THE FIELDS FOUR: 2010

Friday, July 9, 2010

Fourth of July '10

We celebrated this July 4th with a day trip to the Bay Area. We started in Berkeley and visited the Lawrence Hall of Science before deciding to drive into San Francisco. Once we were across the Bay Bridge we had a change of heart and opted to make our way further South to one of our favorite places, Half Moon Bay. We figured we could take a walk with the boys on the coastal bluffs and have dinner at any one of the wonderful local restaurants overlooking the ocean. It was a good plan in theory ... but ... the traffic was horrible! Luckily I'm married to Rand McNally, errr ... I mean Chris, and we found a clear route. Although longer and twistier - it was still faster than sitting in traffic. As soon as we made it to the coast I called our favorite locals, family friends that live a stone's throw from the ocean with gorgeous views from their living room. They were home and invited us over. Even though I didn't want to drop in so unexpectedly I'm really glad we did. We had a great time visiting and loved that they had museum putty/glue under all their breakables on the toddler-level shelves! Gotta love them California earthquakes - NOT. Anyway, we got a great dinner recommendation from them for a family-friendly, ocean-view restaurant and they even called to make a reservation for us! Good thing too since they were booked solid - except for friends of our Half Moon Bay locals :) Big THANKS to Richard and Toni ♥ We walked into the restaurant and were seated immediately. WOW, we felt very V.I.P. (lol) Dinner was delicious while we gazed out upon the Pacific and listened to the live reggae band playing on the outdoor patio (we were seated inside). The boys were in delightful moods, gobbled up every bit of their grilled cheese sandwich and even earned a compliment from the couple sitting behind us on how well behaved and happy they were! I was a proud momma ♥ Once we finished dinner we headed home with not a moment of traffic and peacefully sleeping babies. We even saw a few fireworks from the car as we drove into town. It was a fun day with my beautiful boys' celebrating our country's Independence Day. Hopefully next year they will be able to enjoy from fireworks with us ...

BERKELEY - LAWRENCE HALL OF SCIENCE

Lunch in the cafeteria w/ great view!

Build your own rollercoaster - Daddy & his little helpers :)

Outside exhibits

Great view of Berkeley

Happy 4th of July!!

Nick (L), Jack (R)

Plinko!! hehehe

Flow Tunnel exhibit

Thank goodness there were TWO.

Wow, they could really fit right inside the belly, couldn't they!?

DINNER AT SAM'S CHOWDER HOUSE

♥ Ocean view ♥

Nick (L) playing peek-a-boo & Jack (R) showing us the lights

Gorgeous drive home on Hwy 1

Monday, July 5, 2010

Train Town - Sonoma, CA

All four of us kidnapped Grandma Diane for the day on June 27th and headed to Train Town in Sonoma - which used to be one of my favorite day trips when I was a kid! I was so excited to take the boys there for the first time and it did not disappoint. It was a bit different than I remembered and many new additions have been made over the years. The train cars must have shrunk though because I remember there being a lot more room in the passenger seats when I was six years old :) The boys weren't too sure about the train ride in the beginning and their apprehensions were confirmed once we went through the first tunnel. Eeek. Hopefully it will be more fun for them next year!

Playdate at the Nut Tree - Vacaville, CA

We met up with Tiffany & her little cutie pie Landon and her mom Donnalee in June for a playdate at the new Nut Tree in Vacaville. It was beautiful outside and the boys had a blast running around the courtyard and riding the train: