Las Vegas Surprise: June 8-11, 2011

My dad aka Papa got a big surprise! Gramma aka Mary flew Madeline and I out on June 8th as an early Father's Day present. She picked us up from the airport under the guise of going out to buy items for his Father's Day surprise. We pulled up to the house. The plan was to greet Papa at the front door, but when he heard the car door shut he was out in the front yard. He was shocked! Gramma had the camera ready to capture the moment.

Madeline's favorite activity at their house was playing in the pool! She especially loved that she could walk around in a circle on the spa steps. When she wasn't in the pool, she was talking about it, "pool, pool, pool." She loves the water! While in Las Vegas, we also checked out a huge aquarium at Bass Pro Shop and visited the tigers and dolphins at the Mirage. Maddie also enjoyed the great fountain display at the Belagio. We all had a great time!






Mary took these lovely pictures below!

Dino Days at Wilbur D May Museum: June 4, 2011

Maddie, Grandma and Mommy spent an afternoon checking out the Dinosaurs and Dragons Event at the Wilbur D May Museum. Maddie was a little apprehensive but also very curious at the same time about the large prehistoric creatures. Because it was Renisaince Festival weekend there were also people dressed in period costumes and crafts to celebrate. Maddie got to help make a princess wand and a crown of flowers. She liked the wand but wanted Mommy to wear the crown.

Kite Festival: May 22, 2011

It was a beautiful day at the annual Kite Festival held at Rancho San Rafeal Park. There wasn't much wind. So it was difficult to get them in the air, but everyone had fun trying. The first 250 children at the event received a small free kite. We may have to invest in a larger one like the giant rose kite. It soared. After spending a sufficient time chasing the kites, we headed over to the playground swings.

Santa Cruz Adventure: May 13-14, 2011

Cali's dad has a family beach house in Santa Cruz that was available for the weekend. So we headed out for a short trip Friday and Saturday, just mommies and kiddos. The babies are both on the same napping schedule, and we travel on their time. When they start getting fussy, we just pull over to a park and take a little break. They have become excellent travelers. Madeline had a teething problem, but both babies were in very good spirits.
We had a very leisurely day and a half, which included playing in the sand at the beach, a couple park trips and strolling around the fun little town of Capitola. Of course, we had a great seafood meal too.
The most fun was seeing Madeline play in the water. She absolutely loved the waves! If I wasn't holding her back when they came rolling in, I am convinced she would have just run right into them! She was in her little pink petticoat the first afternoon that we were out there, and she threw herself into the water and rolled around in the wet sand. We were all laughing, even Landon! Needless to say both babies had to do a lot of bathing on that trip.


Our husbands planned an overnight camping trip and ended up having one amazingly strange story of their own, which resulted in them having to cut their trip short. If you'd like to read about that story I've attached the link as to what they found out in the back country.
http://www.rgj.com/article/20110520/NEWS/105200424/-1/news51/Police-try-identify-remains-found-Sierra

Sprinkler Time: May 12, 2011

We met Elle and her daughter Ella at Gymboree when we first moved to Reno. We were very fortunate to hit it off from the beginning with Elle and I being first time moms, and Ella is just two weeks older than Madeline. Last summer we took the babies to the lake/beach before they could even crawl. Now they have become precocious little toddlers. It will be fun to see them explore the great outdoors this summer together.
Last Thursday we had one of our warmest days so far this year, and we took advantage of it right away. The girls had a blast splashing around in the sprinkler.

Mother's Day May 8, 2011

On Mother's Day Madeline, Judy, Jackson and I walked down to Hidden Valley Park. Maddie brought her pale and collected some nature artifacts along the way including leaves, rocks, sticks, and pine cones. Of course she dumped them out before the trip was over. She also insisted on taking charge of Judy on the trail. Before heading back home, we played chase on the grass. It was a beautiful afternoon!

Baba, Grandma and Grauntie Visit May 5-8, 2011

Madeline calls Grandpa, "Baba." Technically, Baba Bazorg is the word for grandpa in Farsi, but she only has Baba down for now. Great Auntie has become "Grauntie" for short, and Maddie calls Grandma "Mama" with a different inflection than her word used for mommy.
Friday during the day, Grandpa and Maddie planted a vegetable and herb garden together. Maddie really enjoyed helping Grandpa dig in the dirt. Friday night Jackson relaxed with Madeline while the rest of us went and saw Quidam, one of the Cirque du Soleil shows. The dance and acrobatic choreography and live music were astounding!



Saturday morning we ate at Peg's Glorified Ham and Eggs for our Mother's Day celebration. It was so nice to have us three moms together for the special weekend! Saturday afternoon we went to the River Festival held in downtown Reno at the Truckee River. We watched kayakers compete in a slalom race. There was music, food and a kids area. Maddie played on the grass.






In the evening Jackson and I had a wonderful night out just the two of us. We ate dinner at the Atlantis Oyster Bar. We both got a pan roast, which is a decadent tomato bisque with muscles, scallops, lobster and shrimp! After dinner we met our friends at the comedy club. Thanks for the night out everyone!
Madeline had a wonderful time with all of her company! She is a very social little girl, and loves having lots of people especially family around her. We love all the extra help and the time spent with our loved ones too!