Day 91

For the girls this was more of a "together" day.  The girls helped Grandma make waffles then we took them to the farmers market in the morning which always includes some bouncy house time.  In the afternoon, we visited their Great-uncle Bob in San Francisco. Grandma and I sqeezed in a late night trip to the mall for the girls to go on their first ever shopping spree with Grandma.  Note to self - squeezing in a shopping trip too cloe to bed time, does not a good shopping trip make.  Hannah was fixated on a "fancy" dress that was fit for a Las Vegas show girl.  When informed that she would not be getting this dress under any circumstances, chaos and tantrums ensued. 

I never get enough time up in the hills when I'm in CA.  I was optimistic that I'd get back out in the hills the next day before we left, but I also knew it probably wouldn't happen . . . and it didn't, so I was so happy that I took my run on this day up into the hills.  I went up a path very familiar to me.  My dad has even painted a portrait of me as a young girl on this path with my dog, Frisky.  I went all the way up to the top of the ridge and ran as much of it as I could, which was pretty much only when the path was fairly level.  I was hoping I could get to the top, but it was close to dark and I wasn't sure how fast I could make it up there.  It was exhilarating to be up there by myself.  I was definitely aware of my surroundings with it being close to sundown and especially since I had seen a coyote run down out of the hills a few days previous. It was windier than usual and that only added to my heightened senses because it was hard to hear anything else like other animals.

Day 90 - is it possible to spend 4 hours at McDonald's?

The answer is a resounding YES!  McDonalds playlands have been a frequent spot for us this year.  I'm still not sure how the math works out between calories consumed and calories burned for the girls, but on this day, I'm pretty sure the calories burned won out.  We met up with some friends who have recently moved to Fresno.  Turns out the halfway point between the Bay Area and Fresno is Modesto and a playland seemed to be a safe bet for a place to meet up where the kids could run around and the moms could talk.  We never dreamed the kids would stay occupied for 4 hours!  About 2 hours in, they were all ready to stop, but then we got them a snack and they headed back out to play.  It was only after we were getting up to leave that we noticed the sign posted on the wall that said something about a 60 min limit, no loitering - oops!  My friend Dawn is as passionate about getting outside with her kids and exercising as I am and we will be running a half marathon together in June, so it was great to catch up with her.

Today was also easter egg painting day which the girls had been anxiously awaiting since they arrived in CA. The dominant egg colors were browns and flesh tones - that's what you get when preschoolers are coloring your eggs. They were so proud of their eggs that they refused to let anybody eat them and insisted we bring each and every one back to Seattle.

Day 89 - Hiking in the rain

What began as a leisurely evening stroll became an adventure hike in the rain.  The whole gang, Grandma and Papa (G&P), Brandon, New Jen, the girls and I started up into the hills near G&P's house.  Storms had been rolling through all day (very unusual for this time of year and this part of CA, but typical of how it had been this winter).  There was a sprinkle or two when we started, which was not unexpected, the pouring rain about 10 minutes later was not expected!  It was too late to turn back, so my Dad sugested that we make our way to the large tree by the rope swing hoping it would provide some shelter until the shower passed.  It was quickly becoming a "Terrell hike" and if you've hiked with my Dad before, then you know what kind of hike I'm talking about.  Just getting to the tree was quite an adventure with streams to cross and steep ups and downs along the way, but it was definitely memorable.  The rope swing was such as hit that a certain oldest child of mine threw a temper tantrum when we had to leave.  It was completely dark by the time we got down out of the hills and back home.  Aunt Jen is was busy keeping a grouchy Haley occupied on the way home- bunny hop anyone?

Day 88 - Biodynamic wine, slow food, charcuterie plate, truffle oil, and prickly pears

Lots of memorable outings this week and lots of pictures to share, so much I want to say, but in order to get the blog updates (I'm several weeks behind) I'm going to be brief, Jen-brief that is, and that's not too terribly brief!

Day 88

The girls enjoyed the swings at Benzinger Winery while their aunt and uncle were wine tasting and learning about biodynamic wines.  Later they got some playtime at the playground in the middle of the Sonoma town square with Grandma and Papa while the rest of us did some window shopping and prickly pear harvesting. The girls could not be convinced to try the prickly pear.  We had a foodie’s dream lunch at the El Dorado Kitchen that can't go unmentioned.  We stumbled upon it in a convoluted way, too crazy to explain here and it was even connected to the winery we had just visited, though we didn't know that until after we had our meal.  The restaurant is a participant in the slow food movement (slowfood.com- good, clean, fair) and Bran had been hoping to find a slow food restaurant for lunch. It was probably one of the best lunches out I have ever had.  Bran, Jen and I shared charcuterie plate, roasted cauliflower and cheddar pizza, and roasted beet salad.  To top it all off, the manager sent out an order of truffle fries on the house.  As much of a foodie as I am, I have never tasted truffle oil and did not know what a charcuterie plate was.  A bonus for me today was a 3 mile run by myself through my old neighborhood.

Day 87 - Surprise, surprise the hills are alive with Jen and Brandon

Driving, driving, driving, almost too much together time! Are we there yet? With the help of my brother and sister-in-law, we surprised Grandma and Papa by traveling all the way down to CA.  They had no idea we were coming.  We arrived at Lococos, our all time favorite pizza place while they were just finishing dinner.   The look on their faces was priceless.  After dinner, Bran, Jen, and I sent the girls back to the house with Grandma and Papa and we got ice cream at Three Twins Organic Ice Cream shop http://threetwinsicecream.com/ .  Creme Fraiche ice cream - yum! We wasted no time getting up into the hills, we started up into the hills while we were still eating our ice cream.  The plan was for us to walk home over the hills. I couldn't wait to get up into the hills I love. There has been so much rain in CA this winter that everything was nice and green. New Jen (my sister-in-law) kept commenting how much it felt like we were in the Sound of Music movie. We climbed to the top of the hill and were rewarded with some amazing views.  We changed plans opting to walk back down the same way we came up. Grandma and Papa and the girls, expecting us to come down the other side, drove around and hiked to meet us. They of course never found us in the hills. Here is my Facebook post from today:

Successfully surprising the grandparents with a visit from their granddaughters, dinner at Lococos, creme fraiche ice cream and a walk in the hills of Marin - can't think of a better way to spend a sunday evening.

Day 85 and 86 - From the Jungle to California

Day 85

Birthday party at Jungle Playland in Mount Vernon.  What a fun place and a great church ministry!  You literally walk out of the sanctuary of the church it is housed in and you are in a cross between Chuck E Cheese and McDonald's Playland and much cleaner than either.  The equipment was big enough for adults to play on too and the slide was almost too fast for me.  What a great setting for our active and together time. 

Day 86
Birthday party week continues.  Today was a birthday party complete with an indoor bouncy house. We left from the party to start our drive to CA to surprise Grandma and Papa. We stopped at our usual McDonald's Playland in Oregon for dinner, so the girls got in some more play time.  This was a trip just for the girls, so the next week will be lots of together time for us.  Daddy will be painting all the doors in the house while we are gone, so I'm guessing that will be his exercise for the week.

Still recovering from Spring Break

New posts coming soon . . .if I can actually remember what we did over the past 15 days!