One More Makes Four.

Arlo at one month!

2012-01-31T18:31:00.000-08:00

Arlo's First Photo Shoot

2012-01-23T13:00:00.000-08:00

We wanted some newborn shots of Arlo and had some taken at a local inexpensive photography studio. They did a pretty good job - the first photo is my favorite - I just want to eat him up every time I see it! It is already framed on our wall.

Arlo at home

2012-01-23T12:57:00.000-08:00

It is so fun to have Arlo at home! Lots of firsts! One of his first baths below and just some random shots of him being super cute. Also, Grammy came to visit for 2.5 weeks, which was the MOST HELPFUL thing EVER! We all loved having her here. If she wasn't feeding Arlo, she was cooking, cleaning or playing with Ava. Can you please move in, Grammy? We love you so much! We all miss you already and can't wait for the next visit.

Uh oh - we wore Grammy out!

Christmas 2011

2012-01-23T12:54:00.000-08:00

Our 2011 Christmas was extra special since we had Arlo with us. Ava was so excited for Christmas again this year. We had a quiet Christmas at home since Arlo was just born. Gary came over for Christmas dinner - it was great to spend the day with him.

You can see that Rudolph kissed Ava again this year by her red nose. She is so lucky, isn't she?

Ava's awesome new kitchen from Santa (handmade by elves Jill & Dave)

Here is a video from Christmas morning - right after Ava came to wake us up!

Hanging in the hotel...er hospital

2012-01-12T12:34:00.000-08:00

I admit - I love the hospital. So much in fact that I often mistakenly call it a hotel. I didn't want to leave. Somehow, it is a super relaxing place for me. We only had the TV on once - otherwise, we just enjoyed Arlo, read quietly, slept or talked with guests. It was SO nice. My 5 days there went by way to fast and I am secretly sad that I will never have another stay in CPMC maternity :(

Ava meets Arlo for the first time

Nanny and Papa were there to visit Arlo on his first day!

The view from my room (room 452)

Our fancy steak celebration dinner on the final night

Dressed to go home!

Off we go!

Announcing....Arlo Malone Williams

2012-01-11T21:50:00.000-08:00

December 14 - Arlo arrives

2012-01-10T16:42:00.000-08:00

After waking up in the middle of the night (approx 2am) with contractions and going into the hospital at 5am, Arlo Malone was born at 9:56 am on Wednesday, December 14! He was born at 36 weeks, 5 days, so a bit early, but ready to come out! He was a healthy 7lbs, 1 oz and 18.5 inches. We were so excited to meet him and he has completed our nice little family. Ava has been the best big sister ever.

Christmas decor

2011-11-27T21:27:00.001-08:00

Getting the Christmas Tree

2011-11-27T21:22:00.000-08:00

We made the trek to Santos Christmas Tree Farm this year again. We went here 2 years ago and Ava loved it. There is a train ride, 600 acres of trees, Santa's workshop with yummy treats and just an overall fun time. Ava had a blast. This year, Dave found our perfect tree. It was a gorgeous day in the Bay and is a fun holiday tradition for our little family!

This is our tree! Dave found it after searching for a while. Ava is such a tree hugger.

That looks like one big baby in there!

Dave starts cutting down the tree

Waiting for the train ride

It snowed while we were there! Well, it was 60 degrees...and these were bubbles, but festive none-the-less!

The tree - trimmed and ready for Christmas!

Ava's new hangout

2011-11-27T21:00:00.000-08:00

After seeing a cool indoor tent on Pinterest, we decided to make Ava one of her very own! It turned out great! She loves it and it looks super cute in her room

Fall afternoon play with Nina and stuffy friends

2011-11-07T15:49:00.000-08:00

Halloween 2011 - Trick or Treating with Logan

2011-11-01T11:55:00.000-07:00

Ava decided early on to be a mermaid this year, after seeing the costume in a catalog. After a big day at school celebrating Halloween with a parade, pinata and party - we headed over to Logan's house for a pre-trick or treating pizza party. Then, we went to the NOPA Halloween party and trick or treated along the closed-off streets. After about 8 houses - Logan and Ava were done! Silly kids - I wanted Ava to get more candy so I could steal it, but she was done. She had enough candy. Such self-control. Then, we headed back to Logan's to wind down and even after consuming candy for a few hours, Ava and Logan colored quietly on the floor. Such good kids we have! It was a successful and fun night all around.

