Katherine’s family has been going to the YMCA of the Rockies family camp in Estes Park Colorado since before she was born. We’ve carried on the tradition, getting up there once every year or two and even extending the tradition to some of Stu’s family. Here are highlights including another birthday party for Claire, visiting our old standby the Bald Pate Inn, cooking around the cabin including Persian food, fun with bubbles on the deck, lots of hiking, and a group selfie.
Juliet graduated from her pre-school. Since it’s the same school Claire attended for a few years, their wonderful teacher Ana had both girls to join a graduation party at Huddart Park up in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
We celebrated Juliet’s 5th birthday at the local outdoor ice skating rink. Yes, there are outdoor skating rinks in California. Here are some pictures, starting with our now traditional sopapillas at our neighborhood Mexican restaurant. Also, at the bottom is a video of us singing “Happy Birthday”.
We’ve fallen behind posting pictures here. Thanks to Katherine’s photo organizing skills, we’ll be posting a half dozen catch ups over the next week or so.
Christmas 2013 took us to both Houston and Oklahoma City to see family. In Houston, we visited the Johnson Space Center with the girls’ cousin Will and had a fun Christmas morning (new pajamas!). We also got to visit Katherine’s old friends the Taylors and see their girls. Then it was off to Oklahoma City for much fun with the family there involving another Christmas morning, bowling, baths, and of course cheerio covered waffles.
Halloween 2013 was more candy-themed than usual. Claire went as a candycorn while Juliet was a lollipop fairy. There was also face painting, pumpkin patch visiting, and school halloween parties/parades. Finally, the girls picked out a 3-foot tall orange pumpkin lantern for the front yard.
Juliet turned four in February and we celebrated in the usual way…. cupcakes and a bouncy house in the backyard! Â It worked out that the best day for the party was Superbowl Sunday, so we had a football themed party with chili, inflatable footballs, and the game playing in the living room. Â See below for all our pictures, including a fun one of Juliet telling her friend Jasper not to touch the cupcake she wanted, and a few shots at the end of the jewelry box from Grandma Judy.
Knock-knock
Who’s there?
Boo
Boo Who?
Don’t cry, it’s only a ghost!
The girls got excited about knock-knock jokes this Halloween season. Other highlights of October included a visit to our local pumpkin patch, many fun parties with friends, and of course, trick-or-treating on Halloween night. Click on the photo of Claire and Juliet (aka Mermaid and Fishy) for a slideshow.
Well it’s time to get caught up on a sizable inventory of photos from Winter fun, including making air-popped popcorn for our Friday night movie night, visiting San Francisco for a hike at Lands End park on the bluffs above the Golden Gate Bridge, enjoying our new West family tradition of weekly video conferences, going on a guided walking tour of a nearby elephant seal preserve, Valentine’s day, playing in the backyard, Juliet’s new bicycle, and the girls first indoor rock climbing experience at our local YMCA. For a slideshow, click on the picture of the girls in matching fleece jammies carrying their dolls in their backpacks.
Juliet turned three and we celebrated in style, with lots of cupcakes (in two batches) and a party with her friends. Highlights included playing in the backyard, taking lots of pictures, and wearing lots of frosting. Juliet also switched out of her crib and into a big girl bed…. sharing a room with her big sister! Click on the picture of Juliet eyeing her birthday cupcake and candle for a slideshow which includes a video of singing Happy Birthday.
