Visitors from Home

The last few weeks have been pretty busy for our family. We had our trip to Seattle and Portland, Ava went back to school this week and our good friends Marta and Mark visited from Australia.

I have lots of posts about our trip coming up soon so for now lets have a look at the fun we had with Marta and Mark.

Summer Bonfire Party

Last night we went to a Summer Bonfire Party hosted by my friend Hanna. Hanna always puts on the best parties. You may remember the fantastic Easter Party that she held back in March. You can see it here.

Last night's Bonfire Party was no exception and we all had a great time.

We toasted marshmallows over the fire, we made s'mores, we had a BBQ, we cooked sausages over the fire, the kids had fun playing together and the adults had a great time catching up with friends. A perfect Summer evening.

Pretty party lights

Fun at Strawberry Canyon Pool

Summer is definitely here in the Bay Area now and I've got the sunburn to prove it!

Yesterday was such a lovely warm day. The girls and I made the most of the warm weather by catching up with friends at Strawberry Canyon Pool high up in the hills above the university.

Fun in the pool on a sunny day

Could there be anything cuter?

Is it possible for there to be anything cuter than three little friends having fun together on a sunny day?

I think not!

Throw in a fun location like Oakland Zoo and you've got yourself a cuteness overload!

Just have a look at how much fun Lola and her little friends had at the zoo today.

What could be cuter than walking hand in hand?

Christmas 2012

Well, Christmas is over for another year. I hope you all had a lovely day.

We had a nice Christmas shared with friends who were visiting from Australia. The day was pretty grey and rainy so we spent it inside which, being Australian, we're not really accustomed to. I guess cold Christmases spent indoors are the norm in the Northern Hemisphere but I'm still getting the hang of it! What we certainly are accustomed to however, is the copious amount of food that goes hand in hand with Christmas. Roast turkey, mashed potatoes, cauliflower gratin, sweet potato bake, green beans, sparkling apple cider, Christmas pudding and custard. If it wasn't for the Christmas pudding and custard it pretty much would've been a repeat of Thanksgiving! 

And then of course, there were the copious amount of presents! Both girls were spoiled by Santa, friends and family. Oh, and by us! Ava was super excited that Santa brought her Bouncy, the "electric" dog that she has been going on and on about for months. The damn thing yapped and jumped around in circles all day but Ava didn't seem to mind. She cuddled it all day and even took it to bed with her - where she worked out that turning it off might be a good idea!  Lola had asked Santa for "a present and a ball and a bus". She was pretty excited when the first present she opened was a wooden school bus. Two birds with one stone! The ball was also crossed off her list thanks to a gift from our visiting friends. 

Both Ava and Lola received new wheels for Christmas - a scooter for Ava and a balance bike for Lola. The girls were pretty keen to get out in the courtyard and practise riding but the rain made this a little tricky. An incredibly late lunch followed by Lola's afternoon nap and a bout of vomiting (Lola) then kept us inside for the rest of the day. Luckily Lola was feeling much better by evening. Too many grapes and blueberries for breakfast I think. 

All up we had a nice day - if you don't count the girls going a little stir crazy from being cooped up inside all day or Lola projectile vomiting twice :( 

Here's a look at our Christmas day - minus the vomit...

Christmas family photo

A Visit to the Fire Station

Earlier this week Lola and her friends went for a little excursion to our local fire station.

As I'm sure most parents will have discovered, the average two year old is absolutely obsessed with fire trucks. It doesn't matter if they're a boy or a girl, they just love fire trucks. There just seems to be something about fire trucks that holds the imagination of most toddlers. Flashing lights and a blaring siren on a big red truck do tend to grab your attention pretty effectively.

Lola and her friends are no exception to this obsession with fire trucks. Every time a one goes past (sirens blaring or not) their little heads turn to watch it go by. Pretty much every day Lola points out a firetruck while exclaiming "Nee naw, nee naw!" with a look of glee on her face. She can spot them coming well before I do. It's as if she's on fire truck alert every time we step out of our apartment!

As you can imagine, the kids were pretty excited to visit the fire station and see the trucks up close. There was a little trepidation at first but they warmed up pretty quickly and had a fun time pretending to drive one of the trucks. I'm so glad that none of the kids accidentally stepped on the siren pedal as they climbed in and out of the driver's seat!

Here's a look at Lola and her friends on their trip to the fire station.

Eden, Lola and Sky: Berkeley's youngest fire fighters!

Friend Book

Ava loves drawing pictures and making cards for her friends. This is quite a good activity that keeps her occupied for a long time and that she can do on her own without any supervision - until she needs to write her friend's name. That's when I have to become involved and help out with the spelling.

As Ava is always making cards and pictures for her friends I feel like I spend half my time spelling one name or another to her. I decided to make her a "friend book" so she doesn't need my help spelling her friends' names.

I chose clear, close up photos of Ava's friends to feature in her book and tried to make them as fun as possible. As a result most of the photos are from birthday parties and there is an awful lot of face-painting featured! Under each photo I typed the friend's name. I decided to make the book with one friend per page to avoid any confusion over which name goes with which photo.

I laminated the pages to protect them from the inevitable drink spills or "accidental" texta marks that appear on everything. Once laminated I bound the pages with hinged rings. I chose the hinged rings instead of alternative binding methods so that the book can easily be expanded as Ava makes new friends.

Here are some shots of Ava's "Friend Book":