Tuesday, June 8, 2010

We're Outta Here!


No joke.

San Francisco is this families favorite place to go. 

Whether it's for a romantic getaway
or for a family affair,
everyone,
and I mean,
EVERYONE
always has the
time of their lives!

So what better way to celebrate
the end-of-the-school year,
than a
pick-you-up-on-the-last-day-throw-you-in-the-car-and-away-we-go trip?

I tell you,
there is no better way!

That, my friend, is the way to go!


We love day trips,
but nothing compares to an ol' fashioned overnighter!


The funky decor  met with Gabriel's approval.


We practiced taking some steps but it was a no-go for a solo.


First stop:  Chinatown.

Isabella was all smiles until we saw three police cars zoom by, sirens blaring.  Then she, and we, were anxious to get off the street!


What better place to take refuge than a chinese restaurant? 

We were on the hunt for someplace good,
asking people on the street for recommendations,
when this woman and her son beckoned us into her restuarant. 
She told us we would't be disappointed and she proved right!

The kids fell in love with the giant aquarium,
and though we stayed away from ordering the seafood,
it was fun to look at.


What a feast!


With full tummies we changed into jammies and snuggled in for the night.


What peace!




If only for the crazies who went nuts jumping on the bed!


No, Ava didn't knock a tooth out jumping on the bed,
but a tooth she did lose and to her astonishment the tooth fairy came the very next day!

That fairy is amazing finding us even though we were so far from home!

Congrats Ava!


If our hotel doesn't include a continental breakfast
I always bring something along that's quick, easy, and delicious! 

In this case, buttery crossaints, powdered donuts, and hot chocolate. 

Yum!


Though the weather was brisk,
since the sun was out,
the hotel pool was fair game. 


The kids would have been terribly disappointed if we said no,
and since we're all a family of fish,
into the water we went!


Well, all with the exception of Gabriel,
who made it pretty clear he was going nowhere near the water.


Samuel and the girls. 

They can't get enough of him launching them into the water. 
Now that they're more comfortable swimming,
there's alot more horsing around in the pool!




Gabriel in his L.A. close-up.


Despite his father's pleas, Owen was also reluctant.

He's more a less a crabby lizard
who prefers to scowl as he bathes under the warmth of the son.

I love you, Owen!


There goes my boy!


Back in the hotel I stole a kiss...


And Samuel readied us for the day ahead.


We had some stragglers though,
we will NOT name names,
who took their sweet time and hindered us from getting as early a start as we would like...

It's okay,
we're all familiar with the saying:

"When you've got to go..."


Finally we hit the Ferry Market Building,
where for only $5.00 you can valet park your car for an hour.

That's a steal when you consider how many places you can visit in such a short time!


We love the sculptural water piece across from the Ferry Market Building.

It is a magical playground for the whole family to explore.






Now that we've worked up an appetite,
it's time to visit the Ferry Market Building.


So back across the street we go, "looking" both ways before we cross the street!


This is the home for all of our picnic lunch fixin's. 
I bring fruit, crackers, and cookies from home,
but we always buy our bread fresh from Acme... 

{Always a minimum of two loaves: 
One for immediate snacking; the other for lunch!}

...and indulge in a new-to-us cheese from the Cowgirl Creamery. 

This time I fell in love with the
Pimento Olive loaf and Niloufer's Creamy Panir. 

Sooo good!


What's more iconic than a visit to the Golden Gate Bridge?

I admit, I had ulterior motives steering the family here.

Samuel's terrified of the bridge,
and I thought it was high-time he got over it!


Omnimous, isn't it? 





I can't believe it: 
He is genuinely freaked out!


Owen held on to this rock for hours, and as much as we pestered him to throw it off the bridge, he refused.  Finally, as we turned to leave, the rascal threw it as hard as he could and away it went!




A magical, mystical tunnel from the old Fort days.



Next up: 
Golden Gate Park,
The Children's Playground




Water and sand features rock!




