The City by the Bay....

Garrett attended a conference in San Francisco last week and I was able to join him for a little r&r before the summer kicks off. I decided to take my camera and do a walking tour of the city I love so much...

residences near my favorite SF store Paper Source

the "sidewalk" on the way to Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill

a glance at Chinatown (always a favorite stop)

looking toward Chinatown, the Financial District and the Bay Bridge

an elementary school playground

The trip was quite enjoyable. It has been two years since my last visit and I had a wonderful time "footing" it around the beautifully unique City by the Bay. Having grown up on both sides of the Bay Area, I consider San Francisco to be my home away from home.

Our Painted Lady Butterflies

This past Christmas, Garrett's sister Carrie gave Claire one of the coolest gifts: a butterfly habitat complete with live caterpillars and food. We watched in amazement this spring as all 10 caterpillars ate and ate and ate and finally formed chrysalides. The metamorphosis to the beautiful painted lady butterflies was truly a sight. Today, Collin and Claire released our "pet" butterflies in our front yard so they could live in our trees. Here are just a few of the photos of that event. Just check out the sheer joy and amazement in their faces. I love it!

Thank you Auntie Carrie for the best Christmas present EVER!

Love, Claire and Collin xoxo

Diamondback Gymnastics Spring Meet

Claire competed in her first gymnastics meet this

week-end and did a great job. She is still a little shy and was quite nervous but did very well, especially considering it was four hours!

She placed 3rd overall in her skill bracket and 1st in beam. She has been taking gymnastics for less than a year and is doing very well. Here are a couple of photos and a video clip of her award-winning beam routine.

Claire's Beam Routine:

Collin's Orange Belt Exam

On April 24th, Collin passed his belt exam in karate and became an orange belt. It generally takes 3-4 months to advance to the next belt. Collin has been practicing a lot these last few months and did an exceptional job on his exam. Here are a few of the highlights:

At the office....

Recently, the kids got to go to the office with Garrett, an outing that does not happen very often. They love to write on the white board, sit at his desk, check out the data center, conference rooms, talk to the security guards and, basically, pretend they are "at the office". I remember doing the same thing with my dad on a Saturday morning and returning home with several photocopies of my hands, a paper clip creation and a skip in my step knowing I had just spent the morning with my dad "at the office".