At the table

Julie and Nate are enjoying playing with each other more lately. In a typical morning, Julie is hitting the books and Nate is the conductor (thanks to Grandma Martin's "beautiful" model train). 

Spring time...

...finally, and a break in the rains give Julie and Nate chance to check out the flowers. 

Collection of Nate quotes

Nate: "I just need a job."

Nate: "I just need a beer."

Me: "Nate, please don't slam the closet door."
Nate: (in dejected voice while walking away) "Oh, man...."

Nate: "Let's talk about tuna fish."
Me: "People like to eat tuna fish, but my and your mommy's favorite is salmon."
Nate: "I don't eat salmon. I like to eat chocolate salmon."

More Google photos

This time about the food: SF Chronicle
Here's the article.

Managing the Crew

Uncle Dan and Uncle Dave putting in new sod at Grandmom Martin's house last Friday. Nate was anxious to get his lawnmower out on the grass...mom had to tell him to wait until the lawn was all there.

Redwood City Fire Station

Two weeks ago Gina took Nate and Julie for a firehouse station tour. Here he is practicing being a "firefighter guy". He was particularly excited about seeing the fire poles, which mom kept him a good 6ft away from. He also liked that there were 4 refrigerators and that each freezer had at least 3 cartons of ice cream. Julie liked sitting in moms arms up four flights of stairs. (p.s. mom wrote this, can you tell?)

Double rainbow above our house, Sunday

 

Busy block builders

Time Magazine

Their photos from Google: Life in the Googleplex

Delighted to see the beach

 

Dressed for success

 

Sunset on the Sonoma coast

 

Jellyfish at Monterey Bay Aquarium

Family portrait

At Horseshoe Lake. 

Julie's new walk

We remember Nate doing this too, around 15 months: walking like an old man with the hands clasped behind the back. 

First family hike

On Sunday we hiked around Horseshoe Lake off of Skyline Boulevard, our first family hike. Both Julie and Nate walked the entire 1.5 miles or so, stopping for numerous breaks of course. On the way home we swung by our new ice cream palor for a scoop of chocolate ice cream to celebrate. 

"Big steam engine......Toot! Toot!"

Boundless joy for one small boy (and his daddy). After we left the aquarium we were driving out of Monterey and spotted a park that we thought we'd drive by - but there was no driving by a big black Union Pacific steam engine right at the park entrance. Nate was in heaven. Dennis the Menace Park was amazing. Julie had fun in the sand, Nate on the train and the play structures, and all stomping along a great wobbly suspension bridge.

Entering the Aquarium

Gina looks for the bathroom, Nate looks at the divers in the kelp display, and Julie just looks worried. 

Sea Otter

Three otters played in the water, while this one had other ideas. 

Monterey Bay Aquarium

We braved the crowds heading to the PGA Tournament at Pebble Beach and did the Monterey Bay Aquarium on Saturday. The biggest hits (besides burning off some energy outside) were the divers feeding the fish, the sharks, jellyfish, and touching exhibits. Later we saw two train coaches on Cannery Row which had been converted to shops, which caused Nate to worry about the missing steam engine and tender. By coincidence and on a whim we stopped at a playground on our way out of town, only to find a huge steam train engine in the center of the park. "We FOUND it!" Nate cried out.