Fall getaway with friends

2011-10-31T13:22:00.000-07:00

We spent a wonderful weekend at Costanoa and in Half Moon Bay with the Ramseys! It was a gorgeous October weekend and we went to the best pumpkin farm ever - Arata's. We have been here before a few years ago - and Ava has talked about it ever since. They have a bouncy house, GIANT hay maze, jousting shows, horse rides, hay rides, haunted barn...and oh yeah, LOTS of pumpkins! We had a super fun time there, followed by some relaxing in our cabin, a great dinner and smores at night. Couldn't get better company or have a better time.

Children of the Corn

Hay Maze - done. In about 30-40 mins. Seriously, it is hard.

Treehouse Pre-K Field Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-25T20:39:00.000-07:00

Treehouse had a field trip to a local San Francisco pumpkin patch. The kids took a hay ride, played in the little hay maze, ate their homemade pumpkin bread and chose pumpkins. A fun, festive morning - and I love that I can join them in the fun! Hopefully Ava will let me come on field trips for a long time.

Buddies - Ava and Charlie!

This was the bad face shot - everyone was making a funny face!

The Treehouse Pre-K lineup!

Ava and Nina at GG Park

2011-10-23T21:31:00.000-07:00

We met Nina, Jochem, Nina and Frits for brunch and then playing at GG Park. I had to steal these pictures from Nan, because of course I forgot my camera. The girls are getting so old!

Ava and Logan at Crissy Field

2011-10-20T16:43:00.001-07:00

More beautiful photos stolen from Charlie :)

Arlo's Nursery is complete!

2011-10-19T10:58:00.000-07:00

I have been working on Arlo's nursery for months - as most of you know, decorating is one of my favorite things to do. I found some really great stuff for his nursery from all over - the crib bedding is custom made from someone on Etsy, prints are from Etsy (some as far away as Spain!), the dresser/changing table is a Craigslist find that I refinished. The rocker is a mid-century rocker that was recovered in a fun print, the ottoman is Missoni from Target, the flying bird is from the Czech Republic (we brought that back with us because we knew someday we would use it!). Overall, I think it turned out really nice and I love to look at it all and imagine a little boy in there in just 2 months! It is also still doubling as our guest room, because there was plenty of room to leave a Queen bed, so that is good!

This cute little Moses basket/bassinet was left over from Ava. I made this bedding 5 years ago and it still looks great - so Arlo will be using it too for the first few months!

Fall is here

2011-10-17T11:17:00.000-07:00

Just a little Fall decor for our front door! I made a wreath since I have so much trouble finding ones that I like...and it turned out very nice - I love it.

Charlotte trip

2011-10-10T17:33:00.000-07:00

Ava had off school in late August, so we took a girls trip to visit Grammy, Grandpa, Uncle Adam, Uncle Ralph, Aunt Carey, Tyler and GG (Great Grandma, who now lives in Charlotte!). It was great to see everyone because we won't see some of them again until after baby is born.

We got to ride around in the custom golf cart and watch Adam's tennis lesson before having lunch in the clubhouse.

Adam is AMAZING at tennis now. It is crazy.

We went bowling because Ava and Adam were dying to! Somehow both Ava and Adam beat me...how does that happen?

Ava and her Grammy - she loves Grammy!

We went to Uncle Ralph and Aunt Carey's house for dinner and Ava got to play with Tyler in the back yard.

At the end of the night, Carey gets tackled!

