Happy Thanksgiving!

After doing so much traveling this past year were were happy to be spending a quiet Thanksgiving at our home. We invited some friends and their families over to eat Thanksgiving diner with us. One of our friends brought his awesome digital camera to take some nice family photos of us before diner. It's been a while since we've taken family photos so it was really nice to get some good shots of everyone. Although Nathaniel decided to be camera shy and run away anytime someone tried to take a picture of him, but we still managed to get a few cute shots in. I've included some of our favorites bellow, but you can see the full web album here.
 

Nathanie's Third Birthday

Nathaniel doesn't really play much basketball, but he really loves balls and the color orange, so we decided his birthday was going to be basketball themed!  We had dozens of basketball colored beach balls, a basketball pinata and even a basketball cake!  Nathaniel and Lillian learned that Reese's Pieces are pretty amazing as they helped decorate the cake.  Despite some recent cold and rain, California came through for us with a beautiful sunny day in the upper 70's for his party in the park.  It was so nice we even got some entertainment from some circus acrobats who had come to the park to practice!

Weekend at Golden Gate Park

This past weekend we made a trip to San Francisco to visit some old friends. We planed to meet near Golden Gate park because it's always a hit with the kids. Besides the obvious fun of the old fashioned merry-go-round, there is a gigantic playground with some unusual attractions.Each kid had their own preference. Lillian spent most of her time climbing the huge climbing net. Nathaniel spent his time riding the cement slide over and over again. Each of them had to work up some courage, but once they got going it was all good times.

Halloween!

It's that time of year again, when everyone needs to find a good costume!  A few months ago we went to our neighbors' birthday party which involved animal costumes.  Nathaniel saw his friend Annabelle dressed as a bumblebee and instantly decided that he had to be a bumblebee for Halloween.  Lillian has been watching tons of Jake and the Neverland Pirates and she already had the puffy shirt so naturally she was a lady pirate with a gold dress (because obviously pirates love gold).  We also attended an American History themed Halloween party in honor of an exchange student from Chile, so Eric shaved his chin and rigged up some wire spectacles to be Teddy Roosevelt.  Trick-or-treating was a big success, with everyone accumulating plenty of candy, which Lillian decided was best used to replenish our exhausted supplies to hand out to the mob of trick-or-treaters that came by our door.  This required no prompting, and we were really impressed when she dumped her candy stash into the bowl to hand out to others.  We must have done something right at some point...

Erin and Preston visit

Auntie Erin and Uncle Preston came to visit us this past weekend. The weekend was a whirlwind of activity. Nathaniel climbed his very first mountain at Villa Montalvo. It was a small one, but no small feat for his tiny big-boy legs. We also spent some time at the playground testing out Nathaniel's early birthday present of a big bucket of balls with a built-in tee. Nathaniel had great fun hitting ball after ball with his baseball bat.  The kids also got to go on a special outing to the playground with Erin and Preston.

Costume Parade!

To celebrate Halloween, Nathaniel's preschool had a costume parade. They made costumes out of paper bags for all the kids and marched around the neighborhood near the school. They made a pit stop at McDonald's for a ice cream. It was an incredibly cute site to witness!

Octoberfest

It's getting to be that time of year, the leaves are turning and, fall is in the air. Our German Friends Britta and Jorg hosted a fantastic Oktoberfest party to celebrate all things German. The party featured some awesome face painting and pumpkin decorating for the kids in addition to plenty of German beer and pretzels for the adults. Nathaniel's spider man face was pretty cute until he fell down and cried and smear red face paint all over his parents shirts. Thankfully it's all washable.

Walkathon

Lillian participated in her their school walkathon this past week. Every year they get a new colored T shirt second grade get's orange (Nathaniel's favorite color). Lillian walked 66 laps this year, just a few shy of what she walked last year. Nathaniel even joined her and walked a few laps himself.

Just how cute can we be?

Lillian and Nathaniel have been spending their free time trying to see just how cute they can be.  This includes dressing up in princess gear, and making your own rouge out brick-dust paint.  It also includes fashioning flowers into crowns and tiny fairy princesses.

Castro Camping 2014

Our  year of outdoor adventure continues with the yearly Castro Camping trip at Mt. Madonna county park.  Kristen and Eric decided to tag-team this one, with Kristen taking Friday night duty, the whole family hanging out together on Saturday, and Eric being in charge Saturday night.  It worked out to be a great time, and we didn't get rained on like last year.  Nathaniel found a gang of little brothers about his age to join up with, and had a great time showing everyone that they could climb the stumps as well as the big kids.  There was also an outbreak of World Peace vs. World Death factions among the older kids which left all of the parents wondering as much as you probably are now.  The factions seemed to have formed around various wilderness forts that got built and then subsequently torn down, only to be rebuilt.  Somewhere along the line, a banana slug got some serious bling.

School Time!

Lillian and Nathaniel both started school on August 19th. Nathaniel in his first year of preschool and Lillian in second grade. Starting them on the same day was a little hectic, but it worked out well. Nathaniel has been seeing his big sister go off to school every day for all his life. Now he get's to be a big boy and go to school too. The preschool teachers all asked us if he had already been to school, because they had never seen a child so confident and calm on their first day. Lillian has been claiming some credit for playing school so much with him.

Lillian has taken to writing this year. On a day off from school she decided to write and illustrate her own book. The results were pretty awesome!

Lilly Loves Chickens  By Lillian Husky

Hi, I am Lilly, I was just remembering about when I was a little kid.

When I was a kid I went to camp (like a lot of you do) and my favorite camp was Deer Hollow Farm camp. When we went in the chicken coop , there I chased chickens.

One day when I went to the chickens it was closed. My mom said it was because wolves were eating the chickens. I pleaded to the farmers to open it back up but they would not.

When I was a bit older. I was walking in the country. I saw a sign saying farm selling 4 miles east. I was so happy I went and bought my chicken farm. Now I chase chickens every day. The End.

Yosemite!

A few short weeks after our the Saddest Camping Trip Ever, we were off camping yet again. This time we went to Yosemite with some friends. We had reserved housekeeping cabins a year ago, because camping in Yosemite is far more popular than any concert. The Housekeeping Cabins, have all the benefits of camping, without actually having to sleep on the ground, which is a real plus for a three night trip. The kids enjoyed roasting marshmallows over the campfire, exploring the nearby Merced River, rough-housing in hammocks, and getting just about as dusty and dirty as it is possible to get.  All that while surrounded by some of the most dramatic vistas in the western hemisphere!