Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween
from Lil' Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf!




Hike Around Angel Island
We spent Saturday hiking up and around Angel Island; something we've been wanting to do since we moved here.  Angel Island is a small island in the Bay with Tiburon to the north, the East Bay to the east of course, and the city to the south.  Here's a bit of history about the island from the Angel Island Conservancy. "From 1910 to 1940, the island processed hundreds of thousands of immigrants, the majority from China. During World War II Japanese, and German POWs were held on the island, which was also used as a jumping-off point for American soldiers returning from the Pacific. In the ’50s and ’60s, the island was home to a Nike missile site."

We took the morning ferry to the island, hiked for a few hours, and then enjoyed lunch at the Cove Cafe.  And the day ended with us watching the Aggies beat Auburn!  Whoop!


View of the island from the ferry.

View of the city from the ferry.




The Cove

Starting the hike up the island!





We made it to the top!  The views were unbelievable the entire way up and down the hill.
 

Golden Gate Bridge

Gig' em

View of the city of Tiburon which is next to Sausalito


Thursday, October 25, 2012

The season of pumpkins!!!

Wine Tasting in the Dry Creek/Russian River Valley
We took advantage of a sunny, warm day in the Bay Area to visit wine country.  Napa and Sonoma are the most well-known of the wine regions in California, but there are so many others including the Russian River/Dry Creek Valley which we had yet to visit. Our first stop of the day was to Mauritson Wines. Mike said their cabs were so-so, but at least we had a nice view.  





Grapes were almost ready for harvest.

Lake Sonoma


Our second and last winery stop of the day was to Seghesio Family Vineyard near the adorable town of Healdsburg. This winery was recommended to us by one of my co-workers.  Mike enjoyed it so much that he purchased a half case of their wines.


We stopped for lunch in Healdsburg at Willi's Seafood and satisfied our sweet tooth with a trip to the local candy/ince cream shop.  Clearly, I was in heaven....sugar and an unfathomable amount of Halloween decor in one room...love it!
  
As if eating ice cream isn't bad enough; they top it off with a chocolate straw!

Fleet Week
Mike and the rest of San Francisco are obsessed with Fleet Week when the U.S. Navy comes to town for a week of naval festivities that concludes with a two-hour air show on the afternoons of Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This year included a special bonus because preliminaries for the America's Cup (sailing) were held the same week. 



Gig' em'!  Mike and I proudly wore our maroon.  After the air show, we headed to a bar in the Marina that the SF A&M Alumni Group has claimed on game days.  And we won! 
 
Blue Angels!

All about the the punkin' munchkin!
You've probably already guessed who the majority of the pictures feature from here on down. BRILEY! I last saw Briley in July when she was almost 7 months old and she was just starting to sit up on her own.  She couldn't even crawl!  Well, now she's a mobile lil' thing at 10 months!  Briley can crawl faster than I can, and she can pull herself up to a standing position as long as she's holding on to something. She has many more teeth and knows to smile when a camera is in her face. Briley just keeps getting cuter and cuter!


It's hilarious to see her stand on those super short legs and tiny feet!
 


She giggles while she swings.
 
Love this lil' girl!

Briley's first trip to a pumpkin farm!



Briley loves her mom!

I know...this picture is so sad, but I can't help but crack a smile at her lil' fit.  She did NOT want to sit on those pumpkins and she made sure to let everyone know!
 

Yum, straw...


Going on a hayride...yeehaw
 
Feeding the donkeys...Briley thought this was hysterical.

This duo has the cutest faces!


Papa and Nana...heading out to celebrate my mom's birthday.
 
The girls

The kids....don't you just love how Briley knows to smile at the camera...cracks me up!

Briley really enjoyed the live music at the restaurant we ate it.  She sat in my brother's lap facing the band just staring at them.

Nom, nom.....pumpkin
 
Aunt Erin can't wait to see you again soon!

Don't forget who will always sneak you some sugary, delicious sweetness when you're old enough to have sweet treats! :)