Friday, September 30, 2011

Pumpkins already??

I just couldn't wait, the pumpkins had to go outside tonight!  They were $2.99 each at Trader Joe's, nice sized pumpkins.  Halloween is a favorite holiday around here, probably as much as Christmas, and every year I add a bit more on to the decorating.  We have two Halloween themed birthday parties this month, so I am planning to decorate as much as I can tomorrow for the two upcoming parties.  Carson is having a Halloween birthday party, with bats and vampires being a dominant theme, although he opted for a Grim Reaper birthday cake.  Noelle is having a Monster High birthday, which is her current obsession. 

Luna is so tolerant, she was standing on the front porch and I made her stand by the pumpkins.  She is definitely easier to pose than three children, and when I tell her to stay, she stays! 

Carson loves soccer

Carson is taking a soccer class, he really loves it!

Friday, September 23, 2011

Good Eats in Sebastapol: East West Cafe and Screamin' Mimi's

We ate lunch at East/West Cafe:  http://www.eastwestcafesebastopol.com/

They have really good mediterranean food, we ordered the Meza for 2 and it was amazing.  The kids had a pita bread pizza, which they were not overly fond of, my kids tend to get a little weird about pizza though if it is not in the traditional form (which for them is usually Hawaiian style). 

We finished off our visit at Screamin' Mimi's:  http://www.screaminmimisicecream.com/



This place is known for making their own ice cream and for having some really unusual flavors.  I had the rootbeer ice cream, which tasted just like a rootbear float, Noelle and Carson had "Mimi's Mistake", which was peanute butter ice cream with chocolate mixed in, and Reese went for Deep Dark Secret, a chocolate variety.  All of the chairs are painted with the name of one of their ice cream flavors. 

Florence Avenue Art Street in Sebastapol, CA/Patrick Amiot









This is the whole reason we ever visited Sebastapol in the first place.  Artist Patrick Amiot lives on this street and as you walk up and down you can view various recycled art sculptures.  They do change somewhat from year to year.  If you want to see more of his sculptures you can google him.  There are a lot more sculptures throughout the town, but the street is especially fun to visit. 

Twin Hills Ranch: Lots of Apples for the Picking






Our second stop in Sebastapol was at Twin Hills Ranch.  They are not advertised online as being a pick-your-own website, but they are so busy running their farm that they haven't had time to update online.  The staff are all really friendly, they provided our kids each with a little bucket and sent us off into the orchards.  After trying both the Jonathan and Golden Delicious variety we opted to pick mostly the Goldens, they were yummy.  Now that the kids are all older we had three buckets filled really quick!  They also have a cute little country store inside a big barn where you can buy all kinds of apple products, the kids tried out their apple bread (and I am sure I will be making something similar later this week) and we bought a giant jug of unfiltered apple juice.  For more information on Twin Hill Ranch you can visit their website: http://www.twinhillranch.com/ 

California Carnivores: Venus Flytraps, Sundews and American Pitchers everywhere!

With the kids out for a three day weekend we headed into Sebastapol today, it is one of our favorite Bay Area towns to visit, located in the North Bay, just over an hour away.

First stop:  If you are not lucky enough to visit California Carnivores yourself (because they really do have a HUGE and amazing collection) but you want to buy a carnivorous plant they do have a website:
http://www.californiacarnivores.com/

 I have had some trouble with my plants this past year, we talked to Peter, the owner, and it turns out tap water is BAD for these plants, so distilled water from now on...that and they need a certain type of soil.  We brought home 3 new plants, a B52 (the larger variety of Venus flytrap, a Sundew, these plants have a sticky substance all over them and are great for catching those pesky fruit flies, and an American pitcher, it's a tubelike plant, the flies go in but they don't come back out. 


Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Pirate Mickey

We are so excited about our upcoming trip to Disneyland, I don't know who is more excited, me or the kids!  Here is Carson, with his Mickey that Daddy bought him on the last trip, he is not as into Mickey Mouse now, but he is VERY excited about all the rides he can now go on...FINALLY all my kids are big enough for Indiana Jones Adventure!!! 

Monday, September 19, 2011

Reese plays football+ Star Trek party + church friends


Pee Wee football players...we ran into Karin and family at church and the last photo is our neighbor's Star Trek themed birthday party.  Carson, as usual, goes to the beat of his own drum. 

Saturday, September 17, 2011

School BBQ





We had a great time at our school's annual family BBQ last night, the kids had fun running around playing with their friends and our cupcakes were a hit, they were the first dessert to disappear!  Noelle and her friend Mady frosted and decorated them, they were quite colorful! 

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Reese started Flag Football







Reese had his first flag football team today, we were so excited!  Brian is an assisstant coach on the team, it was so cool to see them in their matching jerseys.  And they won!!  Reese did a really good fakeout during the game, we are so proud of him.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Luna's Playdate and Carson's golf clubs

We had Luna's brother over today, Gizmo has been here for going on 11 hours and they are still going strong on the play.  My kids are enjoying the warm evening weather, I am not sure where Carson found these golf clubs, but apparently they work well with the sandbox and whatever he is making. 

Monday, September 5, 2011

Only in Santa Cruz...

We went to the beach this weekend, it was foggy most of the time we were there, so sadly no beach pictures, the kids spent most of the time inside the house or at grandma's house.  We did spy this hippie on a scooter, carrying his new fan from Rite-Aid home.  He has a Nevada license plate and it expired in '05.  Hmm.

Friday, September 2, 2011

Movie Night at our house tonight!

Movie night is happening at our house right now, I killed the microwave by making too many bags of popcorn.  The girls are watching Disney's Prom and my two boy are upstairs watching the Mummy Returns. 

Carson' first day of preschool




Carson started his first day of preschool on Thursday, this will be his last year of preschool.