Bits and Bytes from the Bay....

Okay, we are getting back on track....we had such a fun time escaping from the smoke and heading up north!

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Friday we went with Brookie, Cambria, and Maya to Half Moon Bay to the Lemos Farm pumpkin patch.

Our friends, the Posners also escaped up north and we got to see them there too! It's always fun to see people you know from home in a different place.

Maya looking cute in a wheelbarrow.

Feeding the ponies.

Posin' cuties

Ellie and Maggie on the hayride.

Stick 'em up!

Little Punkin!

We then went to the patch and each of us picked out a pumpkin. Sam got a good one. It was such a fun day, hanging out with cousins is the best!

On Saturday we had our Daddy all day! We drove down to the little town of Felton near Santa Cruz. We went to the Roaring Camp Railroad where you ride an old steam train in the Redwoods.

We had taken Sam here once when he was obsessed with Thomas trains. He was about 3 and Sophie was 5 months. We loved it then and it was still a great time now.

Trains coming!!

He couldn't scare a fly:).

It was unanimous - mom's going to jail!

Sophie's favorite thing was feeding the ducks. We could not pull her away, she just loves to be with nature.Later we drove to Santa Cruz, went to the Boardwalk, saw sea lions on the pier and had dinner at a fun pizza place downtown. It was a great day.

Update

We are heading out of town! The air quality got worse and worse as the day progressed and is now filled with ashes. We got a call from the school district and they have closed down the schools due to the yucky air. So we are piling in the car in the morning and heading to San Fran! We can't wait to be with Chris and to breathe! Whew! Just say prayers that our house will be here when we get back:).

An Eerie Sight

This is what our sky looked liked this morning looking out over Aliso. The sun is red and the sky is a murky brown. I went outside last night and it was a little spooky too. Black skies and then at least three huge blazing fires burning in the near distance to the south and the east. I felt surrounded by it. We have been a little worried because if a fire hit our neighborhood it would be gone so quick! It's been hard to think about with Chris not being here what I would grab and where to go.

The kids are not allowed to go outside for recess or lunch and we're all going a little stir crazy.
But it looks like for now they are starting to get a handle on things. Our prayers are with everyone with losses.

Sam's a Poet (and we didn't know it)

They had a Reflections contest at the kid's school and Sam's teacher wanted everyone to participate. He wasn't sure what to do because he's not an artist, photographer or choreographer. So I told him to write a poem. The theme was "I can make a difference".... This is what he came up with:

Pollution

By: Sam Roberts

Pollution, Pollution, it’s dumped in our ocean

Pollution, Pollution, it’s released in our air

Pollution, Pollution, it kills all the fish

Pollution, Pollution, nobody cares

I can make a difference by not polluting so much.

I thought it was so sweet and who knew we had an environmentalist on our hands!

Sophie is a Charger!

Sophie is back on the soccer field this year and doing really well! So far their team is undefeated.

The girls chose a cool name for themselves- The Chargers. So when we got to see the team banner we were expecting to see a tough girl kicking the ball hard or something.
You know you live in the O.C. when this is what it means to be a Charger:

Yes, she's holding a charge card and a Macy's bag.

San Francisco!

Chris has a new project working with Microsoft in the Bay Area. He leaves on Mondays and comes home on Friday nights. He has his hotel though for the whole project and Chris wanted to do a swim on Saturday so we decided to drive up and visit him instead.

On Saturday morning Chris did the Escape from Alcatraz swim. A boat takes the swimmers out to Alcatraz and then they swim back to San Francisco. He did awesome! He took 3rd in his age group and was 37th overall (out of over 500). He is really enjoying these experiences and we are really proud of him. FYI-he said he wasn't as cold as it looks.


This is what the swimmers looked like coming in.


The best part about the trip-cousins!! We were so excited to be with the Cooks. We were able to have dinner with them Friday night-Indian mmmmmm. And then we met up with them in San Fran and spent half the day before they had to leave on a plane to Vegas.

We hopped on a trolley car and headed for Chinatown. Sam wanted to be daring and ride outside the trolley. The best part was when another trolley car passed and you had to suck in to not get squashed!

The entrance to Chinatown. We are under the Pagoda to the right.


We ate at a yummy restaurant Brooke knew about where the kids got to practice using their chopsticks. Okay so they just banged them on the plates and used the turntable to knock over almost every glass of water. But hey we had fun.

This is our group picture minus me. It was a fun day exploring shops and taking Chris back in time to his mission days. We even met two missionaries on the street who were handing out brochures in Chinese.

We got the girls matching china girl outfits and they couldn't wait to put them on. After Chinatown we headed to Japantown to see if they would have any Pokemon items for Sam. (Chinatown just didn't cut it). This picture is an ode to our Maki (my mom).

Sophie found her eaterie. Apparantly crepes are the thing in Japan.

The SAMurai! Oh and Sam did find a Pokemon treasure.

On Sunday we went to the Sunnyvale Ward-everybody was so nice! And then we spent the day at the Tech Museum in downtown San Jose (fitting right?). It was pretty cool. The kids favorite thing was watching the robot spell out their names with blocks:

Dad liked riding a Segway....


and becoming an astronaut

This is my "art" picture of the Tech.
It was a great weekend, we miss you Daddy!

A Few Things.....

Sam just passed the test and earned a trophy to get his red belt w/black stripe. After this belt he will earn the black/red belt and he starts to test for his black belt! We're so glad he is sticking to it.

Just had to show Sophie and Maggie looking cute in the darling dresses that Grandma & Grandpa Roberts sent. :)


Okay, so since Harry Potter is no more I decided to see what all the hubbub was about and started to read Twilight. (I think everyone I know is reading it.) Hello! I never thought I would get so into a book!! Especially with the subject matter (vampires, romance, etc.). But this one has me hook, line and sinker. I am having way to many sleepless nights because I can't put it down. I'm so glad I am getting into it with the 2nd and 3rd books already out because otherwise I would be freaking out. Ahh young love....it brings it all back (minus the vampires of course;).