Pixie Park

It was blazing hot in San Rafael on Sunday. We skipped our usual shade-less park down the street in favor of a gated, shaded, members only park we've visited with some friends. They were generous to lend us their key for the summer since their kids are starting to outgrow the park (thanks Whitney and Dennis!).

Pixie Park is located in a small town called Ross and is located within the Marin Art and Garden Center. It is a co-op park completely run and maintained by members. We plan to join ourselves soon, especially when Bridget is old enough to participate in the annual Halloween parade and the Spring Fair!

We headed out after giving her a good slather of sunscreen. She also insisted on bringing her phone (one of mommy's old one's). Can you spot it??


There are several play structures, swing sets and playhouses in the park. Bridget liked this one a lot because she could climb it by herself.


There is also a really great slide (3 actually) built into the side of a hill. Bridget had fun climbing up the stone steps and flying down the slide - BY HERSELF!



She also discovered that sliding is just as fun without her sunglasses.



We were all pretty hot and tired when we finally left. A stop at Jamba Juice was just what she needed.


We stopped by Trader Joe's on the way home. Bridget got a few stickers from the cashier and was very excited.


This pretty much concluded our weekend. We were all so tired by the time we got home. We all took a cat nap and then ate dinner and went to bed EARLY!

Petaluma Farmer's Market

We made an impromptu visit to the Petaluma Farmer's market on Saturday. We heard there was a petting zoo and pony rides, something we knew Bridget would love.

Bridget got decked out in her new sundress (thanks Grandma!) and plenty of bling and barrettes.


We made it up to Petaluma and everything looked promising.


We got a little nervous when we got to the "Petting Zoo." Yes, this is really it, all of it. But Bridget wasn't phased.


As soon as she understood there was a pony ride in her future she was ALL IN. When she got on "Pearl" she said "Let's GO!!!"



When the pony ride was over Bridget got to check out the animals in the "petting zoo." She was a little skiddish of the chickens.


But the bunny (or "zaza" as she says in Russian) was a total hit.



After the petting zoo we took a stroll around the park. She was very interested in the bouncehouse, but we decided she wasn't quite ready. Maybe next time.

Bruises, Bling, and Building

It is probably redundant to start each Monday blog post by saying we had a busy weekend in the Foley house. Of course every weekend is busy with an almost-two year old! Here are a few highlights from the weekend:

Our back patio looks out over some protected land where we see deer and wild turkeys on a daily basis. Bridget loves looking out there and she can often spot them before we can! It has become a weekend morning tradition to sit on the back porch and look for wildlife.







On Saturday afternoon Bridget woke up from her afternoon nap and decided to take a flying leap off the side of the crib and onto the floor, and her wrist. She suffered a little scrape on her forehead and has been keeping off her left wrist. She can use it and it doesn't seem to hurt her when we move it. She just wont put any pressure on it. She uses her elbow to pull herself up on chairs. She is being quite a trooper and we haven't felt the need to take her to the doctor since she will let us touch it and move it around. We'll keep a close eye on it and take her in if it doesn't get better in the next few days.

To cheer her up we headed out to the mall for a bite to eat and a browse through her favorite store - Claire's. She loves checking out the sunglasses and jewelry (which she calls her "bling"). We walked out with some new hair barrettes and a cute cupcake necklace/bracelet/ring set.



We also installed some new kitchen shelving this weekend. We have a huge blank wall in the kitchen and had planned on buying a baker's rack to fill the space and add some additional storage. But after pricing it out we determined it made more sense to invest in the elfa system from the Container Store. It is customizable and we were able to fill the whole wall with shelves. As a bonus we will be able to take it with us when we eventually move and it will be great in a closet, a garage, or wherever we decide to use it - something we wouldn't have been able to do with a baker's rack.

Here is a picture of the end result. Now we just have to get the rest of the kitchen (and the house!) organized.

Weekend Re-cap

It was quite a busy weekend for the Foley's. We started off Saturday morning with Bridget's first swim lesson of the summer. We have been swimming with her a lot, but it was great to get her back in a group setting. She is doing great in the water and she even went all the way under during the Sunday morning lesson. Mommy took Bridget for Saturday's lesson and Daddy took her on Sunday, so unfortunately we didn't get a chance to take any pictures.

On Saturday afternoon we headed into San Francisco to celebrate Julia's birthday. We met at Park Chalet out at Ocean Beach. There was live music and tons of kids. Bridget had a great time exploring outside. She even got spoiled by Julia and Uncle Pat - they were not-so-secretly letting her dip her fingers in the chocolate frosting on Julia's b-day cake!

Here is a picture of Bridget trying to climb one of the trees in the back lawn of the Park Chalet.


On our way back home after the party we stopped for dinner at Jonny Rockets. Bridget ate a hotdog, fries, and a vanilla milkshake while she charmed the wait staff and danced to the jukebox.

As you can see here, Bridget doesn't mess around when it comes to french fries!


Sunday afternoon, after her swim lesson, we went to Larkspur for another birthday party. This one was for Stan, Nathan's boss. She had fun at the party but unfortunately we didn't realize there was a pool and Bridget was not too happy when she realized she couldn't go swimming again.

Here is a picture of Bridget as we were getting ready to head out to the party. She was all dolled up and ready to go with her necklace, purse, and pigtails. If you haven't noticed by now, Bridget is very "girly."

An Ace Weekend in Reno

We took a trip up to Reno for the 4th of July weekend to visit our good friends the McGinness'. It was a great weekend and Bridget had so much fun with her Aunt Sara and Uncle Brett, playing with the dogs, attending her first Reno Ace's game, and hosting her first pool party.

We left on Friday morning and we kicked off the trip with Bridget shouting her signature "Good to Go!" followed by a thumbs up (she did that right before this photo was taken).

On Saturday we got a little pool for the backyard and Bridget had a blast splashing in the water and also watering Aunt Sara's deck with the hose.

When she was done swimming she put on her robe, grabbed her water, and walked around like she was either getting ready for a prize fight, or she was practicing for a role in a rap video.

We decided to take it easy the rest of the afternoon so we could save up Bridget's energy for the baseball game and fireworks. We lounged around and Bridget got plenty of cuddle time with the dogs. Here is a picture of Bridget hugging Sammy and trying to give him a kiss.

On Saturday evening we headed out to the Ace's ballpark for some fan fun which included dancing in the grass and sliding down a huge bouncy slide.

Bridget got a little tired and cranky once we were in the park. We made it through the 5th inning before we decided to call it a night and go home. It was too bad we didn't get to see fireworks, but on the plus side we got to avoid all the crowds and traffic!

On Sunday morning we had a quick brunch at a local spot. Bridget rested outside on the bench before we hopped in the car for the long ride home.

It was a great weekend and Monday morning Bridget was running around the house looking for Maggie the dog!

And in case you didn't believe the part about Bridget dancing in the grass before the game....see for yourself!