Owen's shorts would NOT stay up after they got wet. 
The poor boy has a hopeless plumbers crack!




This slide never, ever gets old.



Owen's favorite:
The Carousel






We love it too because it's dirt-cheap!




My boys are utterly exhausted.


Must mean it's time to hit the beach!










I love those baby toes!





Iris:
Sheer happiness!


Gabriel cozy-ing up a bit.


Only in S.F.


And to top it all off, over the bridge we saw a what happens when you make a S.F. Police Officer really, really MAD!  This uncooperative vehicle got an earful-and so did we!-courtesy of a very effecive loudspeaker.   Lets just say we wouldn't trade shoes with those guys for the world!

Happy Summer Traveling!



"Charlotte's Web" Inspired County Fair!




Isabella's third grade class has been studying "Charlotte's Web",
and as a culmination to the school year they held a literary inspired
county fair!


Each classmate was charged with creating something from scratch,
and to my delight,
Isabella opted to bake a cake!


Using fresh cherries,
courtesy of her Uncle Joseph and Aunt Jessica,
she created a decadent concoction...


A Double-Chocolate Cake studded with Fresh Cherries
and drizzled with Chocolate Ganache!


Yum!

This takes home the blue ribbon, sweetheart!

And don't forget:
 Bring the leftovers home!

{I can't wait!}


Friday, June 4, 2010

Isabella's School Play: Vacation to Mars


And the Academy Award goes to...

Okay.

I'm may be completely biased.
But really, Isabella,
who played a lead role in her school play,
"Vacation to Mars",
did a phenomenal job!

Way to go Isabella!


This super-sweet and hilarious play is all about the solar system.  In 25-brief minutes they taught us about the sun, stars, and planets with quirky songs and catchy dialogue full of spunk!


Imagine Don Juan Jupiter boasting of his sixteen groupie-like moons...


Saturn intent on polishing her rings...


And Venus who thinks she SO hot (well, she IS at 900 degrees...)!


Initially I was weary,
you know how some school functions can draaaaag oooon...


But this play had everyone hanging on every word!


You are so beautiful and talented, Isabella!


This smile says it all! 

I had known she had been working on this play for sometime,
but I had no idea it was this grand. 

We are so proud of you, sweetheart! 

Enjoy your applause!

You earned it!




Thursday, June 3, 2010

End-of-Year Luau


Nothing says summer like a Luau,
and this annual end-of-the-school year tradition at the girls school is a must for our family! 


Gabriel was a bit bewildered at all the commotion...


...but made for a great lap-buddy.



As the girls shook...


...and shimmied...


...they completely brought down the house!


Isabella welcoming the newest member of the school, Iris! 

She starts kindergarten in the fall,
and couldn't be more excited!


These guys have a little while (thank goodness),
before they fly the nest too. 

Though in the fall,
Owen will also start Joy School two times a week for a few hours of the day.

{Sigh}

What will Gabriel and I do with ourselves?




Monday, May 31, 2010

2010 Memorial Day: Traditions Old & New


What's not to love about Memorial Day?

We are FREE to live and celebrate with family, friends, and great food!

What a blessing!



Every year we hit the donut shop early in the AM and the kids and Samuel positively devour their sweet pastries. 

I pick...
at the frosting that is. 

Which, in my opinion, is the only thing good about a donut!

Unless, of couse, it's creme-filled.

In which case you would eat the filling...get it?

{Okay, I'm back from my donut-frosting tangent.}


After our suger-induced hysteria we meet up with my family
for the local Memorial Day Parade.

Watching the parade is something I've been doing
for as long as I can remember, and it's so much fun to pass this tradition onto our kids. 

And as we stand for the flag,
hand over heart,
it brings back so many memories of my Grandpa Lopez. 

I know he's there with us.


Later we met up with Samuel's family where the Wylies host an annual Memorial Day BBQ in a truly spectacular country setting.  It is a great place to relax and visit and the kids have an great time exploring.




