Life With Ella

We went to Disneyland the weekend after we came back from NY.  Ella won 4 Disney park hoppers last year and time was running out…Ella decided to use the park hoppers on her friend Carmen, Carmen’s sister and Carmen’s mom with us to Disney.  Uncle Jesse met us there and we had a fantastic 36 hours at Disney.  Here are some pics from our whirlwind trip…

 Ella and Carmen, bright and early, ready to have a blast at Disney!

 Joined by big sister Bianca.

 Toy Story Mania!

 The Little Mermaid.

 At the Wilderness Explorer Adventure Trail.

 The Cars Ride!

 Ella told me to take this “classic” shot.

 This visit with Olaf made everyone smile from ear to ear!

 Ella was our “driver” on the Temple Of Doom ride.

 Space Mountain!

 Ella mustered up all the courage she could find and conquered “Splash Mountain”.  She actually went on the night before and really liked it and then went again the next day and LOVED it!

 Back at the ranch…Sunny and I at the opening night of the Giants season.  They lost, but we had a blast.

 Big thumbs up from Kuip!

 We took Stella and Juliet to a fireworks night game.  The Giants didn’t play well at all and it was 48 degrees that night!  Sunny and I wanted to leave in the 5th inning.  The girls wanted to stay for the fireworks.  3 against 2 wins!  We stayed and they were beautiful.

 About 3 weeks ago, Ella broke a 1/2 inch board!  She was super proud, we were blown away.

We have had an action filled April and I am getting way behind.  I am going to several entries starting with the beginning of the month.  Before I post for our wonderful Passover trip, I would like to wish mommy a happy 15th Anniversary.  I love you so much!  Tonight, mommy, Ella and I went out to dinner at Anchor Oyster Bar to celebrate our anniversary.  We had a great dinner and we love celebrating our anniversary with Ella.

Now for the pics of our Passover trip to NJ…

Airport selfie!

 Panda on the airplane.  He was super comfortable on mommy’s lap.

 You can’t tell from this pic, but when we arrived, it was snowing!  This was Ella’s first and only snow of the season.

While we were in NJ, we caught up with my childhood friend’s kids.  They actually live in SF, but it’s easier to get together when there is no work or school.

 We picked up Milo from school on Thursday, and then rode the train downtown for Milo’s swimming lesson.

 Milo signed himself into his lesson.  He first wrote Milo.  When he saw the signature column, he asked AJ what he should write.  She said, “It’s your signature, write it however you want”.  Milo decided that his signature was “Leo”.

Ella loved watching Milo at his lesson, but she really just wanted to jump in and swim!

 Soccer in the morning.

Playing and loving before the seder.

 In love with grandma and papa.

 Milo found the afikomen!

 More soccer on the yard.

 Milo and Sam playing chess.

 More fun at Wood Park.

 Love on the stairs.

Thanks for yet another amazing trip back east.  I didn’t get any pictures of Jesse or me or David, Lisa, Brownen, Abigail, Ray, Esther, Donna, Emma, Cheryl, Nikki B, Lynne, Cliff, Diana, Adrianne, Emma, Henry or Ashley, but they were all there, and we loved seeing you guys!

Ella played futsal (indoor soccer)  for the first time this winter.  Most of the girls on the team are from the Black Widows – the soccer team that Ella has been playing on since pre-school.  They had an awesome season and finished it off as the undefeated champions!  Ella’s skills have improved so much since she started playing futsal.  Here are some shots of Ella and her teammates – The Shadowbolts with their trophies.

 So much happiness everywhere!

Ella very tired after practice on Friday.

Ella and Mommy went to Ella’s first women’s college basketball game with Rachel, Liz and Isabel.  Stanford won!

 Colette sent these pics of Ella and her classmates on a field trip to the Bay Model in Sausalito.

 Ella beginning her fractions unit.

 Love this shot of Ella and Panda.

We’ve had quite an amazing two weeks.  I’m going to start with Spring Training.  We went to Scottsdale 2 weeks ago with the Giants Community Fund.  We had a great time with our friends from the fund, got to see Cindy, David, Bob, Jackie and Emma, and also got to see grandma, papa, Anne and David.  I’m going to start with Spring Training.

 Classic airplane shot.  Off we go!

Here are some pics from the pool…

 Ella always has a blast with her friend Jesse.

 Ella, Jesse and Bella have spent quite a few spring trainings together.

 and now for the throwback…

We had a very special morning on the field on Sunday morning.  We were able to watch the Giants warm up before the game.  Here are some pictures of the players.

And now some fun shots with the players and us!  We had some great selfies and photo bombs and some actually legit pics.

Here are tow shots of Ella and Jesse doing their work for the Junior Giants.

On Sunday evening, after a really fun day of baseball, we went over to cousin David and Jackie’s house to hang out with sweet cousin 2 year old Emma.  We also got to see Aunt Cindy and Uncle Bob who drove up from Tucson so that we could all get together.  I didn’t get any shots of the adults, but I did get some shots of Ella and Emma.  They were so sweet with each other.  Emma kept hanging onto Ella’s leg and Ella loved it!

On Monday morning, we had the best visitor!  Grandma and Anne drove to our hotel and we went to the Musical Instrument Museum.  I don’t have any shots of Anne, but I will include a little dancing video in my next entry.

 And this is what’s happening back in San Francisco.

