San Fran & Baseball Game

Another one of our mini excursions recently was to San Francisco. We did a few of the touristy things (as usual since we're still newbies in the city) but also managed to see a baseball game as well.

AT&T Park was beautiful. I must admit, even better than Safeco Field in Seattle. The ball park is nicely tucked into the bay, with water views along the back side. There's a perfect view of one of the marinas.





And, on the opposite side, is a cove like bay where kayakers, boaters, and people on rafts sit in hopes of catching a home run ball. I was amazed to see how many people were floating out there for the entire game. The stadium is on the right hand side of the picture. You can just see the sidewalk/edge of the stadium.



The baseball game.



One of the new stops we made in San Fran this time was China Town. It definitely worth the stop,too! I found a few $5 pashminas and a few other finds as well.





As for the touristy things, yes, we drove over the Golden Gate bridge and saw the city from afar.





As usual, San Francisco was a treat and we'll be back again soon!

Muir Woods National Forest

Another one of the beauties in life - Redwoods and Sequoias. Although we haven't made the actual trek up to the Redwood National Forest yet (the Chef family wants to drive through a tree) we did make a pit stop to Muir National Forest. A redwood is a redwood is a redwood and man are they HUGE!

The trees overpower the land, the shrubs and the little ferns growing underneath.

Vacation Part #3 - Monterey (the last one in this series)

I had to come to a close with our mini vacation series because we have already returned from another mini vacation. haha. Go figure, right? I'm still working on finishing posting photos when we have already gone on another trip. Time to finish this one up.

After finishing up with the 17-mile drive, we headed to Monterey. Probably one of my favorite parts of our trip. Actually, this entire trip was one of my favorites, but this town just had such a "beachy" feel. Plus, we had a corner hotel room and had a little view of the ocean, so I can't complain too much.

We visited the Monterey Aquarium, which was fabulous (and also cost $30/ticket --- seriously??), enjoyed the beach, walked around town, shopped, had great meals, visited Dennis the Menace playgroup, watched MSU basketball games, and had a blast!

Now, time for pictures.

Santa Cruz - Vacation Part #1

I'm going to document our little vacation one post at a time. Otherwise, I'll have the longest post known to man kind. Okay, maybe not that long, but it would have been my longest post to date.

The first stop on our vacation was Santa Cruz. The actual location was not our favorite. In fact, I do not think we'll ever vacation to this destination again. It wasn't that the beach wasn't pretty, the area just was not our cup of tea.

The water in the bay at Santa Cruz was actually the warmest water on our vacation. Many people were swimming in the ocean and laying in the sun.

Ms. A LOVED the water and enjoyed splashing her feet around in the small amounts of water in the sand. After our long car ride, running around at the beach was exactly what she needed.









One cool thing to highlight about the area - the surfers! The Chef family hasn't been exposed to much surfing throughout the years. However, in this picture you can see lots of black little dots. Can you see them?

They actually aren't just dots, they are surfers! They are waiting for the waves to arrive. It was absolutely crazy. We saw a few cool waves come by and later that evening the winds picked up a little bit. I've never seen so many people waiting for the waves to surf. It was seriously an amazing sight to see.



I know it's hard to see, but if you look near the point, you'll see little black specks. Yup, surfer dudes (and possibly dudettes).

The Santa Cruz area is also know for their boardwalk and the amusement park area along the beach, which can be seen below.

These are A Few of my Favorite Things

The joy and the excitement of a child at Christmas. There is simply nothing of its kind. To see a childs' eyes light up and sparkle as they see their gifts under the tree from Santa. Something you truly don't understand until you have a child of your own. What a special time.

Last year for Christmas Ms. A was only about 9 months and simply did not understand the concepts of gift opening and the excitement. What a difference a year can make!

If this picture doesn't sum up the joys of Christmas (not the true meaning) then I am not sure what does.



And so the celebration began. Family, fun, friends and great times. For the littlest Chef, it was one celebration after another with gifts on almost every single day. She started to look at the tree and always think something under there was for her to open and enjoy. It wasn't rare to find her ripping open a gift under the tree when someone wasn't looking!



Drinking milk and gift opening at the same time requires skill.



Still a bookworm. Although she looks like a little old lady in this picture.



The ever growing family (minus Heather - we missed you).



After our vacation in Michigan, we packed up our bags and headed for Indiana, our next stop where Ms. A enjoyed seeing her grandparents and great grandparents and taking a walk in "candy cane lane" where her great grandparents live. She loved the decorations, lights and festivities.





And another Christmas celebration ...





Taking time to make a gingerbread house - a whole family affair.



Christmas morning arrived and Ms. A was smiling from ear to ear.



Art projects are another favorite for Ms. A.



The "Chef" Families' other family. This photo definitely took some bribery and several M&M's to get the little munchkin to smile. It's suprising we even had a photo that turned out so well.



After a long return flight back to California (via Phoenix) we settled into our cozy home ... and yet another Christmas for Ms. A. I must admit, that after so many celebrations, she was overwhelmed with excitement and didn't really know what to do. The Iron Chef and I ended up opening the last few remaining gifts for her. She opened one gift - thanks John and Zoe - and then had Kyle and I open the remaining ones.



Until she came to this one. The box for this item was too large for wrapping paper so we took a huge red blanket and wrapped it around her new playhouse. Thanks Mimi, Papa, Nana and Papa for this one. She has already had tons of fun with this gift and will have many more memories to come.





Goodbye Christmas and all of our fun holiday celebrations. Until next year! This will definitely be the last of my posts (super belated) about holiday celebrations.

Best Dressed Chef

It is only fittingly appropriate if the "Chef" Family blog has photos from cooking, right? And of course, they are of the littlest chef, the best dressed Chef.

Dressed in matching aprons and donning sugary smiles, here is Ms. A decorating cookies with Mimi. This is the start to "Camp Kathy" with aprons displaying the Camp Grandma logo.





Decorating with Papa.



Almost done.



Pure perfection. And a job incredibly well done. Or at least through the eyes of a toddler.



And if that apron wasn't enough. Here is Ms. A once again - sporting the Santa suit :) with her Nana.



Apparently cooking in the kitchen was getting a little crazy. Ms. A and her Nana showing some kitchen pride and showing off their work.



One little girl with way too many clothes, or um, aprons for that matter. At least she's the best dressed Chef in our family.