on friday evening of memorial day weekend, we met jon, maria, their parents and the rest of the wedding party for their rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. they were to be married the next day at the greek orthodox cathedral in oakland, so montclair’s italian colors was the perfect place for dinner. it also happens to be where we had our own rehearsal dinner back in 2007.

the church was sooo pretty inside. the rehearsal was quick and smooth, and the kids did great. walk from the back to the front when mommy says go. piece of cake! especially for ellie, already a two-time veteran, a real professional :)

grandma shirley was nice enough to tag along with us so she could take ellie home and put her to bed while ryan and i went to dinner. after all, saturday was a big day and we wanted to make sure she had a good night’s sleep. so home they went and to dinner went we!

we got super lucky and scored prime spots next to the betrothed <3 dinner was delicious and so was dessert (blackberry sorbet!), and the company wasn't too shabby either. so many nice folks and so much love in one room. what could be better?

already feeling so honored to be a part of jon and maria’s special event, we left the restaurant full and happy, ready for the big day to follow. thank you for a lovely time, guys <3

up next: the wedding!

a few weeks ago when ryan was off work due to a planned vacation (and hobbling around pretty badly with just one functional knee), we drove up to camino to spend the night at grandpa geoff and grandma rodi’s house. another pesky spring storm was blowing through, so we spent our time inside by the fire, playing and laughing and enjoying each other’s company.

rodi made everyone sandwiches for lunch and then ellie took a nap before abby got home from school.

later in the afternoon rodi and i decided it was “five o’clock somewhere,” so we broke out the wine and started preparing for dinner. ok ok, she and geoff prepared dinner. ryan drank beer while he rested his knee and i played with the kiddos :) then it was time to EAT!

the food was amazing and devoured in a flash. then after dinner, rodi offered to give me a pedicure, ryan a foot massage, and to paint ellie and abby’s toenails. it is quite nice having a manicurist for a stepmother-in-law :D

before we knew it, it was time to say goodnight <3 everyone slept well and woke up the next morning refreshed. we hung around the house for awhile and then drove into town for lunch at in-n-out (ellie enjoyed the fries).

it was another fun visit with the grandparents lack (good things seem to happen whenever we’re with them) and we are, as always, looking forward to our next visit. love you, guys!

a few weeks ago, on one of the very few warm, sunny days we’ve had in the bay area this spring, ellie and i met michelle, audrey and kate at the zoo. it seemed like every school in the east bay decided to take a field trip there that day, so it was PACKED. we skipped the camels (because, let’s face it, camels are boring) and in an attempt to avoid the crowds we didn’t even make it to the lions or tigers. as a result, we got down to the children’s zoo and grassy area pretty quickly, where we decided to sit down and have a picnic lunch.

after lunch the girls (well, the two who can walk) spent a long time running back and forth across the grass together. this was kind of a breakthrough for ellie, a girl who has ALWAYS had sensitivity issues with personal space, loud noises nearby and the like. i was so happy watching them, i could have cried.

good times look like this:

after lots and lots of running and laughing, michelle suggested we go see the fruit bats. apparently the oakland zoo has fruit bats! how had we never seen them before? anyway, those guys are huge. they hang upside down all the time and their wings look like rubber. they were fun to watch, until two of them got in a fight and then we were like, “ummm BYE-BYE, BATS!”

thanks for sharing a super fun day at the zoo with us, girls! can’t wait until next time <3

saturday night we all fell asleep to the sound of light rain on the roof of the cabin. sunday morning we awoke to this:

springtime winter wonderland!

i’ve seen plenty of snow in my life, but most of it was already on the ground, so to watch it fall from the sky all morning was quite a spectacle. at first ellie didn’t seem to care about it one way or the other; she just wanted to watch caillou. i asked my dad to take a few pictures of us on the porch right after we woke up. it was cold and she wasn’t impressed ;)

but once the cars were all packed and it was time to shut everything down, she was ready to see what this snow stuff was all about. STOP THE PRESSES! unlike her first experience with sand, she even touched it! with her hands!

by the time we moved from the back porch to the front porch, the snow was really coming down. ellie stomped in it with her shoes and then looked up so she could feel it on her face. i got some great pictures of her as she giggled with delight.

the drive home from our weekend in dorrington was almost as lovely as ellie’s snow experience there. the weather gods provided us with some awesome scenery, and since my dad was driving i was able to snap a few pretty shots.

thanks, dorrington <3 until we meet again…

we woke up early saturday morning and putted around for awhile before heading off on our great adventure. apparently we left a little too close to nap time for ellie, who fell asleep about 10 minutes into the drive. this was kind of a bummer because her eyes were closed during the prettiest parts of the drive as we made our way to higher elevations and more and more snow covered the ground.

unfortunately the road to our destination was closed, so we turned around and drove back to a campground where we could get out and pose by some dirty snow by a little icy pond. luckily ellie was awake by then.

it was her first time ever seeing snow! of course she refused to touch it. you know, like sand ;)

after our short stop by the icy pond we made our way to a recreational area we know of with a bridge over a particular fork of the stanislaus river. ellie LOVED it there. loud, rushing water, tall trees and big boulders to climb … what’s not to love?

she could have stayed there all day, just climbing, jumping and collecting twigs and rocks by the river <3

eventually it came time to leave, so we went back to the cabin and my mom broke out the watercolors. ellie has painted before, but she had never used watercolors as a medium until this weekend. it’s one of my favorite paintings she’s ever done.

i did one, too :)

after painting we had dinner and kicked around for a bit before bedtime. another fun day, cozy night <3

until tomorrow!

last weekend while ryan was still in florida post-knee injury waiting for his flight home on monday, ellie, my parents and i spent two nights at my mom’s friend’s cabin in dorrington, a small town on highway 4 between murphys and ebbetts pass just outside calaveras big trees state park. see, big trees (and a cute little church):

the drive up was smooth, ellie slept for awhile and when she was awake she was content with her new dora doll (do i know how to appease a kid on a long drive or what?) and we didn’t hit any significant traffic, so we made it to the cabin by late afternoon. ellie and pop were both thrilled to have made it in such good time ;)

my mom arrived shortly after us and we headed back down the road to arnold where we had dinner at snowshoe brewing company. ellie enjoyed her quesadilla and fruit and i had the most amazing burger and fries (secret: i wish sautéed onions came on everything).

ellie was exhausted by the time we got back to the cabin, so i put her to bed and she fell asleep instantly. my mom, dad and i warmed our tootsies by the fire for awhile, watched a movie and then went off to sleep ourselves. it was a nice first day spent together.

more tomorrow, including adventures by the stanislaus river!