Lovely Saturday

Ed was working, so Evan and I got to have a mommy and me day. I'm not sure why, but Evan was in a wonderful mood today. So silly and sweet and exactly how you dream an almost 2 year old might act. The only negative was that he wouldn't nap, but since he was so happy, I didn't push the issue.

I had the lofty idea to take Evan to the lake in the hiking pack. I hoped he'd nap and I could enjoy sitting by the lake and reading.

However, I'd totally forgotten how heavy the hiking pack was. Sheesh. It was a fantastic workout, but the weight, plus the warm afternoon, meant I felt like I could barely keep going. 

But, it was beautiful, if hot, so I pushed on. 

Thankfully, after only 20 or so minutes of hiking, Evan finally passed out. 

So, as soon as we reached a bench under an oak tree, I pulled Evan off and took a break. 

I had a beautiful view and spent a lovely 15 minutes reading my book. 

It came to an abrupt end when I looked up to see this little guy literally about to crawl onto Evan's face!

Such a pretty caterpillar, but not something I want on my child's face. So, I decided we should move on. Evan ended up waking up, for the shortest nap in toddler history :). 

This wasn't an entirely bad thing, since we were debuting Evan's brand new big twin bed tonight. Evan was beyond excited about his rockets. This ended up being a bit of a problem as he was so wound up - he kept wanting to visit his rockets and couldn't stay laying down. 

Evan also loved the moon sheets. Hopefully the bed gets less exciting after a few nights, but it sure was cute to se how happy he was. And, hopefully sleeping on a bed that's actually soft, plus big enough that he can roll around without falling onto the floor, will help him sleep better. 

One can hope at least! No matter how tonight goes, though, I'm so thankful for my little boy.

Spring on Mount Tam

Ed asked me during the week if he could take us away for a surprise trip. I wasn't too shocked that he brought us to Mount Tam. 

Evan has gotten so into hiking lately - he was excited to get up on Dad's back and get going. 

Evan especially loved all the water crossings that are still trickling for a little while longer. 

When he saw this, he kept saying, "Woah! Woah!"

The first part of the hike was all under the forest canopy. And then, we stepped out into this. 

Rolling green hills. Bright blue sky. And flowers. 

Thousands and thousands of flowers. 

We've been here so many times, but I've never seen wildflowers like this. 

We decided to try a new off-shoot that took us to a bluff overlooking the ocean. We could even see a glimpse of the golden gate. "Bridge! Bridge!"

There were so many happy people sharing the trails. 

One little girl saw the cloud bank and exclaimed, "Mommy! We're in heaven!"

We took a break to take in the view and give Evan a snack. 

Then it was time for him to explore. He loved the "purple flowers"

And he loved hiking. All by himself. We couldn't get over how grown up he's getting. We also realized that he may need trail shoes sooner rather than later - his play shoes don't have nearly enough traction :). I love how you can see the hill where Ed proposed on the left, and the point where we got married on the right. Such a special spot. 

Once we got back to the main trail, it was back up for a little bit more. This is my favorite open trail on Mt Tam. Hills to the east and ocean to the west. What more could you ask for?

We headed around one more bend before turning around and heading back to the car. 

Once we arrived, we sat down for a well deserved lunch. Our little hiker did such an amazing job!

Our Kitchen

Next up, the kitchen! Before, it was intense - very low ceilings (with a grapevine trellis wallpaper thing), all tones of brown, and a macrame window cover. 

I actually sort of liked it, in a very retro way, but with super outdated appliances, it had to go. 

We kept the cabinets themselves, the fridge, and the ovens. Everything else was out!

It was amazing how different it felt once it was gutted! Scary, but exciting. 

And here it is, after. 

We are in love with this space - so bright, with out beautiful quartzite countertops and glass cabinets.

The old appliances look so much better in the new space, and the added ceiling height makes such a difference. 

Our favorite detail is probably the backsplash - a hand painted ceramic from local Heath Ceramics. 

This room took a while, but was worth the wait. 

Our Family Room

Now that phase one of our renovation is done, I want to show off the results! First up, the family room/Evan's play nook.

As a reminder, this is what we started with, in all its paneled glory.

And this is it now!

 

We love our new space :)