Walnut Festival

The Walnut Festival is a tradition that I grew up with as a child. To me the Walnut Festival marked the end of summer and the beginning of a new school year, as I child I would go with my family as a teenager I would go with friends and now as a mother I take my child. Here we are years later and the Walnut Festival still marks the end of the summer and the beginning to a new school year, but I experience it in a new light. I watch through my child's eyes as he marvels at the carnival lights and watch the joy of him tasting the sweetness of the cotton candy or candy apple.

Girls Weekend

Calostoga, Ca. here we come!
What a relaxing weekend with my girls. We packed our bag with just the essentials, pj's, a nice dress and lots of wine! We all enjoyed a mud bath, massage and a facial, basically two hours of bliss. One of the many thing that I love about these girls, is that not only do they know how to relax and have a good time but they also know good food. The photos of the flowers are from the restaurant where we had brunch. The restaurant grew a majority of there own food or bought from local farms. It was a fabulous weekend.

S'mores Brownies

• PREP TIME 25 Min
• TOTAL TIME 1 Hr 35 Min
• SERVINGS 16

1 box (1 lb 2.4 oz) Betty Crocker® Original Supreme Premium brownie mix

Water, vegetable oil and egg called for on brownie mix box

2 cups miniature marshmallows

4 graham crackers, broken into small pieces

2 Hershey's® milk chocolate candy bars, broken into 1-inch squares 

• 1 Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Make brownies as directed. After removing pan from oven, set oven to broil.
• 2 Immediately sprinkle marshmallows and graham crackers over warm brownies. Broil about 4 to 5 inches from heat 30 to 60 seconds or until marshmallows are golden brown. (Watch carefully marshmallows and graham crackers will brown quickly.) Sprinkle with chocolate candy. To serve warm, cool about 30 minutes. For brownies, cut into 4 rows by 4 rows.  

Choo Choo Over for Aj's 2nd Birthday

Happy Birthday Big Boy!
All your friends came over for your train themed birthday party. Everyone enjoyed all the train activities such as coloring, train tattoos and playing with the Train table. You are such a lucky little boy,  you have a many wonderful friends who love spending time with you 

Happy 2nd Birthday

September 7, 2012

Dear Aj,

Today on the day of you birth I am remind how fast you are growing up right in front of my eyes. The days seem like they are flying by and you are getting bigger and learning new things even faster. As I sit here and write your letter, I'm struck by how cliche my thoughts sound. I want tell you that you are the light of our life, that you laughter is like a ray of sun shine on a cloudy day, that without  you I don't feel whole. All are lyrics to songs that I never understood until I had you. The love that your Father and I feel for you is so deep and true, I hope that as you grow you always feel that.

 I want to describe who 2 year old Aj is, 2 yr old Aj is very observant in new situation, cautious at first but a dare devil in his own right. Very polite, but prefers to say hello and goodbye in french which is always a crowd pleaser. You still love to cuddle with your Mommy and Daddy and your favorite shows are Little Einsteins and Mickey Mouse Playhouse. I call you my little gourmet, because you love salmon, artichokes and Gruyere but turn your nose up at chicken nuggets and string cheese. When you see a bus your refer to it as a butt, which is quite funny when all I hear from the back seat is "here comes a butt!" or "look at that butt." You love to read and play music in fact you are quite the bad ass when it comes to the drums (you can not us the word ass until you are in college, but yes you are a bad ass). You love to play with your trains and in fact we never leave the house without a handful of them. You call you milk cup a bottle even though it is in a sippy cup and your pacifier is called apassy. Doug the dog is your side kick and you have to have him to sleep. In fact when we come home after school the first thing you ask for is Doug and he does not leave your hand until the next morning when Daddy tells you to put Doug to bed for the day.

You are just the best little boy, I miss you every moment that I am away from you and soak in every moment that I am with you.

I all I can wish for, is that whatever you life holds that you always feel loved. Life is better when you go through it together as a family with people that you can trust and depend on. No matter what, we will always be here for you, to love you, to support you and to believe in you.

Love Mommy and Daddy 

Aj's Big Birthday Day

I don't know who was more excited about Aj's birthday, him or Aaron and I. The minute that Aj woke up we could barley hold back our excitement of showing him all his big gifts, a whole Thomas the Train set of tracks, trains and accessories. Unfortunately the surprise of it all was a little bit much for that early in the morning. Even though we did not get the reaction that we thought, we knew that he loved his gift.

That night all the Grandparents, Uncle Tristan and Victoria came to help us celebrate Aj turning 2! We ate all of Aj's favorite foods, pasta and meat sauce, green beans and Aj's favorite mixed berries. Aj loved having all of his favorite people around and the new toys that he got.

Aj's First Hair Cut

There is a time in every childs' life when they need to get there first hair cut. As a mother I kept his beautiful blond, curly locks as long as I could. To me Aj's first cut was a sign that he is growing up faster than I am ready for. Like everything else in life, you have to recognize, take in and move forward.