Picking Up Where I Left Off

Let me just sneak right in here and act as if I've been maintaining this blog of ours...
Ha! Just kidding. I know I'm guilty of neglecting our site, so I'll try to provide the Cliff Notes version of our family's activities.
Ethan is all done with preschool and will start kindergarten in July. I was really, really, really, really sad. I mean REALLY sad. He's growing up so fast. On top of that, Melanie will begin preschool in September. She's not a baby anymore! Time is flying by so rapidly.
We didn't have any plans for the summer, then suddenly, our calendar filled up fast. We've been to Discovery Kingdom, courtesy of Andrew's family (Ethan's BFF), numerous playdates, a few children's museums, and a couple of overnight stays in San Francisco at Auntie Chiyo's place. We're gonna miss doing that after she moves out.
Kathy, Kara and Cameron visited from Idaho and we had fun spending time with them. They even joined us and the Martinez clan to watch the circus. The kids had a blast and are still talking about the things they saw. All of us grown-ups, on the other hand, spent most of the performance feeling sorry for the animals and performers. Though entertaining, the circus left us with the lump-in-you-throat-and-blah-in-the-pit-of-the-stomach feeling that lasted through dinner.
This week, we're going to help Chiyo pack up a couple of boxes and help Auntie Kiki prepare for JJ's 2nd birthday. In couple of days, our kitchen is going to turn into a bakery and hopefully we'll be successful in creating an awesome birthday cake. Ethan and I are going to watch Lion King on Thursday. JJ's party is on Saturday and we leave for Germany on Monday. So much for not having any summer plans...
In the spare moments between our funfilled activities, I signed up to be a Scentsy consultant. Check out the products at www.scentsy.com/smiyai.
Happy Day to all the Dads out there. Pics of our morning's celebration will be posted soon.

May 2009: Race for the Cure

Ethan's last day of school. I was having a good ol' time partaking in the celebration. After I took this silly pic of myself, my emotions got the best of me and then the waterworks began. It's a milestone people!

Ethan discovered some packages from Nana (wink, wink). Funny, because the address is printed in MY handwriting. Ahem.

Surviving a hot day. Strangely enough, not many hot days thus far. See, global warming IS real.

Mel fell asleep on the dog's sleeping area while eating a banana. I was wondering why she was so quiet.

Discovery Kingdom. The kids pressed their faces up against the glass looking for whatever creature this exhibit featured. Then, out of the foggy water, this walrus appeared to the dismay of the 2 two-year-olds. Poor Sarah and Melanie! They were freaking out, terrified and crying. It was hard to hold back the laughter while we comforted them.

The kids checking out the elephants. Mmmmhmmm. That's our girl kickin' it with Ethan's homies.

Rockaway Beach.

Ethan calls this the "everybody can love anybody" flag.

Dynamo Donuts. Apple bacon maple donut. Of course, the kids' favorite donut happens to cost $3 each.

Twin Peaks. Ethan was kinda nervous.

Bay Area Discovery Museum.

Golden Gate Park Carousel.

She was eating a sandwich.

Ethan took this pic.

Randall Museum.

Yerba Buena Gardens.

Coit Tower.

That's right Ethan. He's such a tourist.

Picturesque view from the top of Coit Tower at dusk.

Habitot Museum, Berkeley.
Berkeley Rose Gardens. "Yook Mommy. I pose!"

Sea lion at Pacifica Pier.

Taco Bell right at the shoreline. It is designed for surfers to walk up and order so they don't have to take off their wet suits, as feature on Travel Channel, or Food Network, or one of those channels. We didn't eat here, though. We found a Filipino restaurant and got our ethnic grub on instead.

This one is dedicated to Daddy for Father's Day. He hasn't seen this til now. Melanie climbed into our bed after Jeff came home in the morning from night shift and decided to sleep in. The picture doesn't show it (thank goodness), but both their bellies were exposed as they slept back-to-back.