lake tahoe

Since dave was busy working during the week, we didn't see him a ton, but we are lucky we got to spend the weekend with him in lake tahoe. we stayed in the marriott timber lodge in south lake tahoe. the hotel has a great location right next to the heavenly gondola, a bunch of restaurants, the lake, and a great state park for hiking. we only stayed one night, but made the most of our time. 

dave and the stephens in front of the heavenly gondola.  these flowers are amazing!  and yes, im that annoying person who makes people pose for pictures.

gorgeous lake tahoe, the water was so clear and it is surrounded by mountains and pine trees!  we went paddle boarding for the first time.  it was fun.

baby stephen found a great place to swing!

we went on a hike and gave baby stephen a stick to keep him occupied.  he then stuck the stick down his throat.

stephen with his parents!  you cant tell, but the lake is in the background.

jane looking out into emerald bay.

my two favorite boys.

dave and jane

i love having this guy on my back.  i just wish he wasnt so big and heavy!

cascade lake

the stewarts visit!

we love having family visit.  some of our favorite visitors are stephen's parents, dave and jane.  they have been to visit us more times than anyone else.  this time, they stayed for a week.  while stephen's dad was busy working in the city, jane came out with us.  we had a ton of fun going to the zoo, beach, monterey bay aquarium, carmel, and of course, going out to eat.  

 jane and baby stephen at the san francisco zoo.  he loved the goats!

 this baby is 1/2 cowboy so i thought it was fitting to put him on a saddle.

 with my little guy and some flamingos.

 we loved the zoo! it is right buy highway one along the coast.  there were beautiful cyprus trees and native plants in a lot of the exhibits.  i loved these things, whatever they are.

 baby stevo at baker beach.  it was chilly and windy, but we loved the postcard-like setting.  we even saw dolphins in the bay!

 the sand was so nice!

 baby stephen loved watching the waves come in!

 we drove down to monterey for the day.  the monterey bay aquarium is one of my favorite places to visit!  we had memberships last year and I think we have been there around five times.  baby stephen really loved watching the fishes.  he got sad whenever we took him away from one aquarium and moved him to the next.

 he really liked this little cubby thing.  he was standing there watching the fishes and shaking his booty.

 amazing jellyfish

 we loved the beach at carmel.  the sand was so soft and nice.

 we went to a giants game with stephen's dad!

garlic fries from att park! my favorite.

we love where we live and it is so fun to have people come and explore with us!

berkeley parks

getting outside is a trusted and true way to maintain sanity with a baby.  pent up energy and a small apartment can make for a headache for both mom and babe, so we try to leave the house twice a day.  usually we stay around our place because we have three parks in walking distance, but we also love to meet up with friends.  

 here are roxanne and eliza at Cordornices park.  this park is one of my favorites because it has lots of shade and lots of baby swings.  it is also across the street from the berkeley rose garden which has a beautiful view of the bay.

 here is baby stephen at the park inside my apartment complex.  this park is not my fave because the black bouncy floor gets really hot during the day so baby stephen cannot crawl on it.

 here are baby nolan, baby eliza, and baby stephen at live oak park.  i've only been there once, but i really like the shadyness and the little stream that goes through the park.

 baby stephen loved the ducks and geese at the berkeley aquatic park.  this park is beautiful.  it is along a track of water filled with ducks and geese.  the play ground is really awesome, and there are a bunch of cyprus trees (my fav.)

 i had to post this picture of baby stephen at totland!  this is a great park because it has shade, sand, and best of all, tons of abandoned toys!  baby stephen can entertain himself here for hours.

 baby stephen loves blake garden in kennsington!  this park is owned by UC Berkeley and does not have a playground, but it is a great place to feed some koi fish or lay out in the grass and enjoy the views of the bay.

 here is another picture of baby stephen at totland, pushing an abandoned toy.

baby stephen's favorite activity at parks is swinging in the swing.  the swing makes him relaxed, sleepy, and sometimes silly.  since he isnt walking, i will hold his hands while he walks around the park. if he spots a swing he will walk over to it and stand there getting really excited.  if i don't put him in or if i try to take him away from the swing he gets sad.  i dont blame him, i would love to have someone push me in a swing. 

fourth of july

the fourth of july is one of my favorite holidays.  i love the fireworks, food, and spending time with family and friends.  we were really sad that we couldn't make it to stephen's stewart family reunion at their ranch in wyoming, but we definitely had a good time here in berkeley.  

