Union Square, dinner, drinks and dancing the night away to 80's music. Such a fun get away!

 Hannah enjoyed doing some fishing with dad at a trout farm (on our way to Bodega Bay). She caught 3 fish and was very proud of herself, yet a little hesitant when it came to reeling them in.  :)

 After a morning of fishing, we enjoyed a picnic lunch and playing in the sand at Bodega Bay. Hannah and Josh also did some hiking, while Jordyn snuggled in for a nap on my chest and I read my book. :)

 We traveled to Fortuna for my cousin Zack and his wife Kaitlyn's wedding. The wedding was beautiful and we are so excited to welcome Kaitlyn (officially) into our family. Hannah loves going to weddings and ESPECIALLY loves dancing at the reception. We had to finally drag her off the dance floor at 10:30 pm. Although the pic below is blurry, I love it....they enjoyed many special father/daughter dances that evening.Although I don't have any pictures from it, Josh and Hannah went on a father/daughter camping trip for one night to Lake Sonoma with his brother Dustin and his daughter Mazzy. Hannah had been dying to go camping one more time and with the weather being so nice, Josh decided to make it happen. They had a great time!!

Josh and Sean working on their new fence

cousin play time

 (5 months and 6  months old at the time)

 Hannah began ballet in September and LOVED it! Her teacher Miss Krista was wonderful and Hannah immediately fell in love with ballet class. We recently took a break from ballet for swim, but will start back up again for sure!

For the last weekend of Sept. Josh and I both took that Friday off and drove up to Humboldt Thursday night for a weekend away at a cabin on the river in Bridgeville. It was so wonderful to be away  from electronics 100%..... No tv, internet or cell phones! We built fires, played games, went for walks, played at the river, played horseshoes and bocci ball, ate..ate...ate!, enjoyed some good wine and relaxed! It was such a memorable family weekend together. It was so refreshing to get away from the hecticness of everyday life and enjoy some quality time together. I love my family!!

High School Friends Annual Trip (August)

Slowly but surely I'm wrapping up posts from the summer.  :)  Toward the end of the summer my best girl friends from high school and our families went out of our first annual camping trip together. Josh and I took the girls to the campground a night early and enjoyed an evening with just our family (a first when it comes to camping). It was so nice to take an evening cruise on the lake just the 4 of us and go for a swim while  watching the sun begin to set. 

 Unfortunately Sarah and Lindsey couldn't make it this year :( but the rest of us (myself, Lisa, Amber, Renee and Michele) all had a blast camping together with our kids and husbands. There were 18 of us total ( 11 adults-Renee's brother Rob also joined us and 7 kids ranging from 4 months-3 years). Josh and I of course brought the boat and both Gavin  & Nico wake surfed with Josh for the first time and did great. Hannah had fun showing everyone how it was done.  :)  We enjoyed big group meals together; we split up the nights (2 families per night) and every one took turns cooking. During the days when we weren't out on the boat, the guys played horseshoes on shore, the kids played in the water and the girls lounged in the water enjoying Marc's delicious cocktails.

Hanging out in the tent before bed

Renee and Nico

Amber and Reese

Hannah and Gavin

sisters in their matching suits :)

Josh wake surfing with Nico

relaxing in the water

Gavin :)

Group shot

late night card games

Gavin, Lisa, Henry and Hannah (Love their dirty little camping faces!)

the 4 "big kids" having a blast on the boat

they are all within 4 months of age from each other

Michele, Genevieve, Me and Jordyn (the girls are 3 months apart)

playing in Nico's tent

Amber and Me  :)

 

 

 

We all had such a great weekend long weekend together and weren't ready for it to end. It's so great that all of our husbands get along so well too. We've already starting to plan our trip for 2013, during which we'll have two new babies joining us (Sarah and Renee's little ones, due in March and July) and Lindsey and Ryan will be newlyweds (getting married in May).  Love my girlfriends and feel so blessed to have them in my life!! I can't believe that after all these years (18 years since our Freshman yr. together) we're all still so close.  :)  Sarah and I have been friends since preschool; Lisa, Renee and I since 2nd grade and Amber since 5th grade. Love them!!