Tyler is getting so big

Waiting for the Van Ness bus

2011-10-10T10:19:00.000-07:00

We were waiting for the bus to take us to a party down near the Bay to watch Fleet Week air show events. Dad and Ava had been waiting all week to watch the Blue Angels (even though we have seen them every day since Thursday!). Unfortunately the SF fog came in for exactly one hour - the one hour that the Blue Angels were supposed to perform. They had to cut their performance short and only did a few fly-bys. Oh well - there is always next year....or the 3 previous days that we saw them :)

A Saturday morning breakfast

2011-10-05T11:07:00.001-07:00

Ava on a sunny SF day

2011-09-26T15:55:00.001-07:00

Ava has been wanting to do the duck tour in San Francisco for ages, so we thought a nice, sunny, warm day was the perfect day for it! And, Dave was feeling much better and up for a ride around town. The duck quackers were a hit.

We also took the chance to ride the carousal, always a favorite of Ava. She is looking so mature!

Dresser

2011-09-26T15:51:00.000-07:00

For our new nursery, I decided to do some creative things - like redo an old dresser for a changing table. It was a LONG process, but I love the way it turned out!

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Quite an improvement, right?

Logan and family hang with Ava

2011-09-18T21:11:00.001-07:00

Logan, Sarah, Charlie and more were so nice to take care of Ava while Dave was in the hospital and Jill was standing by his side to make sure he was ok. What would we do without amazing friends??? And they take amazing pictures for us to use on the blog too :)

Baby Boy

2011-08-22T15:18:00.001-07:00

He will make our family of 3, a family of 4...and before we know it!

Ava learns to swim underwater

2011-08-21T21:15:00.000-07:00

8 hours a day in the pool in Sayulita for 5 days was good for Ava. She learned how to swim underwater. This was in the very beginning - by the end she could swim all the way across the pool! Now she also opens her eyes with goggles on, so she doesn't bonk her head on the side of the pool, like in this clip!

Sayulita trip - August 2011

2011-08-21T17:07:00.000-07:00

We went to Sayulita (along with Gary!) for a quick 5 day long weekend and really enjoyed how cute the small town was. It was a great time to go because it wasn't busy, and the weather cooperated for us! Ava loved swimming in the ocean and at our house pool - at least 8 hours a day. The food was amazing too - we will be back!

Sayulita!

2011-08-21T16:52:00.000-07:00

Camping buddies!

2011-08-11T13:20:00.000-07:00

More from Charlie! I like to steal his photos, because they are just amazing!

Tahoe camping is gorgeous

2011-08-11T13:03:00.000-07:00

When Charlie takes pictures of anything, it ends up gorgeous, but don't these exceptionally take the cake? Could you imagine a better campsite?

Camping in beautiful Lake Tahoe

2011-07-31T22:18:00.000-07:00

We took our first camping trip in a long time to Lake Tahoe - at our favorite campsite, Nevada Beach. Even though Daddy was sick, we had a great time and love the beach, tents, campfire...basically everything!

Charlie, Sarah and Logan came as well - it was so fun to have friends there with us.

Mattress monster?

Nope, its Charlie with their air mattress - blown up in a bathroom across the campground. Apparently it is hard to carry a mattress that far.

Playing around the campfire...at a safe distance

Future model?

2011-07-18T14:38:00.001-07:00

Friends

2011-07-18T14:02:00.000-07:00

Logan and Ava in Tiburon - little models!

Nina and Ava - the fairy princesses!

Ava and her newest friend, Leo. They have so much fun together! Too bad Leo is graduating TreeHouse and off to Kindergarten this Fall. But, we will hang out with him and his family often.

Last days in Argentina

2011-07-07T12:39:00.001-07:00

On our last days in Argentina, we decided to go to an Estancia (basically an Argentinian farm). We were expecting a place with tons of animals, gauchos (Argentinian cowboys) and a little bit of touristy cheese. But, we got the Estancia Villa Maria. We never looked back.

As you can see, it was gorgeous. We had so much fun running around the grounds, horseback riding and carriage riding, sitting by the fire and eating delicious food. Easily one of the nicest places we have ever stayed. I could have stayed for a much longer time!

Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay...or small town in Europe?

2011-07-07T11:49:00.000-07:00

We spent 3 days in Colonia - a one-hour ferry ride away from Buenos Aires- and loved it. It was such a sweet little town. We went on long walks, played on playgrounds and enjoyed some long lunches. It was a very relaxing part of the trip.

