Birthday parties and vacations

I can't believe it's been a month since I last posted -- I'm not quite sure where the time has gone. Here's a update on what we've been up to since Alex's birthday.

April was birthday party month for us -- well for the kids anyway. Aside from Alex and Isla's joint birthday party on the 10th, Austin went to a friend's bowling party on the 17th and then we all went to a friend's son's 1st birthday party that afternoon/evening. (Needless to say, Austin was exhausted by the time we got home). The following weekend, we had yet another kids' birthday party to go to -- our neighbour's daughter turned 2 and it was an afternoon, backyard bbq affair.

So, with parties every weekend, there was little time for anything else this past month. Luckily, we're now all on vacation, thanks to Ryan taking the first two weeks of May off work.

The vacation started out with the kids going to their grandma and granddad's house on Thurs. April 29 for the night as I flew to San Fransisco to visit Ali, Billy and Theodore for four days.

I arrived late Thursday night and on Friday, while Billy was at work, Ali, Theodore and I just 'hung out'. We went for a walk, we had lunch at a cute little Mexican restaurant and we did some shopping (at Target of course!).

On Saturday, we all drove into San Fran (they live about 45 minutes outside of the city) and spent the next 8 hours doing the tourist thing. We drove over the Golden Gate Bridge, drove down the Crookest Street in the World, had lunch just off Fisherman's Wharf, saw the sea lions on Pier 39, had tea at the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park and touched the Pacific Ocean before heading home. A busy day, but a really fun one. And we were all amazed at how well Theodore did -- considering he was not quite 8 months old, he handled the tourist thing like a pro.

On Sunday, we opted for a slightly slower pace. We hit the market in the morning and then a favourite brunch spot in Palo Alto. After brunch (which was really lunch by the time we ate it), we wandered around Stanford University before heading back home. On Monday, Billy was back at work so Ali and I took Theodore to his first mom and baby swimming lesson. Then, after lunch, we went to a kids zoo in San Jose to wander around for a while.
I flew home on Tuesday, getting home around 10 p.m. It was a really great visit, and for me, a much-needed break from the kids. But after 4 days, I really missed my family.

While I was gone, Ryan picked the kids up from grandma and granddad's and drove to London for 3 days for a visit with nana and gramps and grandpa. I've been told it was a lot of fun -- and included a trip with grandpa to the barn, where both kids got to ride a horse, jump in a haystack and pet kittens. From the pictures, it looks like they both loved riding the horse around the barn.

On the Monday, Ryan, the kids, auntie Jamie and grandpa also took a trip the beach (Port Stanley, I believe) where it was warm enough to play in the sand and the water -- although I've been told the water was rather cold! Apparently, you don't need to go to California in early May for beach weather, you can find it right here. Now we're all home and Ryan is on vacation until May 17. For the most part, we're just getting some projects done around the house and hanging out with the kids. On Thursday, Ryan and I are dropping the kids back off at grandma and granddad's so we can escape for a few days. We're heading over to Niagara Falls where we'll spend two days. We're planning to tour wine country, maybe visit the casino and head over the U.S. to do some shopping.

That's about all the news from us for now.