Maybe by next year, Josie can take care of her own garden bed.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Garden Harvest
Success! We've had a great spring and early summer season so far in the garden. Lots of great peas, fava beans, chard, and now beets, carrots and garlic (see pics below). We've never had such success! We can't wait for the green beans, squash and tomatoes.
Maybe by next year, Josie can take care of her own garden bed.
Maybe by next year, Josie can take care of her own garden bed.
Father's Day
We had a short visit with Tutu and FourFour for a Father's Day bbq lunch, then joined Lisa's family for a Father's Day dinner. The weather was so great, we spent most of the day outside. Josie and Colin played well together at the water table in the backyard, and successfully soaked their first outfits. After getting wet, they preferred to go au naturel (accessorized with rainboots, of course) while digging in the garden. Adorable!
Family Picnic
We joined the Hayashi extended family for a summertime picnic in Sacramento last weekend. It was great to see everyone and enjoy such yummy food! Josie and Colin had a great time at the playground and playing with their 3rd cousins (yes, 3rd cousins!).
A few good pics with Gma:
Jo-Jo was exhausted when we left. We took the longer but more scenic road along the Sacramento River to get back home, and she slept the whole time (she fell asleep while reading a book).
A few good pics with Gma:
Jo-Jo was exhausted when we left. We took the longer but more scenic road along the Sacramento River to get back home, and she slept the whole time (she fell asleep while reading a book).
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Vacation Back East
We flew to NYC for a week-long vacation, visiting our friends Ethan and Aley and their 17-month old son, Sawyer. It was a packed itinerary, including a road trip to Connecticut and Rhode Island. Josie was a real trooper, surviving the long plane flight, adjusting to the time change, and adapting to new environments practically every other day (or more).
We got a real taste of New England, from the beautiful seaside mansions in Newport to the lush woods near Essex. During the trip, we experienced record heat and summer thunderstorms- the kind of weather we never get in the Bay Area.
Josie and Sawyer got along great, with only a little pushing and jealousy, as could only be expected. Both are very active. They were quite a pair! They did remarkably well during the road trip, though Josie was too distracted to eat most of the time, and Sawyer too distracted to nap. Overall, they had a blast, especially when there were animals involved (we tried to maximize the animal encounters: dogs, farm animals, aquarium, etc.).
We left inspired and invigorated. Of course, there is still so much we want to see and do, so we'll have to make a trip back again soon.
We've included a few highlight pics from the trip and 2 links to more photos:
Josie and Sawyer at the High Line, an elevated railway converted to a very cool park.
We did a whirlwind tour of the American Museum of Natural History while we were in Manhattan. Good way to escape the heat, but a challenging place to wrangle Josie.
Dan caught up with friends from his International Honors Program (IHP) study abroad trip he did in college (Ethan and Aley are also friends from that group).
Josie and Sawyer both learning how to read upside down on the way to Connecticut.
Drawing together at Ethan and Aley's house in Brooklyn.
Josie on her first boat!
Flirting...
"Baby!" In awe of the baby jellyfish.
Riding horses at the seaside amusement park. So much fun, even though the coin-op was broken!
The kids couldn't get enough of this old anchor in Newport.
Playing at the beach near Charlestown, Rhode Island.
Potter (dog) and Josie getting to know each other at Aley's parents' house in Connecticut.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Memorial Day Weekend
We spent Memorial Day weekend gardening, hiking, and hanging out with friends and family. Despite a little rain on Saturday, we had a fabulous holiday weekend!
Josie helped pick fava beans, which she later ate in a grain salad with quinoa and mint. Yum!
Sunday morning, we went to Mill Valley and hiked the Tennessee Valley trail with our friends Carlos, Emily and their daughter Elena. A little windy, but otherwise perfect weather.
At the end of the trail, Josie was in heaven, since the beach was made up of pebbles and rocks- her favorite! Compared to the little bit of gravel she plays with on our deck, this was the jackpot!!!
When we got back to the trailhead, we visited the horse stables. Josie hasn't figured out that horses are different than cows and so she kept saying "moo... cow"! I don't think they were offended.
Josie loved petting and trying to feed Patti's dog, Murray.
Josie helped pick fava beans, which she later ate in a grain salad with quinoa and mint. Yum!
Sunday morning, we went to Mill Valley and hiked the Tennessee Valley trail with our friends Carlos, Emily and their daughter Elena. A little windy, but otherwise perfect weather.
At the end of the trail, Josie was in heaven, since the beach was made up of pebbles and rocks- her favorite! Compared to the little bit of gravel she plays with on our deck, this was the jackpot!!!
