Zach and Sofi day

And this is what we did without the kids: enjoyed a leisurely paddle in Tomales Bay; stayed at a lovely cottage in Point Reyes Station; enjoyed a hike on the beach near Point Reyes; took a long drive through the countryside after buying fresh oysters on the bay (not pictured).

Red, Blue, & Clara

On one of our (many) trips to the park over the holidays I couldn't stop taking pictures of Clara's beautiful blue tights & the stunning red tree. I also enjoyed her return to pigtails.

New Year's Day Hike in the Redwoods

Here are a bunch of pictures from our hike in the redwoods on New Year's Day. Here's wishing you all the best in 2010!

A Day Out With Uncle Nouri

It was back to work for me today, but Zach and the girls got to enjoy a fun-packed day with Uncle Nouri. First, Nouri joined Clara in her gymnastics class... Then it was off to San Francisco on the ferry for them all. They had lunch at Fisherman's Wharf, visited Musee Mechanique, returned on the ferry, and drove back home. Phew! We'll really miss Uncle Nouri when he leaves tomorrow...

Photos: Nouri & Clara on the TumbleTrak; Nouri, Molly, & Clara looking at the bridge from the ferry; Molly eating lunch; Clara eating lunch; Clara & Zach self portrait on the ferry; Nouri & Molly modeling their Franklin original hats; Molly, Clara, & Nouri enjoying a story in the car.

Little Farmers

On Saturday we enjoyed doing chores on The Little Farm. They had a lovely setup for young kids around Molly's age to help feed the animals and get the farm set for the day. Clara was even able to join in a bit, too! It was also cool that the kids got to go inside some of the animal pens, which are usually off-limits for visitors. And they got to feed them something other than the celery, which is the only thing visitors are allowed to feed the animals on The Little Farm.

The girls really enjoyed it, too. I underestimated Clara's interest and ability to be involved and initially we didn't have her be part of the group. But she was totally focused the entire time and followed every instruction as best she could. Molly did her typical quiet concentration - never cracking a smile or showing any easily recognizable sign that she was interested (except for the fact that she did exactly what farmer Hazel said and was the first to quietly volunteer to do everything). When we were done Molly was thrilled to learn that they do this every month!

Photos:
1. Molly & Clara contemplating the celery; 2. Clara & Molly listening carefully to goat-feeding instructions; 3. Clara (in blue) watching the birds enjoy their fresh water (see 8 & 9, below); 4. Clara keeping an eye on the geese; 5. Clara & Molly contemplating the freshly bedded calf stall; 6. Molly (in purple) and other little farmers getting ready to feed the goats (no pictures of the actual goat feeding - for the goats the kids went into the pen and put the hay into the mangers. It was a little hairy since the goats were hungry and the mangers were in ankle deep muck. Good thing the girls have good boots); 7. Zach assisting Molly with the sheep feeding (the only instruction here was to try not to get the hay on the sheep's heads); 8. Molly hosing poop off the duck deck with some direction from Zach; 9. Molly filling the bird's water trough, with a little direction from farmer Hazel and encouragement from the team of little farmers; 10. Clara posing with her new exciting discovery: the door stop! (sometimes it takes a 2 year old to notice the details).