Secret Reader

Maggie's school has a special event called "Secret" Reader where a surprise person comes and read. All day they try and guess who it is. Henry and Frances didn't have school, so I asked...ok begged... for them to the special readers and our wish was granted. TOP TEN MOMENT as a parent. The pride and joy on each kids face was the BEST. THE BEST. My heart couldn't be more full.

Janis Date - 1st of 2015

With December being so busy, we didn't get a long Janis date and we were very sad. Since we knew the weather was going to be nice, we decided to meet up with her at the Japanese Garden....where they had been a year ago to do some "research" for Henry's school. As always, it felt like everything was right again seeing her. She is such an important part of our family.

I Heart Opal

I ADORE where the kids have gone to preschool. It is a magical place that I firmly believe has made them better people and made me a better parent. They had the Opal Symposium and had people from around the country come and observe them. When I arrived I saw these lovely displays....TOO CUTE. The first is Maggie's self portrait.

Mama Dates

We have had two days off from school (Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I get my kids back) and the weather has been great on Mondays so lots of Mama Monday hikes. Henry was very excited to finally walk on Wildwood, given he has read all the books. It is not lost on me how lucky our kids are to have trails like that less than a mile away.

What Play Dates Look Like with Frances

Frances had a play date....they got off the bus looking like this...impossible for me to love that little girls energy more.

New Years 2015

We spent New Years Eve at the beach. The weather was awesome. The best part was we got the kids to finally hike the mountain - a big accomplishment. The only drawback is we had round two of puke fest for poor Maggie. Ouch.

Last and First Run

The weather around New Years was MAGICAL. These are pictures from my last run of 2014 and my first run of 2015. Such a great way to wrap things up and start things off :)

Maggie's First Hair Cut

Frances had hair curlier than Maggie's. I noticed that when we cut it, the curls went away. So, I have been VERY nervous about getting Maggie's hair cut. She is 3 1/2. Over vacation, we hit the breaking point. She looked like Gene Wilder. So - we went for it. We took her to a fancy place and Henry and Frances got to cheer her on. She LOVED it and even chose the glitter hair spray. Not gonna lie -I may have shed a tear....to which Henry MAY have said "Oh dear".

Francie's Date

Francie also got an alone night with Mom. She had a tough time adjusting to it at first, classic middle child. She kept worrying about whether we should have invited Henry. That said, once she realized that my response to nearly every question was "you pick, it is your night", she started to realize she was going to have fun. She chose bowling, burgers, Powells......and then wanted me to take her to Police Station...at 9 at night....needless to say, we went to Whole Foods instead - where I let her choose a dessert.

Christmas 2015

Christmas morning never disappoints. SO MUCH FUN. My favorite moment was when Mark tried to put on the new suit I got him....that was tad too small...and he walked around singing "fat guy in a little coat". HILARIOUS.

We are very blessed and lucky to have our health, our family and the love in our house. We also felt lucky enough to have Gordon and my parents over for Xmas dinner.