Virginia Turns 4!

The Candy Man Can.

This year, Miss V turned 4!  How time has flown!  We hosted a Candyland-themed birthday party at our house in Alameda for a lot of her friends, complete with a bouncy house and a candy-themed soundtrack.  Virginia helped me prepare for the party by making lollipop bushes using hundreds of Dum Dums.  It was a surprisingly fun project.  We were thrilled that Mimi and Papa were able to make the trip this year to celebrate too.

Showing off an almost Pinterest worth table.

Princesses like candy, right?

Isabel, Johnstone & the birthday girl.

Virginia chose a Safeway cake again this year, with her favorite colors - orange, pink, & purple.

Friends ready for cake.

Blowing out the candles with friends.

Waiting for cake!

Having a blast in the bouncy house.

New bike from GayGay?  Amazing!

Post-party fun with Mimi.

Easter 2013

We spent Easter this year close to home and I'm happy to report that the Easter Bunny was very good to our little one this year.  Virginia had a blast searching for the eggs in the front room of our house, and we followed up our morning egg hunt with another egg hunt at St. Clement's Church after Easter morning services.  We also made a cameo appearance at Claremont Country Club for their Easter activities, where Virginia enjoyed a visit with the Easter Bunny and a few kid-friendly activities.  We were then treated to a wonderful brunch at the Harvey household, where Uncle Biggie and Miss V got into some typical trouble.  Happy Easter to all!

Easter loot.  The giant orange egg was a big hit.

Easter Bunny got a little tricky and hid some eggs in someone's dollhouse.

In her Easter best with Daddy at church.

Egg hunt glee!

Happy Easter family.

Looking spiffy with GayGay and PopPop.

Another family shot (and a close-up of the purple hand-smocked dress that I used to wear as a child!)

Snuggles for the Easter Bunny at Claremont Country Club.

Fairy princess making balloon animals?  Score!

Balloon animal pink & orange butterfly.  Double score!

Silliness with Uncle Biggs.

Biggie & Thomas raided the coat closet at the Harvey household in an effort to come up with the wackiest and most outdated outfits.  Time for a trip to Goodwill, we think!

Corndog Craziness

Corndogs in the kitchen with Ben & Wanda

As always, Harvey family and friends gathered at our house during March Madness for the happiest of holidays -- National Corndog Day!  Approximately 8 boxes of corndogs and 10 bags of tater tots were consumed, and countless beers and sodas met their match.  The kids had a blast on the sports-themed bouncy house while the grown-ups got to watch some good basketball matchups.

The Corndog Day "Cool Girls" kept us entertained all day long.

This year, we got to try an extra special treat, courtesy of our friends Ellie & Matt Guidi... the cherpumple!  A cherpumple is the dessert-variety of a turducken and is an impressive three layer cake with a pie baked into each layer of cake.  It seemed to fit in nicely with the gluttonous theme of National Corndog Day.  Thanks Ellie & Matt!

Matt displaying the cherpumple in all its glory.

The cherpumple and all its many layers of sugary goodness.

Aloha Aulani!

Not a bad view, right?

In March, our family decided to continue our travel streak and take a long weekend in Hawaii.  We had some Alaska Airlines voucher burning a hole in our pockets from a flight cancellation last summer, and when flight prices dropped to equal the value of the vouchers, it was time to take advantage of a free Hawaiian vacation!

Since Virginia is such a Disney fan and we were not going for a very long trip, we thought this was the perfect chance to experience the new Disney resort on O'ahu, Aulani.  The Aulani was very expensive, but we worked our travel magic to get a good deal during the low season.

The trip was truly magical in every way.  The resort was authentically Hawaiian, complemented with all the Disney magic and excellent service.  Virginia loved all the kids' activities and events and got the chance to hang with her favorite Disney characters.  She spent time at Aunty's Beach House (coolest kids' club ever) while mom and dad enjoyed some nice meals out and also ran herself ragged doing the waterslides at the Menehune Bridge water playground.  We also had the chance for a nice reunion with an old law school pal and his daughters one day.  The girls played wonderfully together and Virginia especially enjoyed getting to sit at a "big girls table" with them for our poolside lunch.  Ever since our return, Virginia is begging to go back again.

(For a full review of our Aulani experience, check out the review on my travel blog!)

Shave ice was a daily treat.  Virginia always made sure she got orange.

Menehune Bridge water play area is where Virginia rode water slides.  187 times to be exact.

Breakfast with Mickey!

First time on a paddle board with daddy.

Loving on Minnie Mouse.

Our little mad scientist doing experiments at Aunty's Beach House.

Happy family in Hawaii.

Virginia hams it up at comedy hour at Aunty's Beach House.

A highlight of the vacation was getting to see an old law school pal, Brett Tobin, and his girls.

Stitch and the girls (Virginia was still learning how to do the shaka!)

Going to Carolina...

February is a big birthday month for the Neeland family, so we decided that it was the perfect time for a getaway to meet the family and celebrate the February birthdays in North Carolina again this year.  We had also recently gotten some big news that Cousin Beth was expecting her first baby, so we had even more of a reason to celebrate this year.

Since Daddy had to work, Virginia and I made it a girls' trip.  Now that she's almost four, traveling with her is pretty much a breeze!

We found a cheap fare to Charlotte and off we went for a long weekend.  While there, we celebrated Nanny's 91st birthday as well as birthdays for Auntie Lynn and Aunt Liz.  We hit the children's museum near Liz and Dave's house and ate out at some great restaurants too.  Virginia also had a blast seeing the Mack cousins who live in the Charlotte area as well -- Beau & Jessica and Shannon & Brett.  It was quite a family reunion on both sides of our family. 

Milking a cow at the children's museum.

Practicing radiology with Papa.

Fixing a car with Papa at the museum.

With Shannon & Brett at dinner.

Cousin Beau & Jessica!

Loving on Aunt Liz and Uncle Dave

Cousin Adam -- more relatives to love! (We didn't get a photo of poor cousin Beth, who was suffering greatly with morning sickness the whole visit -- she was quite the trooper!!!!)

Auntie Lynn is so much fun!

The 91st birthday girl and her first great grandchild.

Virginia and her Mimi and Papa. 

Back home, carrying her own bag.  What a big girl!

January Snapshots

After a busy holiday season, we stayed closed to home for the month of January this year.  The winter days were filled with visits with friends and activities around Alameda.  Here are a few snapshots of some fun family and friends moments:

Making cupcakes with pal Tasha

Roll Tide!  Alabama wins again!

Menehune men and ice cream with PopPop at Trader Vic's

"Ice skating" at the Little Ice Rink