San Francisco Zoo

This exhibit was so beautiful. Several animals were mixed together in one area - zebras, giraffes, goats, ostriches, other birds. I've never seen another exhibit like it, and I've been to many zoos in the last few years!






Kevin sleeps on an outing - what a surprise!!







On our way home from Todd and Liz's place, we spontaneously decided to visit the San Francisco Zoo! As we ate lunch in front of the flamingos, we ran into some friends from school! It was a great coincidence and a really fun afternoon.

Golden Gate Park with Uncle Todd and Liz!

The Carter boys are such fun! We spent the day and night in the city with Todd and Liz. Ellie loved the garden outside their apartment and could have spent all day and night picking flowers! Liz made delicious chilli for lunch!

Chef Kevin Strikes Again!

Ellie really loves Kevin. Again, I think these pictures are so sweet as you can see Ellie in the background looking so filled with love for her little brother!

Challenge for Charity Weekend

Kevin makes Daddy proud! He found this football on his own, and enjoyed playing with it and drooling on it!



Big sister can't let Kevin steal the show. She inserts herself into the photo op!






I love this series of pictures because Ellie is laughing at Kevin. He had been holding up mandarins and looking at them for a few minutes, and Ellie thought it was so funny. She looks so joyful. In the last picture, Kevin looks like he is giving an emotional speech about the mandarins, using full hand motions!

Ben Chan has been trying to become friends with Ellie since we got to Stanford. Ellie's a tough one sometimes - especially when it comes to "mans", but Kevin was very happy to meet Ben!
Kevin pulls up on everything!




Chris participated in Stanford's Charity for Challenge weekend. MBA students from many west coast schools participate in community service and attain elligibility for a variety of sporting tournaments held at Stanford. Chris participated in the 5k run, co-ed football, and men's football. He ran fast and won the title with the co-ed team. Then men's team didn't fare so well.

Trip to Fairyland - Again!

Pictures like this just make me want to cry when I think about leaving in just 5.5 weeks. Two great friends who will probably not remember all the fun they had for two years. It just doesn't seem right! Newel, keep working on finding that job (in Texas)!!



"Just one more time down the slide and then we can leave, Mommy." With Ellie, it's always "Please, just one more (cookie, turn, minute to play, glass of juice, story, etc)"









We went back to Fairyland in mid-April to see our friends who were visiting from Texas! I think Audrey was a little overwhelmed at first. I had told Ellie that she should introduce Arden and Audrey to each other once we got there. It was cute to see her say, "Audrey, this is my friend Arden. Arden, this is my friend Audrey." over and over again for a few minutes. I don't think Audrey and Arden were too worried about meeting each other, but Ellie was really working on it! Anyway, Fairlyand was fun as usual!

Licking the "Spoon"

I remember the joy of "licking the spoon" as a kid. Some things never change!

And by the way, these are very, very yummy Chocolate Chip cookies. Chris thought they were the kind you buy as dough at the store... 4.5 stars with 3,855 reviews can't be wrong!

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Award-Winning-Soft-Chocolate-Chip-Cookies/Detail.aspx

Hidden Villa

We went hiking at Hidden Villa farm with some friends last week. The trails are really beautiful. We picnicked by a creek, and the kids mostly played in the water rather than eating their lunches! We also learned a little about poison oak, but thankfully the kids never found any since a nice old man named Bob keeps the trails clear of the itchy weed!

At the end of the hike, we stopped by the chicken coup and saw a dead chicken outside. He must have escaped. Very sad. Next, we stopped by the pig pens and saw the new piglets. Very cute! Thus is the circle of life, I guess!

Soccer Camp

Ellie started a soccer clinic last week, and she really loves it. All weekend, she would randomly say, "I am so good at soccer. I just kick the ball and it goes. I am so good."

When she came home from her second session, she came running through the door saying, "I scored lots and lots of goals!! I just kicked the ball, and it went in! It was kinda hard to do that, but I could do it. I am really good at soccer!

Half Moon Bay

We went to Half Moon Bay again last week with some friends. The weather was perfect, and the beach was beautiful as always! Kevin took a nice nap on the beach, while the older kids made "soup" with sand, water, and other random things they found!

On the way home, we stopped at a local strawberry stand and bought some of the yummiest strawberries I've ever had! Strawberry season here is amazing. The strawberries taste like sugar and are so, so yummy!