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Christmas is off to a rip-roaring start this year and the girls are as excited as can be.  So far they have found the bicycles that Santa left and cleaned out their stockings.  The first gift, from Grammy and Grampy has caused quite a stir.  They each got a barbie doll that includes a golden retriever.  The excitement from this comes from the fact that you can actually feed the dog.  Parent’s will get a chuckle from the fact that this dog also “poops” the biscuits and barbie comes with all the appropriate attachments for cleaning up the poopie.  Brief video attached for those that really must know.

Papa

Generally speaking, I don’t like posting items out of order, and I still have a ton of stuff leftover to share from Halloween.  That will come, I promise, but I had to share today’s trip to the beach and thought I’d drop in a quick little video to show you how great it was.  More pictures, more story, click more…

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It was wild - we were at the zoo and there were so many children dressed up.  Everyone was looking great, excited as all get out, and if anything like us, having the time of their life.  That’s right - we went to the 2008 Boo at the Zoo at the Oakland Zoo.  We got there quite early - about ten minutes to 9:00, before they even opened, and we were one of the first to arrive.  I’m glad we got through the exciting stuff quickly, because we really did get to see the zoo and the other kids in their costumes - the girls even got their face (Sofi) and arm (Natalie) painted.

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I think it’s universally true that “the fair is fun.”  Heck, even I can remember going to the Del Mar Fair in San Diego.  The Santa Cruz County Fair is no exception, and I’m glad that the girls got to experience it this year.  The great weather, wonderful sights (games, rides, food) and exposure to 4H animals was outstanding.

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One of the local K-5 private schools off Union Avenue had a special Easter treat this past weekend, and after seeing the Easter Bunny announcing the event we swung a quick u-turn and decided to take a peak.  We arrived with the first group of 15 or so children - most of whom seemed to be students of the school - and we got to follow the bunny himself before starting off on a very exciting Easter treasure hunt.

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As most of you already know - any good thing can be made better when your friends are along and so back to Harley Farms we went this weekend.  This time, though, we included our friends and made the day of it.  Babi even decided to join us and seemed to love the goats.  Of course, Babi went crazy for the dairy’s cheese, too, so we left our mark on their small market.

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“The Cheese Stands Alone” may be their slogan - and the cheese is very good - but the goats stand by the dozens, and this time of year it’s all about the kids.  No, not those kids, the baby goat kind of kids.  That’s right, we took the children to see Harley Farms and we’re now recommending it to every person we can, because the 60 odd 5 - 10 day old goats are overwhelmingly cute, and the personable, professional staff at Harley make it a location not to be missed.

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Children are natural mimics who act like their parents despite every effort to teach them good manners. ~Author Unknown

Mama and the girls having a standing Tuesday play-date which allows the girls to get together with their friends Audrey, Cole and Sydney.  Not everyone can make it every week, but it’s usually at least one group or the other.  And, with all the special deals going between the Zoo and the Children’s Discovery Museum, it always feels like they’re up to something fun.

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What an awesome weekend!  After an invitation and very little negotation we decided to make a trip down to Preson Ranch this weekend.  And What a great choice that was.  The weather was outstanding.  The children were (for the most part) very well behaved and the company, as always, was marvelous.  For those that don’t remember from the previous post, Preston Ranch is the family home of Jean and Victor, our friends in Paso Robles (which also happens to be where the ranch is).  It’s a log cabin and vineyard atop one of the taller rolling hills which offers commanding views and beautiful views of the mountains, other vineyards, and the city of Paso Robles.

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So I know that it’s been a while since I last wrote and I even said in my last posting that I would be getting back to it, but work has been busy and our extraordinarily fun life has been even more enjoyable the past few weeks.  We have been getting out and we have been enjoying everything the beautiful weather has to offer.

This past weekend we took in the farmer’s market and then took our feast home and made dinner with it.  The girls had a wonderful time and Sofi actually made her fist Boboli pizza while Natalie made the salad.  The food was outstanding!  Not to mention a heck of a lot of fun to make.  I enjoyed every minute of it, and since they cooked Mama and I even agreed to do the dishes while they snacked on some chocolate for dessert.

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