Happy Birthday, America!

Showing off her 'big girl' pigtails.
Brooke's 4th of July outfit for the Stone's BBQ

Watching the parade

More parade watching

The Blevins Family on the 4th (like our coordinating outfits?)

Kaitlynn & Brooke hitch a ride to Main St

Kyle pulling Brooke to the parade

The monkeys at the pancake breakfast

More monkeys

Fourth of July in Park City is one of our favorite days. This year, our day kicked off with a pancake breakfast in City Park. We met up with friends Kaitlynn (and her parents) and Kyle (and his parents) for some yummy food and then a long walk (well, long if you are walking with toddlers) up to Main Street for the parade. The weather has been cooler this year which was great for parade watching. Directly after the parade, we headed home for naps and then over to the Stone's house for their annual BBQ (sadly, we never made it to the other BBQ). It was a blast and fun to see old friends. Brooke insisted on wearing her tutu which was a big hit amongst the mostly boy parents. They said that if they ever had a girl, they would dress her just like Brooke (of course, they had no idea that Brooke dressed herself).

Update

Newest roller derby member

Brooke in her dinosaur crown (made in summer camp) along with her swim suit and 'swimming bloomers'--she insisted on wearing her crown (a 'Brookeadron') to the pool but we convinced her to take it off before the water could destroy it.

Outside the doors on first day of camp--still not a happy camper

Unhappy about first day of summer camp
Singing along with Rockband--she really rocks out in her face paint and princess dress

The Blevins family has really been enjoying the beautiful Park City summer.

Brooke: started summer camp (theme: Digging For Dinosaurs) on the 23rd. She had a terrible time for the first two days. Screaming, crying, begging for me to put her back in the car and take her home. Apparently she calmed down within minutes after I left but it was heartbreaking to hear her sob like that. The second day was worse than the first. The minute we pulled up "No, no, no! No dinosaur camp! No friends! No camp! Stay in the car, mommy! No camp!" However, by the third day, she was asking to go (John told her that they were going to be painting tee-shirts), begging to paint. When we arrived, she grabbed by hand and led me in. Once in the door, she made a bee-line for the classroom and never looked back.

Besides school, we are getting some pool time in, lots of play time and a great start with the concert season. Brooke is getting taller (it seems) and more coordinated in her play. She is awesome.

John: John has been riding his bike, looking for jobs and day-trading. During his spare time (hah!), he has been trying to make the back 'yard' fun for Brooke. For those of you not in the know, we are renting our home here. We were only supposed to be in it for 4-6 months until we got to know the city and bought a place or else moved back to CA. Well, circumstances what they are, we are still here. Not ideal but still a nice house. The yard is another story. The backyard is mostly common area that is not being maintained (long story about the Home Owners Association vs the Developer). Big, weedy, rocky mess. It encroached upon our little area. So we bought some toys for the patio (sand box, swing, pool, etc) and John planted a small patch of sod so that it would give Brooke at least a little grass to play on . What a sweet daddy!

Leslie: I am really enjoying having a little time to work on Park City Jane's List while Brooke is in school. Sooooo not used to having any spare time, so this has been wonderful. Also starting up with pilates again (baby gut, be gone!) and helping John make the yard a cleaner place to hang out. When not busy with everything else, I working on a fundraiser for Jane's List. The only thing I need now is more sleep!

The Fourth of July is right around the corner! We will be kicking off the day with a pancake breakfast, watching the parade and then hitting the BBQ's of two friends before settling in for the night. Did I mention fireworks? They sell real fireworks in the grocery stores here--awesome, huh?

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner

We went to a couple's babyshower on Saturday night (for Tina and Heather, two of the moms in our playgroup who are due at roughly the same time). Brooke shared her sitter with both Kaitlynn and Kyle at our house. After the shower, Kyle had to go back home but Kaitlynn's parents stayed for a fun evening of Rockband, BBQ mahi-mahi and margaritas. The girls acted like little groupies (dancing, kissing their dads and hugging their legs) and had a great time playing dress ups. Fun night although Brooke's parents are not feeling so great today.

Park Silly Sunday Market

This is what Brooke put on when she woke up--cute look!
Happy butterfly!

First, happy Father's Day to Grampa, Poppa and all of the other daddies out there! John has had a nice, relaxing day (albeit rainy). While John was out riding his bike, Brooke and mommy went to explore the Silly Sunday Market in downtown PC. Brooke was thrilled to experience cotton candy for the first time and face painting for the second time! What a great day!

