last day of 2015!

last day of 2015 was spent playing games with homemade eggnog in hand!

xmas - kid style

the kids decided to buy their own tree this year and it was the best $20 i ever spent! they disappeared into their room for the whole afternoon decorating their room and by the end, they had taken all of our christmas lights and surprised us with free tickets to their exhibition! including hot chocolate!

long awaited bday party

after the play was over, mahala finally got to celebrate her birthday with her friends. because we didn't quite have it all together to do a sleepover, she decided to go ice skating and have dinner. it was a great evening with a sweet group of girls - zoe, ellie and sascha.

christmas carol

mahala was scrooge in the christmas carol this year for the 6th grade play. she worked so incredibly hard and had to memorize so many lines in a  short amount of time. she rocked it! who knew she could pretend to be a grumpy old man so well?

lake lagunitas hike

brady, nikki and emetine came by for dinner and we wanted to get out for a short hike, so just before sunset, we headed to lake lagunitas. it was cold but nice to get out - its always so peaceful there.

good ol' sibling wrestling match

no one won, but lots of tickling...

thanksgiving #2

on thanksgiving day we headed to santa rosa and celebrated with the david and karen, grandma and papa, and karen's family. a feast followed by an always rambunctious game of maffia :)

mahala's eleventh!

masala's birthday was low key but really fun - she asked to eat waffles for breakfast (complete with whipped cream and blueberry sauce) and burmese food for dinner and then she wanted to go bowling. we made chocolate cupcakes with raspberry curd and raspberry whipped cream as well. pretty simple requests for this ELEVEN year old!

thanksgiving sha style

our third annual thanksgiving celebrated with the shas - paleo vegan style! what a fantastic feast!

sf architecture gang

few and far between are out get togethers with all of the cowgill gang. but we are continuing to multiply so we have to try more often. a stunning day in san francisco full of sunshine and golden gate park had a enough room for the kids to play without being in earshot

 

bon tempe hike

the kids had veterans day off so the moms took the kids to bon tempe for a long hike. stunning day -  little cold but the sunny side was perfect. we picnicked and the kids collected branches for wreaths (which were never made) and they had some good bonding time during this very busy part of the year. and the moms got to chat - with secret photos being taken of us as well :)

sha hike

a day off from school = bon tempe hike!

lake lagunitas field trip

sugar skulls

we celebrated day of the dead with hand making sugar skulls last weekend and then decorating them this weekend. way easier than we thought and each skull definitely displays our individual personalities!

halloween

we had some historical figures in the house this halloween - cleopatra, lincoln and uncle sam! mahala and i worked on her costume together and she ended up winning one of the costume contests at her school! we did the usual dominga street trick or treating followed by a  candy filled weekend...

volleyball!

mahala gave volleyball a try this year. 6th grade is the first year that it is offered at school. they had a great team and they all really supported each other.  They were not very skilled since most were beginners but they learned some cheers and they definitely improved their serves.

thomas vs the pacific

noble's first cross country meet

noble's first cross country meet was held at stinson beach after school. luckily he did not suffer too much car sickness getting there! he ran his best and it was all on the sand. he came in 8th place for 3rd grade boys and is pretty sure that he will win at every meet now….

exploratorium field trip

the first field trip for the sixth graders was to the exploratorium. my car group included mahala, anya and natalia - easy to keep control with only three since the museum was full of school groups.

san francisco outing

we headed to a fairly clear sky in san francisco at a beautiful spot next to the golden gate. we got there early and got a great spot right on a grassy perch right next to the bay….then….an hour goes by and the bridge disappears in the fog. then the sky gets foggier and foggier. we heard the roar of the blue angels but could not see them at all by the end. so we jumped in the car and caught a glimpse of them in marin.  all was not lost though since it was a great day for a picnic and the kids went to house of air!

kids will be kids

and some good ol' fashioned kid fun…slides and merry go rounds!

mahala - 6th grade

stop animation

we visited the creativity museum in san francisco with quinn and these were some photos of our masterpieces! "spilled milk" created by douglas, sheeba and seena and "extinction" created by quinn, mahala and noble.