Sweet mom and daughter

I have to go to sleep now,  I am very sleepy.  More tomorrow.  xoxoxoxo

Wednesday afternoon was a super happy special day for us!  AJ and Milo arrived in SF.  Once I got off work, I picked up Milo and AJ and we went to pick up Ella from school/camp…here is the first official shot of Ella and Milo together (with one of the CDS sheep in the background).

We had a low key evening – Milo was on NY time and fell asleep at around 7:00.  We are planning on having fun filled days and mellow nights because we don’t want Milo to get too used to the time change… he has school on Monday and needs to be able to wake up!

Day two was spent at Golden Gate Park and the Academy of Science.  Sunny came back from LA in the afternoon and we all had dinner at a local Chinese restaurant and celebrated the Chinese New Year.

Ella with the high climb!

 The kids were having so much fun playing soccer with each other!

 Not so sure that such cute kids really look that tough!

Some serious swinging was going on.

 Ella was catching a wave and Milo was catching the ball.

 Fun in the sand.  What is really mind blowing is that Milo was sledding in NY two days before this picture was taken.  It must feel good to be able to play outside in a t-shirt and “shorts”.

Cousins in the rain forest.

 Beautiful Ella.

 Tide pool touching zone…I don’t think this woman war ready for Milo’s questions!

 You can’t spend time at the Academy without hanging out in front of the GIANT fish tank!

 Morning fun at Dolores Park.

 These two love each other so much – it’s been wonderful watching them spend such great time together.

Bungee fun!

The kids were having fun on the piano steps and then Ella noticed that on the side of the building it said “Mirror House”.   The kids really wanted to go in and Jamie and I really didn’t, but we all went and the kids had fun – we were both totally panicked and disoriented.  Milo loved it so much that he wanted to do it again…and we did!

 Crazy people in the Mirror House.

 Playing “Schemer” right before Milo went to sleep.

Ending a beautiful day with bananagrams – and Ella and AJ having some decaf!

Here is a quick time lapse movie of Milo, Jamie and Ella going down the slide at Dolores Park.

Instead of excuses as to why I have been so slow with blog entries, I will just simply post stuff!  Ella has been loving life as usual.  2015 has brought futsal into our lives and Pineapple back into our life.  Ella continues to love school and life is beautiful.

 Beautiful Ella growing up right before our eyes!

 Some beautiful shots that didn’t make it into the last blog.

 Futsal – indoor soccer!  Ella’s team, the “Shadowbolts” are undefeated.  Futsal has been great for Ella and hopefully she’ll be able to take her new skills and use them on the soccer field in the spring!

 Ella is love!

 Ella and Pineapple!  Becca got Pineapple back and Ella is so happy.

 Practice before futsal.

 Ella and Stella had a special after school/evening together.  We picked up Stella from school, took her to Imagiknit for a late birthday present and then Ella and Stella had their own table at Amicis.  Incredible to watch the kids grow up together.

So to continue the amazing visit with Grandma and Papa…

 We drove to Napa and had a delicious lunch and walked around the little town.

We went to Sinskey Vineyards and Ella fed the koi.  Actually, we all fed the Koi.  They were kind of like dogs!

Family photos!

 We went to the Monterey Aquarium and LOVED the jellyfish.  Ella took some beautiful shots.

 Dessert!

 Here are some super cool shots that Ella took.

 On the way to Boulevard for an incredible New Year’s Eve dinner.

Beautiful Ella and her very sophisticated appetizer!

 Three beauties!

 New Year’s Eve family selfies.

 Panda is so full of personality.

 Ella at the MLK assembly that her class led.  Videos will follow soon.

 Ella and her best buddies.

 Ella and her sweet cousins Isabella and India.

I am going to start at the beginning of the month…it all started at a very fun holiday party for the Giants Community Fund.  Check it out…

 In the very same batting cages that the Giants take batting practice in.

Sunny and Ella making the calls from the dugout – put in Bumgarner!

 Family love from the dugout.

Having some fun with the trophies!

 Ella hanging out in one of the Giants’ lockers.

Some shots from after Annie. 

 Ella with Colette after Annie.

 As Ella is getting older, she’s starting to have her own style.  She’s been into wearing her non prescription glasses lately.

 Ella made this super cool gingerbread house at Stella’s 10th birthday party.

 Up to night 5 with Chanukah.  Ella lit a match by herself for the first time.  She also shared the menorah lighting responsibilities with her best buddies.  

These guys were having a pretty intense game of dreidel.

 Ella got her red belt last week.  She now has to begin her training for the next step – a black belt!  She’ll probably stay at this level for about 3 years.  The belt looks perfect!

 On our way to the airport to pick up Grandma and Papa!

Sixth night of Chanukah.  We are all so happy that Grandma and Papa are here! 

On an adventure to Patagonia.

 A little trip to the beach across the street from Ghirardelli Square.

Last night of Chanukah.  Guess I missed a shot on night 7!  It has been a very sweet Chanukah.

 Grandma, papa and Ella’s annual trip to the Nutcracker.

Mommy and I went on a date to see Kinky Boots.

 A walk in the hood.

 Family shot in front of the MLK fountain after seeing Annie on Christmas.  We had a great day starting with Dim Sum and ending with a walk home from the movies.

 We even braved the Exploratorium the day after Christmas.

So far, we’ve had a wonderful time with Grandma and Papa.  We are headed to Napa tomorrow, Monterey on Monday and then some more SF fun throughout the week.  We love you guys.  Thank you so much for being here with us.