Lunar New Year Flower Market

I've always wanted to check out the SF botanical garden, so this Flower Market event was the perfect excuse to go. Although we did so much in the pavilion that the kids got exhausted and we didn't get to walk around garden much, we had lots of fun watching acrobats, lion dance, chinese instruments, dancing, making crafts, and trying out chinese painting.

Although this 花市 is not very traditonally "Chinese", it's very nice and airy and much less crowded than the one in Chinatown - highly recommended - we'll probably go again next year :)

Muir Woods

We visited a while back at the end of summer but never got around to posting pictures. This was one of the few National Parks that our 3 yr old could hike on his own.

Before our visit, we downloaded the Quest for Katrina to read (I had her highlight words she didn't know and surprisingly, only a few words were highlighted.) It was a fun guide that helped us see and learn much more than if we were just idly strolling around as we do on most hikes.

2009 LEGO Show

We didn't know what to expect but had a lot of fun at the show watching trains go around a very impressive 875 sq foot city/farmland/grand prix race scene/caynon/oceanscape built entirely out of LEGOs. The kids had fun building from the bricks in the play area too. 目不遐給 is how I would describe it.

The Dinosaur Fair

We found out about the Sonoma County Fair and its dinosaur theme quite late and decided at the last minute to take the kids there. The largest themed flower show in the U.S. was indeed quite impressive and it was a fun day. Our normally decent diet took a back seat and we all partook in greasy curly fries and chicken strips (although the fries were fresh-cut...) The adults tried something for the first time - funnel cake - also very greasy, but so good !

I showed Katrina the album below and she decided to blog about some of her favorite experiences. Now that she's graduated from one-liner blogs, check out what else she has to say about our day at the fair :)


View album

Jazz, Art, Clay, Glass, Taiko

It's quite a lot to cram all into one day, but they were all in the vicinity and all free, so we went for it all :)

First, we arrived Stanford for a Jazz concert for kids. We got to see and hear the soprano, baritone, and bass saxophones which are much less common than their tenor and alto counterparts (although EVERYTHING is new to the kids). I chose this activity to show them different instruments and hoped they could tell me if they've a preference in woodwinds or strings but it seems it'll take more exposure before they'll know. All the musicians gave short intros to their instruments along with cool tricks and fun sounds. The incredibly talented violinist demo'd Pizzicato and col legno - big words that the kids may not remember, but many impressively sat through most of the concert attentively.

Our next stop is the Cantor Arts Center - although admission is always free and we could've gone on another day, we needed to eat anyway and we're already on campus so why not. After noshing on delicious organic/free-range/grass-fed soup, salad and sandwich in the café overlooking a perfectly manicured lawn and the Rodin Sculpture garden, we headed into the museum. While most automatically assume kids won't like art museums, I wanted to give them a chance to prove their sophisticated tastes. Afterall, they love gourmet 'adult' food in restaurants and often get compliments from other diners about their etiquette. But of course they're still kids and there's some running around and noise but they did enjoy it quite a bit.

Next we headed to the Clay and Glass Festival a few minutes away. Although we missed the Ikebana demo, we got to see pottery wheel throwing and tried making ceramic pieces. There were hundreds of artists but Nathan was getting too heavy to carry around so we only made a quick round before heading back to the car.

The last stop is San Jose J-town to check out the Obon festival. Before the Taiko performance, we briefly checked out a Japanese garden and was later very pleasantly surprised to have spotted a back alley that led to an art studio featuring live glass blowing. It was perfect as we were just commenting on the absence of a glass demo at the previous event in Palo Alto.

All in all, it was a great day of music, art, and culture. Enjoy the album:

View album

Wind, Produce, and Livestock Farms

Although we didn't actually "enter" a wind farm - this was the closest we've been to these familiar wind turbines as some were just yards from the road. The kids were of course fascinated and loved having windmills adorn the long road to our true destination - a fruit-picking expedition.

Although most cherries were all picked by this time of the year (some farms are already closed unti 2010), a couple of farms off the beaten path were still open with treefuls of these yummy fruits. Pease Ranch also has shaded picnic tables and low branches for kids. Folks were SO NICE too, a worker saw petite me carrying a heavyset 3 yr old and offered to take us all (4 adults, 5 kids + a stroller) back to the entrance on his cart. It really helped as Nathan was exhausted and carrying him all the way back would have been a bit much.

After getting some stonefruits from a neighboring farm, we headed to an Alpaca farm to meet the most ADORABLE animals. The owners were also very nice and brought out treats for us to feed these endearing llama-look-alikes. Their coats were amazingly soft. The owners knew each of their 52 huggable cuties by name ! Katrina kept asking about one of them who had a very pretty name: Moonbeam.

On our way back, we stopped by some more farm stands to grab some strawberries and super sweet corn. Nothing like fresh-picked produce for dinner !

Sand Castles and Sand Sculptures

It was Crown Memorial's 43rd annual contest but the first for us. It was fun to people watch and admire everyone's "sandiwork" (did I just make up a new word ?) The kids had lots of fun of course - check out the art work.

Anniversary Dinner

We rarely get to go out, so a special occasion is a great excuse go all out to a two Michelin star restaurant in the city. Aqua was a logical choice 'cause we both love seafood. Two glasses of complimentary champagne and well wishes were brought soon after we were seated. It was fun to try some exotic fish - Hawaiian Walu (a bit too tender and buttery) and John Dory (delicious and not to be confused with Nemo's friend, the regal tang). Food was wonderful, presentation beautiful, and service impeccable - a very nice night out indeed.

Bird and Butterfly Festival

Amongst all the Earth Day (month) activities, we decided on this event. Afterall, our neighborhood is named after a famous butterfly. We thought it'd be good for Nathan who's not yet in preschool to get some exposure to life sciences. Even though it's called Bird and Butterfly festival, it really was mostly about butterflies. The kids got to do a ton of crafts and also held butterflies (The docent applied a sugar solution to each kids hands and laid butterflies on their palms). Nathan still remembers the experience after a couple of weeks which makes it all worthwhile. Many Kudos to daddy whose allergies got a lot worse this year. He was a great sport and endured the pollen gracefully despite all the discomfort and sneezing.

Bird & Butterfly Festival

Cal Day

Cal Day was a lot of fun. Everything was free: cable car rides, admission to all museums, and all sort of activities. Although we didn't get to see the exhibits that were only open to the public once a year, the T-rex centerpiece alone was worth the trek to the Valley Life Sciences Building. It was nice to take the cable car around the campus and the shuttle to the Lawrence Hall of Science considering we just had earth day (the kids love taking public transportation anyway). Check out how much fun it was:

CalDay