A Trip to a Park

After "Adventures with Crafty Mom" we decided to head up to the city to see what we could find in the way of parks. A beautiful park was found called Alta Vista Park in Pacific Heights. The playground was awesome - tons of play structures the boys had never seen before! I guess the parks here at home are soooo last year! The view was amazing and the boys had a blast. I will definitely go back, hopefully when it's not a chilly 55 degrees out!

Inside the spider web dome

fun on the spin around, don't those balls look like eyeballs?

This zip line thing provided hours of fun, the only problem: one of us had to lift them up to reach

The Adventures of Crafty Mom

I'm a little late on my posts, I know - but my motto is: "better late than never!"

On Sunday of Memorial Day weekend I decided to actually try and be "crafty mom" with the boys. I had some kits to make your own bouncy balls that I had gotten from the Math Science Nucleus (BTW - a very cool, and fun place to visit right here in our own Fremont!) I decided to let the boys have a go at making their very own. I was tired of hearing the bickering about something or other and Aidan had been grounded from his DS so boredom was setting in quickly! It was super easy: fill the container with some of the colored crystals, spin in bowl of water for 30 seconds, and let sit for 3 minutes. Voila - your very own bouncy ball! The boys were so impressed. My stint as crafty mom was loved but short lived! I must find more easy things like this for the summer...

The bouncy ball mold

Who says a watched bouncy ball doesn't harden? Don't you love the headband he put on himself to keep his hair out of his face? A true scientist!

Tyler's Birthday Party - Take 2

On Tyler's real birthday 4/22 we had to cancel the party because of his pink eye outbreak, remember that?!? We finally got to party last Friday at Pump It Up. I think Tyler could do with out the party and just skip straight ahead to the cake and presents...too bad that's not how things work.


We had a lot of fun bouncing and visiting with friends despite some of the pictures of Tyler being a divo!

Lola Love

Nearly done!

So, the other day I made my presentation for my Masters degree. It went well. Nothing too bad, 10 minutes of talking in front of a panel, 10 minutes of questioning followed. Easy-peasy. Now with graduation a mere weeks away, I can finally begin to breathe easy.

After our presentations ended we went to a cute place to celebrate. I had heard about this spot called Bijou Restaurant and Bar. Totally cute, very hip and yummy cocktails, in Hayward...who knew?!? I had a strawberry-apple nirvana.... so good you couldn't even taste the alcohol! I think I'll visit again!

I'm back!

It's been over a week since I've blogged, went to Arizona for my friend Jyothi's baby shower and haven't been able to get back into the swing of things.Real Arizona cacti

Happy Mother's Day to you all! Han and the boys greeted me this morning with my Starbucks and presents! They gave me sweet cards and a pair of shoes, a t-shirt and new perfume. Yay! Then the Murios and the Chos headed out for a very nice day! We brunched at Chaminade in Santa Cruz and then strolled around Santana Row. It was the best day. The weather was fantastic, in the 80's, even in Santa Cruz! The restaurant had amazing balloon animals custom made for kids as well as a lavish spread (sorry, no pictures). Of course Han was on hand for full paparazzi action!Cheers, Murio Family!

Justin had a Great White Shark made, Aidan, a T-Rex and Tyler, a Pterodactyl

Now you'll see the shots of us playing around the hotel
Man-daters

I like this, it's as if I'm entertaining friends on the patio of my Italian villa overlooking the ocean.

Handsome 1 and 2

My "in house" photographer takes lots of photos of the boys. Aidan is a little more patient with his dad than his little brother. I especially loved this one of a boy and his dog...precious.

Can you guess which one is feeling a little tired of being photographed?

Twofer Tuesday

Ok. I know it's technically not Tuesday but what I am about to tell you happened on Tuesday...

First thing is my loving husband brought me....cupcakes! He remembered how I had been hinting around going to Stanford under the guise of getting Sprinkles cupcakes. I was/am really craving a red velvet treat. So, while lunching one day (at Santana Row no less) he visited Kara's Cupcakes to pick up some yummies. He brought something for everyone - minis for the boys, some vanilla, carrot, and chocolate velvet. So, even though there were no red velvet he still scored major points! He also told me that the girls at Kara's informed him that Sprinkles is not organic while Kara's is! I love the story behind Kara's: using all local resources, etc. But Sprinkles makes a damn good cupcake!



The second wonderful happening is that I finished my first doll that I mentioned a few days back. I actually mustered up the courage to try the sewing machine too! Although I must admit Cat helped me with the smaller pieces that required more than a straight line...but I did it and loved it! I am hooked and want a sewing machine of my very own. I will teach myself if I have to! So, take a looksee, isn't she adorable? I've named her Kiki. She has a BFF named Kate! LOVE IT!