There are tire swings...


Little toys...



Big toys...



{Note the lack of helmet.  That didn't go over so well...}



Uncooperative toys...



Tears...



Chickens...?


Wild play areas...


...and of course, smiles!

We hope you had fun celebrating too!

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Crazy-delicious Homemade Sushi


So, it's no newsflash that I love to eat. 

And basically, it's so bad that I'm just like the person who gets distracted by something shiny.

If I see, hear, or read about it...
I want it!  

And unfortunatley,
the condition worsens the later it gets.

So once more, it's 9:40 at night and I think:

We can totally make sushi.

Right?

So I get to work (I say work but it's really "play")
preparing the rice and shrimp,
while Samual handles all the veggies,
and... 


Voila!


Sure, they were huge. 

But boy, were they good!


There was even some leftover that had "Olivia's lunch"
written all over it!

So get off the couch and make something!

And then eat...

and get back on the couch!

{smile}



Thursday, May 27, 2010

Aughh! The Frustration!





One day my son, I promise, you won't have to make do with tidbits of food.  They'll be whole drumsticks to gnaw on, large carrots to crunch, and a whole mess of other non-baby-friendly food! 

Patience!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

It's funny every time...







I love it!

Marbled Chocolate Banana Bread



I love chocolate!
And this recipe, tweaked from Cooking Light, pairs bananas and chocolate in an irresistible way!

Here's a quick tip for you: 
Make a double or triple batch and freeze the finished product in your freezer.  After a quick defrost, this bread is piping hot and just as fresh as when it popped out the oven! 

Marbled-Chocolate Banana Bread

Nutritional Info (one slice):
Calories: 183; Fat: 4.7 g 

Makes one loaf, 18-20 muffins, or 32 mini-muffins.

Ingredients

2 c all purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c sugar
1/4 c unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 c ripe bananas, mashed (about three whole bananas)
1 large egg or 1/4 c. egg substitute*
1/2 c plain low-fat or fat free yogurt*
1/2 c semisweet chocolate chips
Cooking spray

*I use a whole large egg and fat-free yogurt
(non-fat vanilla yogurt is excellent too!).

Directions

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly spoon the flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife.  Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk.

Place the sugar and butter in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about one minute).  Then add the banana, egg, and yogurt and beat until blended.  Add the flour mixture and beat at a low speed just until moist.

Place the chocolate chips in a a medium microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for one minute or until almost melted, stirring until smooth.  Cool slightly.  Add one cup batter to the chocolate, stirring until well combined.

{Loaf Pan}
Spoon the chocolate batter alternately with the plain batter into a 8 1/2 x 4/1/2 inch loaf pan coated with the cooking spray.  Swirl the batters together using a knife and bake at 350 degrees for approximately one hour and fifteen minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out just clean.   Be careful not to over bake!

{Muffins}
If making muffins, gently fold the chocolate mixture back into the plain batter, and use a knife to swirl the batters together.  Then, spoon the batter into a muffin pan sprayed liberally with Pam, and bake as directed above for approximately half of the cooking time.  Note:  The mini-muffins will cook even faster, at approximately 12-15 minutes (oven times will vary).

Cool the loaf for ten minutes in the pan on a wire rack, and then remove from  the pan.  For the muffins, cool for just a few minutes in the pan before removing (I find that they stick if you leave them in longer).  Once on the rack, cool slightly longer and then serve!

Enjoy!



Saturday, May 22, 2010

Chopsticks & Late Summer Suppers


So you know how it goes, right?

Spring segways into summer and the carefully crafted schedule of
dinner and bedtimes goes right out the window! 

There are so many things to do,
so much sun to soak in,
 it's all we can hardly do to drag ourselves to the table,
bedraggled,
starving,
and yes,
happy to try something
different and fun!


There's nothing simpler to prepare than an Asian noodle salad.


And this...


...paired with chopsticks...


...makes for an engaging meal everytime!


Happy Slurping!