SF Conservatory of Flowers

A vacation in Vancouver

It's been a while since posting & after the craft show I did I had to catch my breath. Also catch up on many things that were neglected like packing for our vacation!

We have been enjoying 3 days of rain & cold thus far & have another week to go. Today was a trip to the museum of anthropology at the university of British Columbia. What an incredible place the collection was so immense. The artifacts from the First Nations were presented beautifully. I had no idea that we would spend most of our day there :) the kids even enjoyed running around the village at the back of the museum. Don't miss this museum if you are ever here!

Gilroy Gardens goes off!

A cool caterpillar!

Holly in her garden

In all our time in the valley we had never been to Gilroy Gardens no matter how many people said check it out! So we were invited to go with some friends on a family day so we thought why not! Ash is old enough to enjoy rides and they were just perfect even for the younger ones in the family. I loved the trees there and the garden aspect was well maintained. I do have to say it was definitely a fun day!

Disappearing Ash on a ride!

Purisima Open Space Park

Munchkins!

Another great hike is Purisima Creek Redwoods in the western slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains. We went looking for salamanders but instead we found a few banana slugs on the way down to the creek. A great hike with the kids and they really enjoyed the trails.

The fattest banana slug I had ever seen!

A break with daddy

Humboldt Redwoods camp trip

This camp trip is a trip over the 2010 summer that was extra special. The forest at Humboldt Redwoods is just incredible as it is so old and peaceful. Just being amongst the green of an old growth forest is quite a spiritual experience. We spent a few days camping in the redwoods watching the campfire at night and exploring the area during the day. A trip to Patrick's Point
State Beach was covered in rolled rocks and agate. Watching the waves and the fog roll in made us want to travel up further North. The time ran out all too fast and we were home.

Emma Prusch Farm

Over the summer the crops were ripe for the picking so it was a good time to visit the farm in San Jose. A former preschool teacher recommended the Emma Prusch Farm as a great day out & it was for the kids as they did get to have a tour with a docent and pat a bunny rabbit. Apart from that there was also a great market stall with quality produce grown on the farm.

Camping over the 4th July!

The date of the posts are just when I am finding time to catch up on our year!

Our first camp trip for 2010 was a trip to Mt Madonna over the 4th July long weekend - it was a beautiful spot under the redwoods and in the shade! I remember it being really hot that day & only taking a pair of thongs with me and when it came to night those socks had to come out as it was a bit chilly. Still it was an experience that we did learn from and from there a couple of other trips were added over the summer of 2010.

Still we went with another keen camping family who also loves cats and see in the pics the cats loved camping too!

Point to note when going camping especially when the weather is hot - do not forget a jumper to keep warm around the fire at night. Oh and we did try smores (a great American camping treat) which were an experience which I will try again, just for the melted chocolate, yum!

Fathers Day SF & Rollerskating in the Streets

20/6/2010 - Oh yeah Hibiscus Beet ice cream for Treats from Humphry Slocombe, I love the colour!

What is a street party without rollerskating - free skate hire & the skate crew dances to Thriller, we had an excellent day out in da city reclaiming the streets! Oh Treat Street (the concrete pic) is where we parked the car & then we walked for miles which is the best way to explore San Francisco.

Fathers Day & Reclaim the Streets SF

20/6/2010 - For Fathers day we headed into San Francisco for a Reclaim the Streets day in the Mission District. What a great place to wander the streets, literally! First we had a fun time at the park - James modelling his Fathers Day gift with his iPhone! And the kids riding on the road. Ashwin loved it & he was riding so fast that it was hard for us to keep up with him - next time I'm taking a scooter!!

Summertime & the ice cream is yummy!

17/6/2010 - Treats after dinner on the hot summer days is chocolate ice cream. Holly enjoyed it so much that most of it was all over her face! Ashwin is trying to escape off the patio!

Hanging at Shoreline

12/6/2010 - The weather was hot so we headed on over to this tree at Shoreline Park - with the breezes we were cool!

Summer Picnic @ School

11/6/2010 - Right in the middle of summer Ashwin's preschool had a concert & picnic for the end of class, and the beginning of summer school! Here there are 3 months off over the summer where you just enjoy the amazing weather & just hang out. The picnic was a potluck so Ashwin wanted me to make cupcakes - so I made whole wheat Devils Food Cake and yellow icing for a summer feel & the kids helped with the decorations - they were delicioso!

Holly @ Preschool...

1/6/2010 - Holly finished a year at her parent participation preschool. I cannot believe how quickly the year passed & she had a great time meeting some new friends. Our little American enjoyed marching around the room with the stars & stripes! The trucks were always a favourite & preschool is where you learn graffiti, if I see her tagging walls I know where it came from. The shave cream with watercolour is a sensorial favourite though very messy. Missy always loves dressups so she found this top hat in the costume box!