One of the craziest things about Colonia - a Uruguay delicacy called Chivita. It is a layer of French fries, a steak, ham, bacon, salads and cheese melted over the top. It was interesting.

Ava took a ton of pictures on our trip - I can't wait to download them and post some of her best!

Recoleta Cemetery - resting place for the rich and famous

2011-07-07T11:43:00.001-07:00

Yes, this is a cemetery - I know it looks like houses, but actually they are catacombs. The rich and famous of Argentina spend millions to be buried here. Kind of freaky, kind of beautiful. Though, the smell of death is definitely there and I can't say my nose liked it.

Eva Peron (Evita) is buried there

The River Delta of Buenos Aires - Tigre

2011-07-07T10:34:00.001-07:00

The delta area of Tigre was a big surprise for us. It was such a cute area with an amazing lifestyle that we didn't know existed. No roads, just a mess of finger like rivers with boat buses to transport people - and of course a lot of people with their own boats. It was such a peaceful and interesting place! We took the train from Buenos Aires to Tigre, then a boat bus up the delta to Tres Bocas and had a little walk around and coffee. It was a super fun day trip!

Around Buenos Aires

2011-07-06T21:08:00.001-07:00

Some shots from around the city - mostly in Palermo, where our apartment was, but some in other areas as well.

San Telmo - another hip area and the birthplace of Tango

La Boca - beautiful colors and graffiti art in this neighborhood - also a very poor area.

Carraige ride around the park in Palermo - we did this before heading into the zoo, where there are wild animals running free.

In front of our house

Eva Peron museum - every time Ava told someone her name, they were very happy she had the name of one of their most famous women

Ava in Buenos Aires

2011-07-06T20:51:00.001-07:00

Father's Day

2011-07-06T20:36:00.000-07:00

On Father's Day (Dad's 5th!), we had a great day - started off with a gospel brunch at 1300 on Fillmore, then we bought a new camera and went for a picnic in the sunny, warm, weather of Tiburon. A relaxing and fun day.

Logan's Peter Pan Birthday Party

2011-06-08T20:44:00.000-07:00

Logan had a fantastic 4th birthday at the Park Chalet that was Peter Pan themed. There was a treasure hunt (which included real pennies and nickels!), sword fights, piñatas and kids bands that played music all afternoon. The forecasted rainy day turned out to actually be nice - the kids and adults had a blast!

Bathtime with Logan

2011-05-16T15:26:00.001-07:00

They won't be able to do this for much longer, but I am glad they are enjoying themselves now!

Easter with the Hitch/Fisk Family

2011-05-06T20:31:00.000-07:00

We spent Easter with the Hitch/Fisk family per tradition. We love being a part of their family and really enjoy spending holidays with them!

And...how cute is little Katelyn???

Searching for eggs with Luke!

Uh oh, too much candy!

Easter Dress

2011-05-06T20:19:00.000-07:00

Easter Morning

2011-05-06T20:13:00.000-07:00

Ava went hunting for the eggs that the Easter Bunny left! She had a blast and found them quickly - she is pretty with it this year! She got a great basket from the Easter Bunny too - along with a new bunny stuffy, which is now one of her favorites. The Easter Bunny was pretty sneaky - he took carrots out of our fridge and left pieces all over the house!

Coloring Easter Eggs

2011-05-06T20:06:00.000-07:00

Bedtime with Logan

2011-05-06T19:54:00.000-07:00

The crazies come out!

Treehouse Pre-K Field Trip

2011-05-01T20:26:00.001-07:00

Ava had her first field trip at Treehouse Pre-K and I was lucky enough to be able to join her and her friends. It was a great day at the Bay Area Discovery Museum!

Silly Faces!

Serious faces.

The Fairy Party

2011-04-25T20:58:00.000-07:00

I think every girl, at some point in their life wants a fairy party. Ava wanted one this year, so we invited Miss Amelia to come spread her fairy magic at Ava's 4th birthday party. The kids loved her and her face painting skills were amazing! Ava asked her to come back next week...and next year. We will see :)

Waiting for the guests to arrive!