Brooke & The Crown

Grammie & Grampa sent Brooke a jewelled headband (aka 'crown', if you're Brooke). Brooke insisted on wearing it right away and made me take pictures so that she could look at herself in them. Enjoy!

Rock Stars In The House

Tinkerbell the drummer (Brooke thinks she looks like Tinkerbell with her hair in a 'ponytail', such that it is)
Hanging out by her drum set

John and Brooke practicing their moves first thing in the morning.

Little drummer girl, the day we brought the game home

We recently got RockStar2--pretty fun game! The excuse is that it is an early Father's Day gift, but it is really fun and games for the whole family. John is hoping to become good enough to beat--or just keep up with--Everett, our friend, Amy's 7 year old son.

A Sleep Over With Sarah & Cora

Daddy reading a bedtime story to Cora and Brooke
The fashion show begins....

Sarah as the model-bride

More model-moves

Showing off in Cora's twirly-skirt

All 3 munchkins during the fashion-show finale

Cora showing off the latest couture

Sarah in the latest from Milan, by way of San Carlos.....

Pretty girl in a pretty dress

And the latest in princess-wear, as modeled by Brooke

The Jolls Family was kind enough to invite us down to their house in San Carlos for a BBQ. Brooke loves, loves, loves their girls Sarah and Cora. And we love, love, love their entire family, so it was go. Sarah and Cora are wonderful with Brooke (Brooke cannot stop talking about them--seriously, she is obsessed with the Jolls girls). They put on an awesome fashion show for the adults and then had a sleep over with Brooke when it was time to go to bed. Surprisingly, Brooke went right to bed and slept well all night long. We weren't sure how she'd do but she had a blast. The adults stayed up drinking margs and playing Guitar Hero. It was a fun night! Thanks, Jolls family--we can't wait to see you again!

P.S. Brooke loves those princess dresses. She rotates through them each day. We've even had to take her to the farmer's market in one of them. And she calls all of the clothese 'Cora's clothes'--and only wants to wear Cora's things. So funny! Thanks again!

More 'Francisco Friends'

Everett, the rockin'est Guitar Hero we have ever met. Brooke really loved him and thought that he was pretty cool Brooke and Harper, Ev's pretty sister. Brooke thought that Harper was a princess. Thanks for sharing your toys with Brooke, Miss Harper! It was good to see the Glass kids (and their wonderful mom) again--we miss you!!

Brooke playing ball with Anna, my friend and former co-worker from Amex

Brookie and Anna. Side note: when Brooke had to go to the hospital with a fever when Brooke was not quite 6 months old (and my last day with Amex), Anna kept me company at the hospital (John was stuck in Utah with a collapsed lung). We still really appreciate that--it was so scarey for me!

Mommy and Brooke at the Marina

More Mommy & Brooke

We didn't get a chance to get photos with all of our friends during this trip but wish we had!

Brooke & Kaleb: A Love Story?

Chaperoning the date
Enjoying snacks together

It's a 'mope' (not sure what a mope is but Brooke was very adamant that this was Kaleb's mope)

Kaleb trying to impress Brooke with his basketball finesse

Brooke showing off her pretty princess dress to Tatum (thanks Jolls! Brooke LOVES those dresses and has worn them every day since you gave them to her)

Well, maybe not a love story. At least not yet. But Brooke and Kaleb had a grand old time playing together every chance they got. They are only a few months apart and Kaleb is one of the few boys we know who is taller than Brooke, so they are very cute together.

Exploring The Exploratorium

Brooke and I spent an afternoon at The Exploratorium with my friend, Judy and her daughter, Eva. I haven't seen Judy in about 18 years! She was one of my closest friends in high school and we lost touch through the years. Finally back in touch through Facebook and found out she was living in the bay area!! Anyway, Judy has a darling little girl who is about a year younger than Brooke. Our girls were a little young for the Exploratorium but they did enjoy parts of it (bubbles, ball on the cone)--strange to think that I used to go there as a kid and now my daughter is going. After some time looking at the exhibits, we walked around Palace of Fine Arts while the girls looked at the ducks and fountain then headed over to Chestnut St and Kara's Cupcakes (yum!). I really enjoyed seeing Judy again and can't wait until next time! Wish I had gotten a picture of all of us together--unfortunately, my camera ran out of battery life right after taking these.

