Part of my family drove up from Southern California to celebrate my birthday (officially, it was last week) and stayed with us for the weekend. On Saturday we had a dinner party and cake (which I made myself), on Sunday we went to a museum and had dinner at the park, and Monday morning we went to the woods. A lot happened during those three days, but here it is in brief. Dinner and Cake and Ice Cream: I didn't get pictures of my party, but it was just a small get-together at our house. We had hamburgers with fresh tomato and avocado and fruit salad on the side. I spent most of the morning making my cake using this recipe. I changed it up a little bit by using hot cocoa made with milk instead of coffee, which just made it even yummier. Bay Area Discovery Museum: The Discovery Museum in Sausalito is (or at least can be) a great place for kids (and adults) of all ages. Everything is hands-on and imagination oriented. There are lots of outdoor activities, such as hula-hoops, percussion instruments, climbing structures, raised streams, and foam building blocks. If there had not been so many kids playing with the foam blocks, I daresay I would have joined in on the fun. I did hula hoop, though, and was quite impressed with myself because I remembered some of what I learned in bellydancing class about bending my knees to get the side-to-side hip motion. After that, we went to the art building. One of the tables had magnetic blocks, and this is where Goen went first. At another table they had paper, maps, scissors, glue, and markers. The theme of the day was "Where would you go?" I quickly gravitated to this table and Goen and my brother Dalton soon followed. I decided to make myself a birthday present, although when I started cutting I had no idea what it would be. I cut spirals from squares of maps and glued them to a folded piece of orange construction paper. Here I am with my finished art piece. I guess it turned out to be a mobile of sorts. The paper hangs down in cascading arms that intertwine with one another. Despite all the fun things there were to do, I think Goen's favorite part was chasing the birds. They were moderately used to people, so they stayed on the ground and hopped away until he got really close, and then they would fly a short distance and the game would continue. Dinner in the Park: After nap time and a run to JoAnn's to pick out a birthday present from my parents, we went to the park for dinner and to let all the kids run. It was a perfectly warm day. I (sort of) had a chance to sit and talk to my family while Goen played. My mom got a chance to hold her grandson, but only for a moment since he was intent on running (maybe next time mom). It got chilly as the sun went behind the mountains, so sweaters went on for everyone. This is a cute sweater I picked up from a secondhand shop in Fairfax. I just love the fish and the green is my favorite shade for Goen. Goen, Dalton, and MariJane played together for a while. I like that my family is able to visit often enough that Goen can build a relationship with them. Every time they visit, I can tell that he is more comfortable with them and less shy. We went home when the wind started to blow chilly gusts. Leftover cake and ice cream was on the dessert menu. Muir Woods: Yes, another trip to Muir Woods (my third since we bought our annual pass about a month ago). But part of the beauty of nature is that it looks different every time. Perhaps it is a result of looking at it with new eyes. Either way, it was a treat to see it with my family, who always appreciate the outdoors. Instead of going on the boardwalk as we usually do, we went on the paved trail (through the entrance and to the left over bridge one). It loops around back to the entrance and had more opportunities to get really close top the trees. There are several close enough to touch and smell and one that has a burned out section large enough to stand in. The overcast sky and shade of the trees combined to make picture-taking difficult (one of the drawbacks of a 50mm lens). Luckily, this picture of my family came out okay. The section of tree they are standing in front of was about 1000 years old when it came down. One last picture of me and the kids and then we left. We drove home, said our farewells, and my family set off for their own home in Southern California. You'll be back before my next birthday, right guys? Maybe Christmas... A daughter can dream.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Carley Biblin
Hi. My name is Carley. I love to sew, craft, and create. As a Jane-of all-crafts so to speak, I enjoy sewing, writing, cooking, drawing, photographing. But the constant thread (if you'll excuse the pun) throughout my weeks is needle arts. Archives
January 2017
Categories
All
|