We started the day off by going to the fourth of july parade in alameda.  Well, just me, the stephens did not join us because daddy stephen didn't think baby stephen would enjoy it.  So I tagged along with the Gray's.  I love doing small-towny things like going to parades.  some of my favorites from the parade include a giant shopping cart with people in it, mexican cowboys on horses, and sikh dancers/sword fighters??.  I love that it showcased all the diversity in the bay area.  

After the parade we went over to the Reeder's house for a bbq.  we had delicious food and then baby stephen dipped into the kiddie pool and then had a great time in the sandbox. 

We headed over to the Call's roof after the bbq and watched fireworks go off all across the bay area.  we could see them in oakland, san francisco, sausalito, richmond, and berkeley.  

Although we didnt get to spend the fourth with family, we are really lucky to have such great friends here in the bay area!

 with roxanne and baby eliza post-parade.

 baby stephen loving the sandbox at the reeder's

 waiting for the fireoworks that mo lit to go off. turns out they were just large party poppers.  apparently you cant buy anything with a fuse in berkeley.

 patriotic family.

baby stephen loved the reeder's dog bowie!

briones regional park

While working in Lafayette, many of my clients told me I needed to visit Briones regional park.  Ever since we had baby stephen I have not had the desire to go too far from home.  I always worry I will forget to bring something, that baby stephen will be sad the whole time, or i just don't feel like lugging around a bunch of baby stuff, not to mention a giant baby who is over twice my height already.

But over memorial day weekend, we had an itch that only a hike could scratch.  we read online about briones wheel chair accessible trails and decided that our uppababy vista stroller could handle the job.  although baby stephen only made it a mile in the stroller, we had an enjoyable time.

 happy camper. loved these yellow plants.  my friend calls these mustard plants but i'm not sure what they really are.

 beautiful rolling hills!  we even saw some cattle.

 the grass looks highly-flamable

 we had to carry him in the ergo carrier on the way back to our car.  i loved the purple thistle.

we saw these huge vultures on the way back

mission district

one of our favorite area's in san francisco is the mission district.  it is known as the hipster district in san francisco.  i definitely do not consider myself a hipster, but i can't resist the amazing restaurants and shops in the area, and of course, mission dolores park.

we first discovered the mission district in 2009 on our honeymoon.  as per usual, we planned our trip to san francisco around art museums, shopping, restaurants, and architecture. stephen read about a restaurant called delfina pizzaria in GQ magazine and had to try it.  ever since then it has become one of our favorite places to dine in the city.  we also love tartine and bi rite.  

while food is very important to us, parks have become a new priority when exploring a new area.  mission dolores park does not disappoint!  it has an awesome play ground that even adults can enjoy, amazing views of the city, and plenty of crazy san franciscians that make for good people watching.

 the mission is known for street art and murals.  i love this building.

baby stevo at the playgroud at mission dolores park

the park can be crowded on the weekends.  we love laying out a blanket and enjoying the view of the city.

oakland museum of california

Stephen and I have lived in the bay area over two years and we are still checking places off of our list to visit.  Recently, we went to the Oakland Museum of California.  We went in the middle of the day on a week day and it felt like we had the whole place to ourselves.

 The museum entrance. The museum was renovated in 2010.  I didnt get a great shot of the exterior.  I loved how the museum incorporated indoor, outdoor, and gallery space.  It is definitely worth googling. The architect who re-designed the museum, Mark Cavagnero, is said to have preserved the feel and concept of the original architect, Kevin Roche.  It really is a beautiful building.

 Loved this Viola Frey statue.  You can find another one of her statues, ethnic man, at the UMFA

 Going to a museum with a baby can be challenging.  He lasted about 15 minutes then we decided to lay out a blanket and let him crawl around outside while we took turns looking at the exhibits.

 These toys were on display as part of the weCustomize exhibit.  The museum allowed visitors to create these toys by re-constructing pieces from other toys.

 Loved this map that showed the diversity of the museum visitors.

 Hung Liu's exhibit was by far my favorite at the museum.  They didn't allow photography in the gallery, unfortunately, but you can find much of her work online.  Liu is a chinese-american artist whose works are personal, political, and very emotional.  My favorite part of the exhibit is a series of paintings she did after her mother's death.  She painted 51 small paintings within 49 days of her mother's passing.  I cannot even try to describe the emotion i felt when i looked at the series.

Museum rules were pretty humorous

Hand-Cranked drum set in the weCreate exhibit.  

Overall, we had a great time at the museum.  The museum had a great mix of history, fine art, and interaction.  It made me appreciate all the talent and amazing things we have in the state!