San Francisco: Discovery Museum

On our first day in the city, Brooke and I headed across the bridge to the Discovery Museum in Sausalito, one of Brooke's favorite spots since she was about 6 months old. We met my good friend, Nicole there with her two kids, Victor (who is 2.5 months younger than Brooke) and Juliana (who is a big girl of 5 now!). I have known Nicole since junior high, so it is great to still be in touch with her--really miss living within driving distance. It was chilly but we had a great time and Juliana was sooooo good with both kids.

I Left My Heart In San Francisco

Making her own brand of fun during the long car ride

Mommy & Brooke on the morning of the race
Family shot (hard to do when you are taking your own photo)

Daddy & Brooke looking out at the bridge at lunch. Yes, I am ashamed to admit that we are at Fisherman's Wharf--we wanted to show her the sea lions and immediately regretted venturing down there. Also coincided with a food-melt down so had to grab food. We decided to eat at the place John used to be a host years and years ago.


Smelling the flowers at Ghiridelli Square (another unintended stop)

Posing!

Brooke got a free balloon every day at Jest Jewels.

Hiking in the Presidio

More hiking (one of the few times Brooke was actually walking--mostly she asked us to carry her)

Mani/pedi time!

We decided to drive back to San Francisco for a visit home--see friends, show Brooke 'her' city, watch/participate in John's annual tri (which, due to an injury, John was unable to compete in at the last minute) and hopefully give John the chance to meet with potential employers. The drive was long but not too, too painful as Brooke became well-aquainted with Benedryl on both of the long days (one coming, one going). The only kind of crappy thing is that our cd player broke half way through Nevada on our way out west.

We stayed in the Pleis's beautiful in-law unit in Cow Hollow (we lived in their house before they remodeled so it was like coming home). Brooke had a blast with Kaleb (who is Brooke's age) and Tatum, who just turned one. She was also obsessed with Indy (our favorite dog), although Indy wasn't so sure about her.

With wonderful things to look at: dirty birds (pigeons), seagulls, buses, stores, bridges, water, flowers, hills, tunnels, etc, Brooke really was in her element and couldn't stop talking about how much she liked these things. Like her daddy, she couldn't get enough of the Golden Gate Bridge. San Francisco runs deep in her blood even though we left when she was only 10 months old--my mom thinks that some part of her must remember these things and I can't help but believe.

In addition to Kaleb and Tatum, Brooke also had multiple playdates each day: Victor/Juliana, Ben/Cash, Tyler/Chase, Eva, Lila/Iris, Everett/Harper, Cora/Sara and all of John's friends at The Bike Nut. She was in 7th heaven and STILL talks about her friends in 'Francisco". I love Park City in the summer but this visit back to San Francisco made me very homesick. I am ready to go back despite all of the problems facing California. We shall see--right now we will happily go (or stoically go) wherever the job is.

I should mention that Brooke had her FIRST mani/pedi while we were there! She picked out her own color (bright pink, of course), sat very still and really loved the process (just like mommy!).
Thank you for the wonderful visit, friends--we miss all of you! I am going to post some pictures in other posts when I get a chance.

Park City Childrens Fair

I don't know why, but Blogger puts the pictures in the wrong order and I can't figure out how to swap em (if you know, please share). Anyway, Brooke had a great time at the Park City Childrens Fair. She LOVED the horse riding and face painting (her new favorite thing, by the way).

Name Calling

I guess she comes by her princess behavior naturally since she is related to William the Conqueror and Charlemagne, to name a few of her royal ancestors (confirmed through a recent ancestory report...always knew about being related to George Washington but royalty is WAY cooler!). She actually looks a little midevil in this outfit.
I don't know what to say about this. It was after her bath and she came zooming through the room with the necklace and bike helmet.

Making cards in mommy's nightie. If you have anything pink and silky that you want to keep nice, I suggest you hide it around this one.

We have always laughed because Brooke is very practical when naming her toys. We have: 1 bunny, 2 bunny, other bunny, green bunny, pink doll, yellow doll, etc. You get the picture. The other day, Brooke started calling her old baby bike 'Bucky'. WTW?!? Is she turning a corner with the name thing? Maybe so--she just started calling her mouse (pink mouse), Missy Mouse.

From The Mouths Of Babes

Our little Yoda enjoying lunch outside on a nice day

The other day, we were watching the Today Show while Brooke was eating breakfast. Brooke looked up when a clip of Susan Boyle singing came on. She smiled and said 'who's that?' I answered and Brooke then said "she's pretty! She's so pretty!" What a little wise-woman we have--looked right past appearances and straight into the beauty of her voice and soul.