Watching Miss Amelia intensely!

Ava scored a little puppy she named "Bubbles" from Miss Amelia, while the other kids got animal balloons!

The cute couple matched for the occasion!

Time for cake!

Ava turns 4!

2011-04-25T16:58:00.000-07:00

We celebrated on her actual birthday, April 13, by giving Ava her new bike and having dinner and cake with Uncle Gary! Ava likes her new bike, if you can't tell. Riding it around the house was a special birthday activity - then the bike was relegated to the garage and outdoors!

Ava is decked out below in the new princess costume that Uncle Gary gave her and is blowing out her birthday cake candles!

Ava in Temecula

2011-04-20T11:19:00.000-07:00

Our wonderful photographer friend Daren, who we visited in Temecula along with his wife Chrissy and cutie pie boys Jake and Zak, took this picture of Ava. We were at a winery that had a sweet playground for the kiddies, while we say and ate our lunch and drank wine. It was so fun to see them after SOOO long! We can't wait for the next visit! Sad I don't have any pictures of all of them. We were bad photographers that day - meaning, no camera was with us :(

Road Trip - LA

2011-04-18T21:14:00.000-07:00

Our next road trip stop was Venice Beach to visit Raeann and Garrett. We had a great time at Benihana for dinner and then a nice sunny brunch in Santa Monica. Then Ava and I hung out at Venice Beach playground (with Zach Morris!) and then went to the Santa Monica pier for some rides and cotton candy!

Road Trip - Santa Barbara

2011-04-18T20:53:00.000-07:00

We had a girls road trip over Ava's Spring Break and our first stop was Santa Barbara. We stayed in the El Capitan Canyon resort in a cabin, which we both loved. Ava was and has been talking about the cabin for weeks. She really wants to go back!

We went on a hike in the Canyon to see the Llamas!

Ava got a llama of her own at the general store.

Charlotte visit

2011-04-18T20:46:00.001-07:00

Ava and Jill surprised Uncle Adam for his 21st birthday in Charlotte. We didn't get to take a lot of photos, but here are a few in Uncle Ralph and Aunt Carey's backyard, where we played one afternoon!

Ava, Tyler and Aunt Carey, who was the master bubble maker!

Uncle Adam and his buddy Spencer. Spencer loves Adam - it is so sweet.

Uncle Ralph and cousin Tyler

Day at the Beach

2011-04-18T20:26:00.000-07:00

San Francisco has had some really great winter weather. Here, on Spring Break, Ava had a beautiful 85 degree day to play at Crissy Field. Lucky girl!

Contemplating life as a kid

2011-04-18T20:24:00.001-07:00

Ava tearing up the field

2011-03-22T20:30:00.000-07:00

Some soccer moves

2011-03-22T20:20:00.000-07:00

Our Israeli soccer player

2011-03-22T20:13:00.001-07:00

Ava started soccer this week - she has been so excited about it. I am not sure where she gets all her information about soccer, but she was expecting to win, and expecting a trophy, so it was pretty comical. She was happy with just running around, kicking some balls and playing some games. She loved it! And Dave brought her back an Israeli soccer jersey and shorts from Israel, so she looked pretty darn cool doing it all.

Big Day Out

2011-03-12T21:30:00.000-08:00

Steam Train, Kids Farm, Lunch in Berkeley, Chrissy Field, Beach Hut Cafe, Dinner at Green Chile Kitchen - a normal Williams day...a big day for Logan. Both kids were fast asleep by 8, so it was really a big day for all!

Swinging after school

2011-03-12T21:29:00.001-08:00

Bike across the Bay

2011-03-06T17:57:00.001-08:00

Saturday was another gorgeous San Francisco winter (HA!) day. We rode our bikes across the Golden Gate Bridge and into Sausalito for a late lunch/early dinner at Fish. Best Fish n' Chips in the Bay Area. Yum! Then we took the Ferry back to the Ferry Building, rode around Embarcadero and topped it off with a visit to Sports Basement. A pretty nice little Saturday.

