Fall is here!!

What a wonderful weekend! It is finally starting to feel like fall in Northern California! Today we decided to take Ella to the Moore's Pumpkin Patch.  This is the same patch that we took her to last year and have officially made it an annual tradition.  She had a wonderful time looking at all the pumpkins, the wagons and of course all the other children running around. The petting zoo was not open today so I have a feeling we will be visiting again in a few weeks to let her visit with the animals. 

Next weekend is pumpkin carving time!  So excited about all the Halloween Parties and trick-or-treating this year!  Stay tuned for pictures of Ella (and Lexi) in their ladybug outfits!! Can't wait!

Here are a few more pictures of Ella in some of her Halloween attire! (Thank you Aunt Lorraine)!

Sedona/Scottsdale Vacation & Mimi and Aunt Marian visit

Brandon and I had a wonderful get a way week in late August to Sedona and Scottsdale!  While we were away Mimi and Aunt Marian came and watched Ella.  Ella had another exciting week and kept them busy with wagon rides, books and shopping!  She even took them to Napa to do some wine tasting (since Ella is an expert at this point in her life)!  We think she has actually been to Napa about 8 times and she is only 15 months! Here are a few pictures from their visit!



It was empty!

Marian overcame her fear of heights in the sky tram!

 

Brandon and I had a wonderful week in Sedona and Scottsdale - although we were in Scottsdale during record breaking temps - 118 degrees! We managed to stay cool by relaxing at the pool under the beautiful trees and lounging around the water which was actually refreshing! Brandon even managed to get a round of golf in, but he had to play really early in order to finish before it got to 118 degrees.
Sedona was our favorite spot.  We stayed at the beautiful Enchantment Resort and Spa.  While we were there we did the Pink Jeep Tours and had a blast! It was absolutely beautiful and the tour was very entertaining and informative!

View from the spa pool!



Portland, Seattle & Nana C visit

Again, I am SO behind with blog posts so I thought I would get caught up this week.....be prepared for a few blog updates over the next few days!

A couple of weeks ago, Brandon had a golf tournament in Portland, so we decided that I would join him and visit one of his friends from UK that lives in Seattle while we were up that way. That also meant I we would be leaving Ella for the first time EVER!  Her Nana C came up for the week and kept her while we were away for the weekend.  They had a wonderful time and Ella loved having her Nana C here with her to read books, walk in the wagon and just hang out.  She got A LOT of one on one time with her Nana C and was spoiled rotten (in a good way)!

When Brandon and I arrived in Portland, we went straight to a food festival - Taste of Oregon and had some of the most interesting and yummy foods!  It was an impromptu stop on the way to Seattle but was so worth it.  Here are a few pictures from some of the food we tried:

After the food festival we drove up to Gig Harbor, WA which is about 30 minutes southwest of Seattle to stay with Brandon's fraternity brother, Rich, and his family.  We had a fantastic dinner and it was great catching up.  On Sunday we drove to Bremerton to catch the Ferry over to Seattle which was so exciting! I loved that you actually got to take your car on the ferry!

Getting on the ferry

In Seattle we went to Pikes Place Market and we were amazed at how beautiful all the food and flowers were. It is a must see if you are ever in Seattle. 

The Original Starbucks!

Even in Seattle we spotted an Auburn flag!! War Eagle!

How perfect is this...we had to go in and get her a little treat!

This is the plane that I flew home in...too funny!

Weekend of Fun - Santa Cruz, Capitola, Petting Zoo and Pony Rides...oh my!

This weekend was a weekend of fun!  Friday night we went to a fantastic Italian dinner at Piatti and then took Ella for yogurt at the Yogurt Shack in downtown Danville.  She had a great time walking around and playing with all the kids that were getting yogurt with their families.

 

We decided Saturday morning to head to Santa Cruz for the day.  Though it took us a while to get it all together, we finally left the house and got to the beach in time for lunch at Aldo's - featured on Diners, Drive-In's and Dives.....definitely a dive, but a great deck on the water!  Lexi loved all the birds that were flying over and on the tables and we were so thankful to leave lunch without turning over any tables. She did bark a few times but people were very forgiving when we explained her OBSESSION with birds! 
After lunch we walked down to the beach and let the girls sit in the sand and watch the waves.  It was a great way to relax after our hectic morning. We decided to drive over to Capitola late afternoon.  Capitola is a very small beach town with cute shops right on the water.  It was extremely crowded so we just drove through and watched all the people.

Sunday was "Family Funday"!  We took Ella up to Blackhawk Plaza where she had her first pony ride and enjoyed the "petting zoo" - basically a 10 ft x 10 ft caged area with pigs, goats, chickens and bunnies.  She was not afraid of anything but really loved the bunnies the most! Afterwards we had yogurt and let her play for awhile in the toy store. 





When we got home she and Lexi played in the sprinkler and ate snacks outside while daddy did yard work!  All in all it was a great weekend!