Steph's 38th Birthday

 My mom and her grandchildren, Woolfe, Rachel (6), Claire (8), Charlie (1), Leah (4), and Jadon (6).
Rachel is very into animals, especially her dalmation "Licky".  I thought it was cute that her dress looked like a dalmation pattern.

 We had a spaghetti dinner and gift opening.  When the kids went to bed, Brian made chocolate martinis and we played the "Things" game which always brings lots of laughter.

Bay to Breakers

 On Sunday we ran the Bay to Breakers, a 12K (app.7 1/2) mile race across San Francisco.  It was a fun course with one huge hill and a lot of downhill action.  There were a lot of people in costumes and even naked runners.  Watching people cross the finish line was another highlight of the weekend.

 Here is one of the neat costumes we saw, the Lorax with a tree.

 Here are some miscellaneous shots.  Jessica got a massage stick at the expo and we joked that sticking was going to become the new planking.

 Julie and I really enjoyed all the flowers in San Francisco.

Here is Jessica walking in front of a First Republic Bank.  She works for them and oversees property management.  As you can see by the weather sign, we had gorgeous weather all weekend- low 70s and sunny.  The last night we went out for Burmese food and the next morning I went for a run through Presidio Park and on the Golden Gate bridge.  It was a great weekend.  The best part was bonding with my 2 wonderful friends!

Welcome to San Francisco

 This past weekend I went to San Francisco with Julie to visit our good friend Jessica.  She's lived out there for about 9 years, so this trip was long overdue.  She picked us up from the airport and drove us to a need point overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the cityfront.  Then we went out for dinner and expanded my sushi horizons.

 The next day we had great morning devotions together and headed to the Bay to Breakers race expo.  Afterwards we walked down to the wharf and then up to coit tower.  The walk up there was probably the highlight of my whole weekend.  I enjoyed seeing all the flowers and neat homes along the hillside.

 This picture doesn't do it justice, but this was a little garden walk along the staircase.  It was full of tropical flowers like the ones hanging on the right and it is home to wild parrots.

Grasshead

Leah made this grasshead in preschool and it grew at home.  This picture was taken just before she gave it a "haircut".

 Leah enjoys doing activity books and here she's sitting at a schooldesk given to us by a friend at church.

Our two little snugglers :)

Field Trip to Niabi Zoo

Jadon had his big Kindergarted field trip to the Niabi Zoo.  I went along as a chaperone.  I only had Jadon and Arianna in my group, but we paired up with another group.  It was a beautiful day and we had a very nice time.

                                                                    Jadon and Arianna

                                                  Rhylee, Henry, Arianna, Ben, and Jadon

 Hearing the real tigers roar inspired the kids to become roaring tigers.

Awanas Awards Night

 Some kids from Leah's Cubbie group: Leah, Naomi, JohnMark, and Cassidy

 The entire kindergarten sparks group: (back) Judah, Luke, Jadon, Brecken, and Vinnie
(middle) ?, Jalee, Angie, and ?  (front) Emma, ?, and ?

These are the Sparkies in grades K-2 who completed and extra credit book.

Jadon and Leah did very well in Awanas this year.  They had fun, memorized lots of Bible verses, and hopefully grew in their knowledge and love of the Lord.

Charlie's 1st Birthday

Charlie turned 1 on Mayday.  He had a very special party at his mom's workplace, Starland.  "Mr. Singer" provided the entertainment.  The kids got to sing, dance, and play musical instruments.  They had pizza, snacks, and goodies.  The kids were able to run around and play.  We all had a blast and it was so cute seeing Charlie walking around.  He was a busy little guy enjoying every minute of his special day.

Awana's Grand Prix 2012

Jadon and Leah have attended Awanas at church each Wednesday night during the school year.  At the end of the year they always have a Grand Prix.  Each kid can make a car and race it.  Leah painted a rainbow minivan and Jadon made a Luigi cart.  Jadon won 2nd place.  Brian took a half day so he could be there and we took the kids out for ice cream afterwards.

Jadon's 6th Birthday

Jadon turned 6 on April 19th.  He had a Star Wars birthday party with 6 of his buddies.  They decorated bubble wand light sabers, built with legos, ate cake and ice cream, opened gifts, and played with light sabers.  He received lots of fun gifts from friends and family including Star Wars lego sets and a couple Wii games.  We also had a family dinner to celebrate Jadon's birthday.  My parents, Larry and Cindy, and Brant and Amie's family came to Sterling the Sunday after his birthday.  We love our Jadon boy!