Summer Fun - part deux!

We are home after a nice long (sunny) summer in California!! We did loads of fun things there: We spent time with our grandparents, our aunts and uncles, our cousins, and our friends! We saw lots AND LOTS of friends and family.

We visited two states while we were home - California and Nevada - and several counties - Sacramento, Placer, Marin, etc.

We celebrated many birthdays - Julia's (4), Calvie's (6), Nana's (25+) AND Alex Odland's (5).

We went to two zoo's: The San Francisco Zoo (gladly without incident!) and the Sacramento Zoo. We went to Fairyland in Oakland and Funderland and Fairytale Town in Sacramento.

We also did LOTS of swimming - in pools and in lakes! We swam in Donner lake (brrrr), at Auntie Julie and Uncle Jim's, at Aunt Bethie's, the Lawrence's, the Carter's, and the Kurtzig's!
We LOVE to swim. Julia even learned how to jump in off the side and was FEARLESS by the end of holiday!

Here are some pictures!!!

Marco and Unkie Andy!!

Julia and Drewsie LOVE each other!

Auntie Ann loves Marco!

Greg and all the kids (sans marco) on the boat (in Oregon)!

Julia and Marco at the cabin!

With Nana on the gondola at Northstar!

On the porch with Nina and Greta!

Greta, Drewsie, Marco, Nina & Julia in the tub.

Julia and Marco with Andrew and Allison.

Aunt Michelle and Alex, Sara and Julia on the ferry to the city!

Off to the city with the Odland's!

The Milani's at Stinson beach (the only non-sunny day!)!

Happy Birthday Alex!

Happy Birthday Calvie!

Happy Birthday Nana!

And, Happy Birthday Julia!

The San Francisco Zoo!

The Sacramento Zoo!

Funderland with Kevin Jose!

FairyLand (in Oakland) with Olivia and Amanda Hallas!

Fairytale Town in Sacramento!

We did TONS of swimming!

With Brooke Carter

With Unkie Brian!

With Matthew (at Aunt Bethie's)!

Julia was fearless diving in at Auntie Julie and Uncle Jim's!

Marco LOVED swimming in Donner lake!! (Brrrr!)

Summer FUN!!!!

We have been in California since the beginning of July! We've had loads and loads of fun!! We've done lots of cool things: I had my birthday party (I'm now 4); we went to TWO zoo's (San Francisco AND Sacramento); we went to TWO fairy lands: Fairy Land in Oakland and Fairy Tale Town in Sacramento; we've been in TWO states: California and Oregon; we've played with almost all of our cousins (totaling well over 10); we've swam almost a ga-zillion times; and we've spent time with just about all of our grandparents, aunts and uncles. Basically, we've been having the times of our lives and once our mommy finds time to download the 700+ photos, we will post them here!! STAY TUNED!!!! --- Love, Julia and Marco Milani.

Sports Day 2008!!!!

All the schools in the UK a have Sports Day at the end of the school year where the kids show their athletic prowess! They do various relays, sack races, and egg and spoon races. Even the parents get into the act and have a few races!! Yes, Julia's mom and dad participated as well! (Mom LOST and dad won one and lost one!) It's all done in good fun but you can sure tell the athletes from the mathletes!!! Julia may be a bit of both.... maybe.

Julia, Julia Ingram and Isabella on their way to Sports Day at school!

Here comes the Nursery class!!!

Julia and Abi march into the stadium (the track at Regent's Park!)!

Julia getting into the sack for the sack race!

SHE'S OFF!!!!

Julia and Abi are neck and neck in the bean-bag on the head race!

Julia running her little heart out in the relay race!

Here goes Daddy in the Dad's race!!!! (He won the first one but unfortunately it was null since their was a false start!!! He lost the second; he's claiming a pulled hamstring.!

Jolly Phonics!!!

Julia is in the second row on the right - between her friends Julia I and Bella!

This week Julia's class gave a Jolly Phonics presentation to the entire school!! The nursery class did a fantastic job of showing all the other kids at St. Christina's how they learned songs for each of the letters of the alphabet. Mommy's favorite was M!

Mmmmmmmm, the mum's and dad's make many meals, many meals, many meals. The mum's and the dad's make many meals for the hungry children! MMMMMMMM!!!!

Play time!!!

We LOVE LOVE LOVE play dates!!! We recently had a really fun play date at our house with the McCarthy's (Olivia, Brenna & Amy), the Beyer's (Brooke and Ryan), and the Forrest's (Sarah, Anna & Leah). We played dress up - even Marco dressed up - games, we ran around, we danced and basically we had a great time! We also had lots of snacks, or "tea" as they say here in Merry 'Ol England! The mommy's had their own version of tea but it wasn't hot.... We LOVE play dates!!!

Marco and his tiara!

Olivia, Julia & Brenna, the princesses!

"Tea Time" for the kids!

Happy Father's Day!!!

The Milani's Family Zoo!

For Father's Day this last weekend we took a journey to the Battersea Children's Zoo with our friends the McCarthy's! Two of their daughters - Olivia and Brenna - go to school with Julia at St. Christina's. Mom, Katrina, runs with me during the week and on weekends (many good chats and problem solving transpire!!)! A good time was had by all considering the weather was "dodgy" and was teetering on the brink of rain all day!!

The dad's doing what they do best: pushing strollers! Clearly Marco enjoys his stroller time!

Julia and Brenna in the meerkat peep hole!!! They spent many an hour crawling down the tunnel and popping up in the midst of the meerkat pen!

All the girls! Brenna, Julia, Olivia & Amy!

Daddy and Marco ride the tractor! It was Marco's favorite thing!

First Slumber Party!!!

Last week I had my first slumber party!!!! It was soooo fun! My BF Sarah stayed with us FOR A WHOLE WEEK while her mommy and daddy went to look for a new house in America. Sarah and I had the best time! EVER!!! We played together, we ate breakfast together, we ate dinner together, we bathed together, we did the school drop off and pick up every day!!! We even had snacks and watched tv together! WE did EVERYTHING together! It was like we were sisters for one whole week!!! (hint hint hint, mom!)

Sarah's mom was nervous because she's never been away from home before (neither have I come to think of it!?) but she did great! She slept thru the night every night! She didn't wake up once!! It was probably because we slept in the same bed so that neither one of us would have bad dreams (and so that sarah wouldn't miss her mommy!)! We slept so well that Mommy even snuck in and took pictures of us and we didn't even move!

I hope we can do it again before Sarah moves to America.

Sleeping beauties!

Napping after a full day of fun!


Bath time!

Kew Gardens!!!

Yesterday we took a field trip (that's what mom calls them) with our friends and downstairs neighbors, the Nelson's. We went to Kew Gardens out in Kew. We had to take a bus and a train to get there! It took a little while but once we got there it was very fun and very pretty!!!

The Milani's and the Nelson's in the Gardens!

Me and Marco taking a little drink from a fountain!

Becca giving me a little lift because I was tired of walking!! Mom and Dad don't like to bring the buggy for me any more! They say I'm too big of a girl so I have to walk and walk and walk! It's EXHAUSTING!!

Tyler and I like to skip and play! We have sooo much fun together!

I took this picture of mom and Laurie on the treetop walkway!!! You can see all the trees behind them!!!

We had a great time with our friends. We are going to be sooo sad when they leave in July to go back to Seattle. They've been good neighbors and I LOVE playing with Becca and Tyler!!!