Funny Breakfast

2011-03-06T17:48:00.001-08:00

Logan slept over Friday night and the kids had a blast. Apparently breakfast was super funny. Who knew? We love getting to spend lots of time with Logan!

A Perfect Day in SF

2011-02-23T19:40:00.000-08:00

Nanny and Papa were visiting, so we spent the day touring around San Francisco and hit up all the major spots! It was a great visit and seeing all the tourist sites is always a good time, no matter how many times you see them - that is why San Francisco is so special!

80 Degree Winter

2011-02-09T16:50:00.000-08:00

On a rare 80 degree February day (although, the weather has been wonderful for 4 weeks). We all went for a bike ride in Golden Gate Park, along with Uncle Gary. Had a wonderful lunch at the Park Chalet and lots of fun on the beach. Thanks for the great photos, Gary!

And...I'm spent!

2011-01-03T11:45:00.001-08:00

The Family

2011-01-03T11:38:00.000-08:00

Can you see us all? We are there! Grammy, Grandpa, Nanny, Papa (though, Ava calls both Grandmothers Grammy and both Grandfathers Papa...so their names may change to Grammy and Papa both), Adam, Uncle Ralph, Aunt Carey, Tyler, Dave, Jill and Ava!

Baby Ty-ler has grown!

Baby Tyler is in his Elmo phase - he is in love with him!

Grammy (Jill's mom) and Aunt Carey

Uncle Adam! Ava loves Uncle Adam. She always wants to hang out with him and says how much she loves him.

Nice guns Dave!

Christmas presents

2011-01-03T11:31:00.000-08:00

Peppa pig set from Nanny and Papa!

A camera of her own - and its pink! She has been wanting one from Santa for months!

Ava also got 3 Zsu Zsu pets....which she loves. I am not sure how she found out about them??!! Who knows, but they are fun.

Christmas in Charlotte

2011-01-03T11:29:00.000-08:00

Santa came...and technically a white Christmas! Even though it started late on Christmas night.

Waking up on Christmas morning!

2011-01-03T11:21:00.000-08:00

Lucky girl!

2011-01-02T16:02:00.000-08:00

Someone got a kiss from Rudolph on Christmas! Lucky girl! Ava found some of Rudolph's red nose on hers when she woke up Christmas morning. Only the best kids get kisses from Rudolph.

Preparing for Santa and the reindeer

2011-01-02T15:54:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve at Grammy and Grandpa's house, Ava spread special reindeer food outside. It has oats and special sparkly dust to make the reindeer fly!

Look, is that Santa and the reindeer in the sky??

O Christmas Tree!

2010-12-23T07:58:00.000-08:00

Even with our big move, we still made time to get a Christmas tree - since it is Mom and Ava's favorite time of year.

Ava chose this one and it really was the best one there! Perfect shape!

All decorated! Ava was such a big help this year. It was so much fun to decorate the tree together!

Moving into our San Francisco home

2010-12-23T07:51:00.000-08:00

There was a LOT of unpacking!

Pardubice

2010-12-23T07:44:00.001-08:00

Why we didn't do this sooner, I don't know. We spent one of our last days with Jana (Dave's office manager from work, but she was also a great friend of ours) and her family in her hometown village of Pardubice. Her family was so wonderful! Her mother treated us to a traditional Czech meal of Svíčková, which was delicious. Ava loved her father and played with him all day, sitting on his lap and talking away in English, even though he didn't know a word of it. We went to the old square of Pardubice to see the Christmas markets, have a coffee and see the petting zoo. We also visited the river and fed the ducks. The people in Pardubice were beautiful and kind, a far stretch from people in Prague. It was a great experience and we wish we had gone much earlier in our stay!

Last brunch with Tadhg

2010-12-23T07:33:00.000-08:00

We often had brunch with Tadhg and his parents, Deb and Steve, at Bohemia Bagel on the weekends. This was a our last brunch before leaving. They are also leaving Prague to move to Toronto!