When we got back to the trailhead, we visited the horse stables. Josie hasn't figured out that horses are different than cows and so she kept saying "moo... cow"! I don't think they were offended.
After a good nap, we went to our friend Patti's house for an amazing bbq feast and got to visit with Tracy, Adam and Max. (thanks for the pics, Tracy!)
Josie loved petting and trying to feed Patti's dog, Murray.
Monday, May 23, 2011
Grandma Carolyn Comes to Visit
Josie had a great time playing with Grandma Carolyn during her visit this past week. Lots of gardening in the backyard, strolling around the neighborhood, and drawing with chalk on the driveway.
On a gorgeous, sunny day, we went to the playground near Auntie Kathryn's house in the city. Josie loved watching the dogs chase frisbees across the lawn nearby. She rode the merry-go-round and the see-saw animals for the first time. She walked the undulating spiral wall. But the sandbox was her favorite, as usual.
On a gorgeous, sunny day, we went to the playground near Auntie Kathryn's house in the city. Josie loved watching the dogs chase frisbees across the lawn nearby. She rode the merry-go-round and the see-saw animals for the first time. She walked the undulating spiral wall. But the sandbox was her favorite, as usual.
1st Ride on the Steam Train
Colin and Josie recently rode the steam trains together on cold day at Tilden Park. This photo shows them just getting off the train while the next group of riders was boarding. They were entertained by the commotion of kids and dogs running around. Colin tried to hold Jo-Jo's hand, but she was too distracted to notice...
Sunday, May 1, 2011
A "three-hour-nap" day
7:05 am, all dressed and ready to start the day.
Josie began her day with an 8:15 breakfast at her cousin Colin's new house in Oakland. This photo shows the cousins waiting for slow service.
Josie's favorite food is chicken apple breakfast sausage. Today she started saying two syllables starting with S, and in context we know she's saying "sausage".
After breakfast, the kids did some digging and exploring in the backyard.
Then they returned inside to eat apples (gnaw little bites out of them, and give them to parents who finished them).
At about 10am, we all went to the playground at FROG Park near Colin's house, for a workout on the play structures. You can't tell from this photo, but the playground was crowded with kids and families on this Sunday.
Josie got home at noon and snacked on fresh peas from the garden. She can say "pea-pea" and she means the edible kind. Dan had to make several return trips to the pea bush to get more peas for this hungry girl. Both her parents were exhausted at this point, with still an hour to go before Josie's nap. So we got out the swimming pool (this was a warm and sunny day in Albany).
After her swim, we put Josie down for her nap, and she slept for three and a half hours. While she slept, Dan and Lisa planted vegetable seedlings, read the paper, went to the hardware store, did the dishes, pulled weeds, moved soil, dug out a wild iris, rearranged patio furniture, and ate lunch. They both took ibuprofen together about 4pm. When Josie woke up at quarter-to-five, Dan's back was killing him so he got Josie's help to wheel out the TV and put on a yoga video.
Josie joined right in, doing different stretching poses in sync with the video models, with Dan.
She had a nice bath, some warm milk, and went to bed at 7:30pm to dream about the long day.
Josie began her day with an 8:15 breakfast at her cousin Colin's new house in Oakland. This photo shows the cousins waiting for slow service.
Josie's favorite food is chicken apple breakfast sausage. Today she started saying two syllables starting with S, and in context we know she's saying "sausage".
After breakfast, the kids did some digging and exploring in the backyard.
Then they returned inside to eat apples (gnaw little bites out of them, and give them to parents who finished them).
At about 10am, we all went to the playground at FROG Park near Colin's house, for a workout on the play structures. You can't tell from this photo, but the playground was crowded with kids and families on this Sunday.
Josie got home at noon and snacked on fresh peas from the garden. She can say "pea-pea" and she means the edible kind. Dan had to make several return trips to the pea bush to get more peas for this hungry girl. Both her parents were exhausted at this point, with still an hour to go before Josie's nap. So we got out the swimming pool (this was a warm and sunny day in Albany).
After her swim, we put Josie down for her nap, and she slept for three and a half hours. While she slept, Dan and Lisa planted vegetable seedlings, read the paper, went to the hardware store, did the dishes, pulled weeds, moved soil, dug out a wild iris, rearranged patio furniture, and ate lunch. They both took ibuprofen together about 4pm. When Josie woke up at quarter-to-five, Dan's back was killing him so he got Josie's help to wheel out the TV and put on a yoga video.
Josie joined right in, doing different stretching poses in sync with the video models, with Dan.
She had a nice bath, some warm milk, and went to bed at 7:30pm to dream about the long day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
