Some Days Life's a Fairytale

I don't miss Sacramento. Sorry all you Sacramento fans out there but it wasn't for me. There are a few things in Sacramento that I do miss. Dos Coyotes Border Cafe. That restaurant holds a very special place in my stomach. Whenever I come back up for a visit you better believe I will be waiting in line for my Ranchero Burrito. Chico's tacos.  Still the best shredded beef tacos I have ever had.  Driving over the river in fall. It really is so pretty see tree tops of all different colors edging the river below. And Fairytale Town. A Sacramento institution that is truly the perfect place to take a toddler.

We went to Fairytale Town with Auntie Chrissy one last time before the big move.  The kids hadn't been in a year and I wanted to take them back since they are big two year olds now.  Fairytale Town brings nursery rhymes and fairy tales to life with farm animals, play structures, and plenty of whimsical scenery. Everything is detailed to delight the toddler eye, right down to the hippo drinking fountain.

You want Three Little Pigs? They actually have three little pigs. You want Mary's Little Lamb? Well I do believe we spotted her (though I don't think she is quite so little anymore).

If you want to run under the Little Old Lady's Shoe, sail in Captain Hook's Pirate Ship, ride in Cinderella's Pumpkin Coach, climb through the Giant's foot on your way to slide down the Beanstalk, or help Jack and Jill fetch a pail of water, you can do it at Fairytale Town.

Whether its you find yourself sliding down the slide at Farmer Brown's Barn

or playing peek-a-boo in the Crooked House at the end of the Crooked Mile,

I guarantee a wonderful day will be had by all those young at heart.

California Academy of Sciences

Before we made our big move we just had to make it to San Francisco one last time. It is such an amazing city and I already miss being in such close proximity to all things SF. Recently the California Academy of Sciences reopened its doors after a 3 year closure for remodeling.  It is one of the largest museums of natural history in the world and one of the oldest museums in the country.  The remodel allowed the engineers to integrate tons of environmentally friendly features into the design of the new building. These include a system which results in the production of 50 percent less wastewater, 60 thousand solar cells for electricity generation, a 2.5 acre living roof, over 20,000 cubic yards of recycled concrete, natural lighting in 90 percent of occupied spaces, one million pounds of recycled steel, and wall insulation made from scraps of recycled denim. Hopefully the example that the engineers of this museum have set will encourage others to incorporate more environmentally conscious design into their future endeavors.

We made it out to SF on a rainy Monday while my mother in law was in town and met up with our friends Amanda, Kierran, Nick, Matt, and Owen. The museum has been a mad house since it opened and I think the weather helped keep the museum only moderately crowded while we were there. 

First we encountered the manta rays swimming in the water below us on our way to the African Hall. I love how they turned a normal walkway into a place for discovery.

The African Hall is the only portion of the original museum that was kept intact. It features taxidermy animals from Africa and a colony of South African penguins.  It is nice to have a touch of old in a museum so cutting edge.

From there we headed over to the Galapagos exhibit. It demonstrates how evolution can take place in such an isolated area. There was also this really cool floor that had a computer generated jungle floor on it. Little bugs would pop out from the leaves and the kids had a blast trying to stomp on them.  I think the real object was to kick the right kind of food over to the right kind of bug but we liked our version just the much.

Another highlight of the museum is the Rainforests of the World dome. It has a spiraling path that takes you from the forest floor all the way up to the top of the tree canopy. There are beautiful tropical butterflies and birds flying free throughout the dome which resulted in plenty of "oohs" and "aahs" from the group.

The entire bottom floor is an aquarium complete with tide pool touch tanks, bizarre alligator gars, and enormous aquariums depicting different ocean zones.

There are plenty of things that we just didn't have time for such as the planetarium, and the weather prevented us from making it up to the living roof, but overall it was a very full day and there was something for everyone to enjoy and explore.   I would highly recommend make time for a visit the next time you are in San Francisco.

Tuesdays for Tuesday

Tuesday was able to spend a wonderful Thanksgiving at home with her family. A gift we sometimes take for granted. Spending the holidays with an intact family is truly something to be thankful for.

Last night Tuesday had a slight fever. In her case, a slight fever meant a trip to the emergency room. Off she went with Daddy while Mommy tried to distract herself by watching "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" with the rest of her concerned little ones. Luckily Tuesday's levels all came back fine and her temperature went back down so she was allowed to return home where she belongs. She has a cold. Just a cold. Amazing how just a cold can give us all such a scare when a tiny little girl with neuroblastoma is infected. Please keep Tuesday in your prayers. She has some big weeks ahead of her.

