Butterfly Parade & Bazaar

The annual Butterfly Parade is held every October in Pacific Grove to welcome back the Monarch Butterflies to PG for the winter.  Pacific Grove is nicknamed "Butterfly Town" for this very reason.  The 2 elementary school children dress up in costumes - whatever their grade decides on - and marches in a small parade.  The honor of the butterflies goes to the kindergarten classes of both schools.  They work very hard making their wings & antennae headbands, learning about butterflies & insects and creating their own butterflies in class.  This is our first year experiencing the parade and our own Emma got to be a butterfly!

 March of the Monarchs

After the parade a bazaar is held in the back of an elementary school with lots of carnival type games, bounce houses, bake sales, snow cones & other yummy & fun booths.

Super Bike

The Presidio of Monterey (POM) hosted a super bike racer event a few weeks ago during the lunch hours.  We pulled Stephen from his lunch period to see a super bike up close.  He loved it, got a signed autograph, sat on the bike & met a racer all in 20 minutes.  We then bought tickets for the races that weekend.  Although bike racing isn't a favorite of Stephens' it was pretty cool to watch how fast & low to the ground they get.

Kickin' It!

Soccer season begins later here since the weather turns warmer in September - November.  Both kids are playing & none are crying! (see last year's soccer experience)  Stephen is on a competitive team with 2 practices a week and 1.5 hour games while Emma is learning to play soccer on her small team.  Her pink shoes certainly help with her skills.

 "Yellow Minions"

 Ready to play!

 Stephen the Defender!

Love those pink shoes!

Cars, Cars, Cars

One thing about living in Pacific Grove is the number of car shows the town hosts through the year.  One afternoon downtown was lined up with beautifully restored old classic cars.  Stephen, Emma & I strolled through the foggy & windy streets for an hour.  Stephen took possession of my camera...

(These are just a FEW of the pictures he took.  He was so excited to be up close & personal with the cars.)

1st day of School

School started earlier than the kids are used to but I was SO ready for them to return so when August 7th came around, we were ready!  Stephen started 7th grade while Emma officially began her school years entering Kindergarten.  She has a wonderful teacher & is learning so much already while Stephen is spreading his wings a bit more as he takes on more responsibility for his life in school.  Both kids are flourishing and we couldn't be happier with their progression.

 Excited & ready to start the new year

Standing outside her new classroom

Weekend in Oakland

Before school started, our family took a little vacation away from the coast & headed to Oakland for the weekend.  Greg and I attended at temple session at the Oakland Temple (it's the closest).  The next day we took in an Oakland A's game.  What an adventure.  First off, Oakland is a little run down as far as we could see but the stadium is the jewel of the town.  We bought tickets from a scalper making sure the tickets were for that game, day & time.  (You never can be too sure!)  We had been given some good advice before we left - wear black or green no matter what (team colors), have ushers escort you to your seats - just because you have tickets for seats doesn't mean that someone else won't sit in them, and stick together!  We had a great time, the home team won which made EVERYONE happy and getting out of town wasn't too bad. :)

Cousins & Kids

My cousin Dave and his family were in the neighborhood this summer so we hooked up and met up at Point Lobos for a few hours.  It was so great to see someone familiar & to meet their newest addition along with seeing how grown-up their girls are.  We had a great time visiting, hiking, eating and playing.

 Emma & Holly became fast friends

 China Cove

Dave, Kendra, Me & Greg (w/Kylie in carrier)