Around the Bay- Saturday Family Adventures

My favorite way to measure the success of a day is how dirty the kids are by the end of it. If they are too clean, it means we didn't have enough fun!

Ryan was our fun family day mascot on Saturday! He went through three outfits by the end of the day. His red slurpee stains are still on his face and stomach... no matter how I scrub at them. Such a fun day!

Kevin & Andrew started off the weekend with the Father's and Sons Campout that Kevin helped organize. Then they hurried home so Andrew could change into baseball clothes and we were off for little league!!

The game was stellar and Andrew got the game ball at the end of it. He was STOKED! He even made a special stand for it out of Legos.

After the game we zipped down to Palo Alto to meet up with a few of our favorite people visiting from So Cal- The Hayes family!! We had too much fun chatting, eating, and running around after little people, so we sadly never managed to snap a photo! It is so fun to see out littles hanging out together. Ryan and Graham loved seeing who could be the craziest swinger and screecher! It was adorable!

After our PA lunch we grabbed quick slurpees (and took a diet coke pitstop for me) and then we headed up for a gorgeous adventure in San Francisco!!

The kiddos napped on the way up... and for a little while longer once we got to Golden Gate Park, so everyone felt very well rested for park adventures!!

We ran around at the park for almost two hours, rode the carousel, and then headed out once things started closing down for the night.

We grabbed dinner at the Wharf and then made our usual stop at Ghirardelli for treats. Yum Yum!

We ended the night with a fun but quick reunion with the Bond family! Can't believe it had been almost 2 years since we'd last seen each other! So fun for the kiddos to get to meet and Andrew & Catie can't wait to hang out again hopefully this summer.

The best part about leaving SF after 8pm is that it took us less than 40 minutes to get home. The kids crashed immediately once we got there and so did we! Busy Saturdays sure are fun AND exhausting!

Palo Alto Reunions With Friends & the Fourth of July

One of the best parts about my parents living in Provo (besides having them so close by) is that so many people we know go to Utah during the year and often pass through Provo and SLC!

When we were in Utah a few weeks ago we got to visit with several friends from our Palo Alto single days that have since moved away from Northern California.

Our first day in Utah the Hayes family stopped by to say hi and goodbye as they trekked back to SoCal. We loved getting to meet adorable Graham and the kids all got to play with Jude while we snacked on yummy bagels and diet coke.

I've mentioned this before... but I'll mention it again... I love when my friends marry awesome people. It makes me so happy. 

Jeff and Meredith got married in Newport about three years ago- remember this post about the trip where we forgot Andrew's shoes and then the wedding reception where everyone thought I was Elise? Jeff and Meredith know how to throw a great party.

We love them. It was fun to chat and catch up a bit.

Elise trekked down with her girls so that we could all hang out together. 

Here are all the cute kiddos...

Olivia, Jude, Maddie, Graham, Andrew, Catie, and Ryan (not pictured bc he was napping)

Here's a picture of the cute babies checking each other out.

Later in the week Elise invited us up to her house and hosted a delicious Fourth of July brunch!

Bruce & Christie Edwards (more awesome favorite friends from Palo Alto single days) came over with their two kids- Bodie and Tristan. The Edwards just moved to Utah, so hopefully we'll get to see a lot more of them now!

Caffee girls

We started off the day with playing and lots and lots of food. Elise made this rich and gooey brownie trifle. Yum!

Christie made the most yummy and adorable dessert (flag one below). It was so good that I didn't manage to get a picture before someone had already snagged a piece. Mmm!

The kiddos actually sat for a few minutes and ate and then they got crazy in the backyard with water!

Elise made sure to have plenty of festive snacks on hand too.

Ryan and Tristan are only a few months apart, so it was fun to get them together.

Andrew and Catie and the Caffee girls had a blast with Bodie. He loved the water!!

After lots of good food and splashing, we finally wrapped up the party right before the kiddos started melting down and needing naps.

So excited that Bruce & Christie are somewhere closer now where we'll get to see them regularly! We loved hanging out with them back when they were newly married and dating too. Remember this post about beautiful wedding in Seattle?

Crazy how time flies. I still feel like it was just yesterday when Kevin and I were playing against each other in a mini-lacrosse tournament in Bruce's Palo Alto back yard. 

Can't wait for more get togethers again soon!