First day of school

Addi started he second year of preschool today. Finally. She has been looking forward to it all summer and so have I! When we got to school, I asked her to sit on the bench so I could take a picture. This girl knows how to pose.
One more year until Kindergarten. She is just a week too young to go this year which is a blessing and a curse. It would be awesome to have her in school all day, five days a week, but I know she will be even more prepared after this year. She makes friends so easily, but sitting still is much of a challenge. Within five minutes of being there, she had a new friend named Max who she was paling around with. I also signed her up for a gymnastics class that starts this week in an effort to wear this girl out!

Murder Mystery

Last weekend, Brad and Kori hosted a murder mystery party. It was a 20s theme and a lot of fun. The guys got really into it, surprisingly, talking like mobsters all night. It was hilarious.
Jenny and Susie.
The girls: Susie, Kay, Nora, Jenny, Me and Kori. The cigarets are fake by the way. We were all just playing our part.
The guys: Jim, Baker, Adam, Brad, Ian and Matt.
Brad and Kori, the hostess with the mostess.
Kay and Matt, the bouncer.
We were Vicki and Big Jim Ravioli. Ian got the award for being the best actor at the end. He can pull off quite the mobster accent.
Jenny and Baker. It was a fabulous evening with good friends, good food and good entertainment.

Sun Diego

We went and stayed with Jaime and Dan last weekend in their brand new house. Yay for them and entering the world of being a homeowner!
We christened their grass with a little slip and sliding.
It was really funny, the kids did not understand how to actually use the slip and slide. I guess that is what happens when you grow up in a concrete jungle as we do.
So, Dan literally threw the kids down the slide. They loved it.
All smiles!
The weather was perfect. Not too hot at all, so we decided to hit up the San Diego Zoo.
Addi and the snakes.
Addi and Luke doing their best poses.
Von was such a good boy in his stroller as usual.
They really love each other. They held hands voluntarily.
And probably the coolest animal ever, the black panther.

Swim Lessons

Addi and Bubba have both been doing great this summer in swim lessons. Von has finally gotten past the crying stage and has been improving so much lately. Here is a little video taken with my phone...

Summertime

I can't believe that summer is coming to an end. Finally the weather has warmed up and school is about to start. I think I am more excited about it than Addi. It cannot start soon enough. We did manage to squeeze in a couple of beach days amongst the clouds and 60 degree temperatures we have been having.
This was Von's first beach day since he has been able to walk. He was a little terrified of the waves.
It was actually really cold this day. I hid underneath beach towels the entire time we were there and was still cold. It was in the middle of nap time, so Von snuggled up to Ian to take a little rest.
We were their with the Blad's and Ebmeyer's. The kids (and dads) worked hard on their castle.
Another day we went down to Corona Del Mar to the tide pools with Kori, Lori, Brooke and their kids.
Addi girl. Can I please have her abs?
I love how Von tries so hard to be with the big kids. He just doesn't quite make it.
Bubba
The older kids were able to maneuver around the rocks really well. Von, not so much. And he did NOT want me to help him.
Once again, just a few steps behind.
And then last Saturday, Ian had to "work," and I got to go with him. We headed out to Catalina on an 82 foot yacht for lunch.
The boat is pretty amazing. We went with a group of doctors and their wives and a few people Ian works with.
Ian and I recovering from a good meal on the top deck.

Muffin Tops

I found this recipe on epicurious.com after our friend's Jason and Richelle gave us some fresh blueberries that they picked on their trip up in Oregon. They are definitely blog-worthy. The recipe calls for muffin-top pans, which would make them even more amazing, but I just used a regular muffin pan. Also, in the topping, I find that using only half of the flour it calls for is plenty.

For batter

• 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup whole milk
• 1 whole large egg
• 1 large yolk
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups fresh blueberries (12 oz)

For topping

• 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 tablespoons sugar

• Special equipment: 2 muffin-top pans, each with 6 (4- by 1/2-inch) muffin-top cups (1/2-cup capacity); or regular muffin pans

Make batter:
Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat to 375°F. Generously butter muffin pans. Melt butter in a small saucepan over moderately low heat, then remove from heat. Whisk in milk, then whisk in whole egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined well. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a bowl, then add milk mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in blueberries gently but thoroughly. Divide batter among 12 muffin cups, spreading evenly.

Make topping and bake muffins:
Rub together all topping ingredients in a bowl with your fingertips until crumbly, then sprinkle evenly over batter in cups. Bake until golden and crisp and a wooden pick or skewer inserted diagonally into center of a muffin comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Cool in pans on a rack 15 minutes, then run a knife around edge of each muffin top and carefully remove from cups. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Last post...

My parents have a large berry patch with Cascade, Logan and Boysenberries. The jam they make from it is amazing. The last afternoon we were there, Addi and I went up to eat some off of the vine.
And then there was the crab. There is nothing like fresh crab, eaten the day it is caught. I prefer a toasted crab sandwich. So good. That water looks pretty gross, it is because it's the water the crab is cooked in. The crab is delicioso.