Family day at Blackhawk!

Yesterday we took a trip to the Blackhawk museum and saw a European model train exhibit. Ella loved watching the trains go in and out of the little cities. Next weekend we are riding a real train so this was a way to get her excited for our next holiday excursion.
Daddy also liked looking at all the classic cars the museum had on display.

Afterwards we ate lunch and then fed the ducks and swans. It was a nice winter day at a beautiful place. More pictures to come next week!

Ellas Halloween.

This year was Ellas first time trick or treating. I have put it off for as long as I could. I really don't care for the holiday and never did as a child. I think the only reason why I would dress up when I was young was so I wouldn't feel left out. And I don't want Ella feeling left out either so I have been talking it up for the past couple of weeks trying to get her ready for the event. We talked about her costume, pumpkins, and what to do when you approach someones house. And I will admit it was cute seeing Ella dressed up and having fun but Im not thrilled about all the extra candy laying around the house. Her bag was so heavy she needed help to carry it on the way home. And we didn't even get through 1/2 of the neighborhood! Here are some pics of Ellas all dressed up. As you can tell she didn't like us trying to paint her face.

My muffin eating a cream puff

I like giving Ella a little sweat treat after dinner as long as she ate her veggies and most of her protein. Normally I don't have too many sweets or deserts in the house other then animal crackers and shortbread cookies but I saw these cream puffs in the store today and I couldn't resist. Here is Ellas reaction to her first cream puff.

Pumpkin patch

Despite Ben and I feeling under the weather we decided to take Ella to a pumpkin patch today. We had a fun time. Ella loved riding in the wagon. They also had kiddie rides which was hard to convince Ella to go on. But once she rode the train she didn't want to get off. We tried to get her to ride the ponies but she had a melt down right as she saw it walk up. I guess she won't ever be a cowgirl. We also got to pet some chickens, rabbits, goats pigs and some bunnies. Ella had so much fun that I think we will go again before Halloween is over.

Girls having fun.

Amelie and Ella

These girls were so cute together at our play date today. They were laughing and playing together nicely. Well , for the most part they were nice to each other. ;-)

Sarasota Trip.

Zach and Ella watching one of the daddies making a joke. Grandma Mac and the Birthday girl!

Ella was excited to get a second birthday cake.

Some one wasn't happy with dinner that night.

Daddy was having more fun then Ella playing in the sand obviously.
She only wanted to sit in out laps because she didn't like touching the Sand

Having fun with daddy in the water.

Pt Reyes.

Sunday we took a drive to Pt Reyes which is North of San Fran. We drove around the park and even had a picnic on the beach. This pic was taken at the lighthouse. I wish we would have considered to go to the light house first. By the time we got to there the fog was rolling in so thick we couldn't see the water beneath us.

Ella's Safari Birthday!

Ella was getting a little daring and wanted to jump into the pool.

She jumped a couple of times.... or maybe flopped is the right word.

Ella couldn't wait to get her hands on the birthday cake!

Things are finally slowing down a bit here in CA. We had a busy couple of months due to planning two birthday parties and traveling to and from FL. Once my wisdom teeth come out I think I will finally relax! So I'm going to try and catch up here on the blog and post some pics from the past month.

Here are the pictures of Ella's birthday party in CA. We rented the clubhouse for the day which is attached to the community pool. The day was beautiful and warm. Warm enough to melt some of the decorations on Ella's cake. Other then the cake snafu everything went well and people seemed to enjoy themselves. Ella got a lot of great gifts and had fun playing with all her friends. We had animal masks, punch balloons, safari helmets and goodie bags for all the kids.

I'm kind of sad that I couldn't find the picture of the table with all the food on it and decorations. So if you see a random post in a few weeks of colorful looking table you will know it was from Ella's birthday party.

Brew tour.

Last weekend Ben and I decided to get out of town for a quick getaway. So we visited Chico, CA. The home of my favorite brewery. This little trip was more for me I guess since I'm a junky for artisan food and well crafted beer. We ate at their restaurant and tasted all the beers that they offer through out the year and some that they only serve at the Tap house. I had the best pizza ever created, topped with filet mignon, blue cheese, thinly sliced potatoes, and fried red onions. Ben had a hamburger that he said "tasted like just a hamburger" and Ella had some cheese pizza. There were no complaints from her throughout the meal so it must have been good. After eating and drinking we took the self guided tour and made a quick stop by the gift shop. We had a relaxing day. I'm sort of glad we don't live closer. I would have to get a job at the brewery. More pics to come of day 2 of our trip.

Mmm...beer!

Hope these show up