Old Town Sqaure - Miklaus

2010-12-23T07:23:00.000-08:00

Old Town Square in the snow is one of the most festive places to be in the world. There was tons of snow...and it was still snowing. There were Christmas markets, lots of Miklaus', angels and devils. It was one of our favorite nights in Prague. Czech's celebrate Miklaus even more than Christmas and the angel and devil advise Miklaus on what children are good or bad. The good ones get presents and the bad ones get taken away in a burlap sack by the devil. That is quite a threat!

Snow in Prague!

2010-12-23T07:17:00.000-08:00

We had lots of snow in our last weeks in Prague. It was really fun to live in a place with so much snow and holiday cheer! It was a great way to spend our last few weeks. Ava got to go to and from school on her sled everyday...how can you beat that?

Versailles

2010-12-04T05:35:00.000-08:00

Ava discovered a cat at Versailles that looked JUST like Maia! We always knew she came from royalty :)

Our first snow of the year started at Versailles in front of Marie Antoinette's chateau - they were some of the biggest snowflakes we have ever seen!

Ava bathing in some rare sunlight after the snow

Around Paris: Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-04T05:32:00.001-08:00

A Series: Dave, Jill and Paris Landmarks

2010-12-04T05:11:00.000-08:00

Tour Eiffel

2010-12-04T04:56:00.000-08:00

Paris brings out the model in Dave

Our little fairy

2010-11-07T01:01:00.001-07:00

Halloween Party

2010-11-07T00:55:00.001-07:00

We had a Halloween party at our Prague home for some of our friends. It was so fun to have everyone over and the kids had a blast!

Ava with one of her best friends from school, Laura - so girly as a fairy and princess

Tadhg and Jack (or should I say Spiderman and Pirate Jack)

Sean with baby Sutton and Schluyer

Czech Pumpkin farm

2010-11-07T00:49:00.001-07:00

Even though Czech's don't celebrate Halloween, you can still find a pumpkin farm! We went with some of our best Czech friends, Jay, Rebecca and Jack...well, they are American, but we met them here.

Halloween at Little Mole

2010-10-29T00:45:00.000-07:00

Ava is the cute pink fairy on the left at her school Halloween party. Even though Halloween is not really celebrated in the Czech Republic, it is starting to be observed....because it is so fun! She picked out her costume and is obviously into really girly things this year :) At least she didn't pick a cat, which she was the past 2 years. She looked so cute!

Jumping in leaves

2010-10-28T09:18:00.000-07:00

Cesky Krumlov - an Autumn fairytale

2010-10-19T04:26:00.000-07:00

Ava's scary face...not so scary!

Out for a walk on a Fall Day

2010-10-19T04:06:00.000-07:00

Looking for Logan on the field....
Ava is becoming a pro at hopscotch!

Istanbul

2010-10-17T10:38:00.001-07:00

Sultan Dave - first at dinner and then after the Turkish Baths (what an experience!). He was taking the royalty thing a bit too far. We had to hold him back inside the harem!

Topkapi - Sultan's palace during the Ottoman Empire. The harem was the most interesting area - such a crazy life!

Some shots from Ava...she is becoming quite the photographer

Yummmmm, the sweet shops were amazing. We had our fair share of all kinds of Baklava!

Gary was with us on the trip..on his way back from Africa!

The Grand Bazaar - more than 4,000 shops! Move over Mall of America with your 400 shops....pffft!

Ava below is giving some annoyed looks towards her admirers. It was actually CRAZY in Instanbul how much people loved Ava. She had at least 50 pictures taken of her and people would swoop over and pick her up, kiss her, pinch her cheeks and ooh and ahh at her. She was a Rock Star! Literally every person we passed said something about her. It was surreal. She would have totally been picked to be in the Sultan's harem back in the day.....(which was a huge honor and great life...in those days).

The Blue Mosque

A crazy underground water system built in the 1500's.

Hagia Sophia - an amazing building

Ava took control in the Hagia Sophia....

Lots of Logan time!

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Ava's best friend in the whole wide world!

Brunch and Park with the Geerdinks

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More of our favorite friends, Jochem, Nandita and Nina...and little baby Geerdink (still inside the belly!)