Beaches, Strawberries, and more Beaches

We continue to have nearly endless days of sun and clear skies so we have gotten out for a few day trips on these March weekends. Below are a few pictures from Muir Beach, which has some trails in the surrounding hills. The kids walked for awhile but when we wanted to keep going and they wanted to stop, into the backpacks they went.

Here you can see Muir Beach in the background:

 Looking south towards San Francisco:

At home, both kids love getting the paints out or other crafty pastimes. Ross is left-handed in almost everything.

Using our charcoal barbecue hasn't been very practical, so we ended up getting this little propane one. Steve is super excited to be able to bbq again and I am super excited to have him make more dinners.

This past Sunday we drove almost two hours south along the coastal Highway 1 and went to Swanton's Strawberry Farm. It is just the start of the strawberry picking season but they were yummy and plentiful and the kids loved it.  The only part we didn't love was joining the rest of the crowds driving home on Sunday evening. The Bay Area traffic is notoriously busy and even 20 miles out of San Francisco we were just crawling along.

And of course, another beach stop on the way home!

Visit from Grandma and Grandpa!

Steve's parents came to visit for the first two weeks of February. Here are some of our favourite pictures from their visit. 

Grandma Georgia came with nearly two suitcases full of gifts for Madeleine and Ross, including lots of new Thomas the Tank Engine buildings, engines, and track. The kids (and Steve - chief track builder) love playing with the train track and they were all excited to get new pieces. 

Madeleine got two new dolls, and here they are with her first doll (named Baby Theo). Despite initially wanting to name the new dolls Baby Theo as well, she eventually decided on Elsa and Jelly.

The kids were excited to take Grandma and Grandpa to the little steam train.  Here they are waiting for the train to leave the station.

We made the most of the warm winter weather and went to Ocean Beach (not something you can do in Canada in February).

While Ross loved digging in the sand, M ran in and out of the water giggling and having so much fun.

After the beach, we drove to the Golden Gate Bridge. There is a visitor centre and lots of walkways around the south end of the bridge.

One of the days Steve was at work, we met up with my friend Erin and her little boy at Blake Gardens. This is one of our favourite places to go with the kids, and it was fun to share it with Don and Georgia.

 Madeleine and Grandma playing with her dolls during one of Ross's nap times.

Grandpa spent a lot of time reading to the kids in this chair. Ross especially loved picking out a few books and bringing them over for Grandpa to read.

Grandma and Madeleine made a cake for Mommy's birthday!

The Little Farm is another one of our favourite spots. Grandpa Don got to feed cows celery (probably for the first time ever) and teach the kids how mean roosters can be.

We spent a day at Fisherman's Wharf, where Madeleine's highlights were definitely the ice cream and the carousel.

Don and Georgia got to experience a pearl ceremony, at a store on Pier 39, where they picked out an oyster, tapped it three times, and rubbed the pearl in their hands. Georgia also picked out a beautiful gold pendant setting for their pearl.

And finally, no visit would be complete without a little garage time!

We all had such a great visit and the kids absolutely loved having Grandma and Grandpa here. We look forward to their next trip to California!