Back and Better than Ever!

I am happy to announce the blog hiatus is over! We made the move to Orange County with only minor incidence. Fires caused freeway closures but we were late leaving so they reopened by the time we needed to get through, my cat escaped my rigged up cat containment area so I had to pull over and buy a cat carrier so she didn't go hide under the brake pedals, and Paul's uncle took an unexpected drive down with the moving truck because my brother couldn't be there in person to pick up the truck due to a late plan flight. All things considered, the move went well.

We are slowly but surely unpacking and getting settled in our new home in the OC. I still feel like I am on vacation.  I can't possibly live here can I? I am only a 5 minute drive from a large portion of my family. We wore shorts in November! A world famous beach is only 20 minutes away!  We have hiking trails galore only minutes from our house.  I am very excited to get going on my takeover of Southern California.  So much to see and do.

Our first little mini adventure was sunset at the park in Dana Point. We came to scout out possible Christmas card picture locations. We had fun enjoying the gorgeous sunset and played with some dogs in the park.

We ended up doing our xmas card pictures at Laguna Beach. Our camera battery died pretty early into the photo shoot but my brother did end up taking a great shot of us with Paul's phone.

I know its cheesy but in my eyes this picture signifies a new beginning for our family.  I look forward to sharing those new adventures with you all!

GrosgrainStore.com Grand Opening & Giftcard Giveaway!!!!!!!!

GrosgrainStore.com Grand Opening & Giftcard Giveaway!!!!!!!!

The big slacker is moving!

I have taken a hiatus from blogging without informing you all why. Its because we are moving! Yep. Paul got a great job as a sales rep for a scientific instrument company so we are making the big move to the Orange County, California. I am very nervous and excited. It will be fantastic to be in the same town as much of my family but at the same time it is scary to move someplace new after living in Northern California for the past 12 years. I admit a huge portion of the time I was just itching to get out but now that it is time to go there are so many things I will miss. I have made so many wonderful friends in my time up here and I know I will still see most of you because lets face it, I have Disneyland in my back yard. I will miss San Francisco and Marin County and the Sierras. I will miss all the great hikes through redwoods. I will miss being so close to wine country. I will miss seasons (though we really didn't have much of a fall this year). But I have so much to look forward to as well. Just think of all the adventures we can have down in Socal. We will have an ocean we can actually swim in without hypothermia! We will have the mountains within distance to make a nice day trip to the snow. We will have plenty of great canyons and trails in our own neighborhood. We will have the San Diego Wild Animal Park a hour away!!!!!! We have new museums to explore and I can finally be a tourist in LA. Since I grew up just north of LA you would think I would have done all the movie star and Melrose stuff but I never did. My parents had no interest in venturing into LA but I just know there is a whole world out there to explore. La Brea Tarpits here we come. Watch out Olvera Street, you will have a couple of two year olds in your neck of the woods soon enough. And Disneyland, get used to us. We will be making full use of the fact that children under three get in free. Beaches- let me introduce you to the family that will be stalking you. When we get that heat wave in January, you know where to find us. Deserts- we plan on getting to know you better as well. You hold a special kind of beauty that we have yet to fully explore. Of course there will be traffic and places that should take us an hour to get to will suddenly take two but that's why God us dvd players and AM radio right? So look for things to be back up and running after Thanksgiving. I will still have some Northern California adventures to catch you all up on. How about a little Halloween in December? Cuz that's what you will be getting! Stay tuned!

Finally I would like to give a quick update about Tuesday. She is currently recovering from major surgery. The surgery was a great success and they were able to remove 99.5% of the main tumor (there was a tiny bit still sticking to the vena cava that was too dangerous to remove and should be zapped by the next round of chemo) which was a great feat. They did have to take on of her kidneys and a tiny piece of her liver but plenty of people live fine with one kidney and the liver regenerates itself so it isn't the end of the world. They were also able to get the tiny portion of a tumor that was near her heart which was a huge relief. She is recovering amazingly well and hopefully will be able to go home next week so she can spend the week with her family before she goes in for her last round of chemo on the 19th. After Christmas she begins the scary world of stem cell transplantation. So please keep this living miracle in your daily prayers. God has been listening.

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Tropical Tree Frog Costume GIVEAWAY!!!!