Maker Faire 2016

This past weekend we took the girls to our favorite event of the year... Maker Faire!

Zion National Park

Today I'm back with more ridiculously scenic photos from our Spring Break trip to the desert.

After visiting Las Vegas and Valley of Fire State Park, we headed to Utah and Zion National Park.

I hadn't anticipated just how busy Zion would be during our visit. It may not look like there were many other people there in the photos below, but trust me, it was super busy and it took an awfully long time just to get into the park where we discovered there were no parking spaces left! But, just look at that spectacular scenery - it was definitely worth a wait! 

Oscar de la Renta: The Retrospective

Last Sunday Mathilde and I headed to the de Young Museum in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park to check out the current exhibition, Oscar de la Renta: The Retrospective.

BODYARMOR Sports Drink

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by BODYARMOR sports drink. All opinions are my own.

As you've seen in recent posts, my girls are pretty active. Both Ava and Lola swim twice a week at our local YMCA, they take hour long karate classes twice a week in a local park, and as we're living car free, they bike/walk/scoot absolutely everywhere. And of course, every now and then they take part in something super active like last weekend's Berkeley Kid's Triathlon.

All of this activity means my kids get pretty thirsty. They're big water drinkers, but sometimes their bodies need a little more after exercise. Something to replace lost electrolytes. Something packed with vitamins. Something with a delicious taste! That last one definitely ranks highest on my kids' list, but for me the most important thing is that they're drinking something that is good for them.  

BODYARMOR sports drink was the girl's drink of choice after they competed in the triathlon this weekend. BODYARMOR is a natural sports drink with potassium packed electrolytes, coconut water and vitamins. Unlike other sports drinks on the market, it is low in sodium, contains natural flavors and sweeteners, and contains no artificial colors making it a great choice for young athletes like mine. 

Bike to School Day 2016

Last week was an extra active one for my girls. On top of their regular swim and karate classes, Ava and Lola took part in the Berkeley Kid's Triathlon. But the triathlon wasn't the only active event of the week. Last Thursday was Bike to School Day (and Bike to Work Day) here in the Bay Area.

Purple Hair

You may have noticed that Ava's hair wasn't its usual blonde color in my last post.

If you follow Little Hiccups on Instagram you would have already seen Ava's hair just over a week ago, but if not, I thought I'd share her transformation with you.

Berkeley Kids' Triathlon 2016

This past weekend Ava and Lola took part in the 9th annual Berkeley Kids' Triathlon. 

This was Ava's fourth time competing and Lola's first. Having taken out both first place and second place in the past, Ava was pretty keen to take home another trophy. She wasn't fussed about winning though - she wanted to come in third place so she could round out her trophy collection!

Lola wasn't too fussed about trying to win. Given that she can't actually swim properly on her own yet, she knew her chances of taking home a trophy weren't high. She just wanted to have fun and loved the idea of taking part just like her big sister.

Junior Ranger Jamboree

This past weekend the girls and I headed to San Francisco's Crissy Field for a 100th birthday party.

Just who was turning 100? The National Park Service!

We're big fans of America's National Parks so the kids and I were pretty excited when we heard that there would be a Junior Ranger Jamboree to celebrate the centenary. Every time we visit a National Park Ava and Lola make sure to take part in the Junior Ranger program and earn themselves a badge. When they found out that they could earn a special badge by attending the jamboree they were all over it!

Spring Adventures with Fruit Shoot

This past weekend the girls and I spent an afternoon at Crissy Field, one of our favorite places for a little outdoor fun in San Francisco..

It was a pretty rainy and grey day, but that didn't stop the girls from having fun on the beach! With their raincoats on and their backpacks full of snacks and drinks they were ready for anything. And seriously, with the beautiful Golden Gate Bridge as the backdrop to their playing, nothing could put a dampener on their spirits.

While it was too cold to actually go in the water (which is almost always true of San Francisco!), it was the perfect day for running from the small waves as they crashed onto the beach. Isn't every day? My girls can entertain themselves for hours running from the waves. With the Golden Gate Bridge in the background in one direction, and Alcatraz in the other, I was happy to just sit back on the wet sand and watch, while listening to the sound of the girls' laughter ringing through the air. Ah, the glorious sound of happy children.

April on Instagram

Are you following Little Hiccups on Instagram?

A lot of the pictures I share on Instagram also appear here on Little Hiccups, but there are also quite a few behind the scenes shots that don't make it onto the blog. Sunsets over San Francisco Bay from our roof top, videos of Mathilde doing crazy stuff, pictures from on the go taken on my iPhone... Instagram is the place for these sorts of shots.

Today I'm sharing some of the highlights from Little Hiccups on Instagram during April. I hope to post share an Instagram highlight post each month looking back at the past month.

Make sure you check out the video of Mathilde skateboarding. It's a classic!

Oh, and there's some pretty amazing hair right at the end of this post!

My April Fool's Day prank on the kids... They found this "official" National Parks letter under the door of our hotel room at the Grand Canyon. Good thing we packed swimsuits and goggles! 😂 #aprilfools #ava #prank #grandcanyon

A photo posted by Sally Mason (@littlehiccups) on Apr 2, 2016 at 5:03pm PDT

I'm a Powerpuff Girl! #powerpuffyourself

A photo posted by Sally Mason (@littlehiccups) on Apr 3, 2016 at 1:50pm PDT

I know it's not #tbt today, but this pic of Lola and Ava at Roaring Camp popped up on my Facebook feed today as a memory from four years ago. Four years later and it's still one of my favorite photos ever! #Ava #Lola #roaringcamp #roaringcamprailroads #jump #sisters

A photo posted by Sally Mason (@littlehiccups) on Apr 4, 2016 at 12:04pm PDT

Take Your Child to Work Day 2016

I'm getting a little behind here on Little Hiccups lately, and I have so many things I want to share with you. Spring break in the desert, Take Your Child to Work Day, Wacky Hair Day, more from recent birthday parties, and I still haven't finished sharing about our SoCal trip from Christmas! So much to catch up on and not enough hours in the day!

Anyway, let's start by having a look at Take Your Child to Work Day...

Mathilde's 2nd Birthday Party

This past Sunday we celebrated Mathilde's second birthday with her much awaited DIGGER PARTY - which has to be written in all caps because it is always yelled! 

Ready for Summer Exploring

     

On Friday I was reading the girls' weekly school newsletter and right there in the first paragraph was a sentence that really jumped out and caught my attention: "There are only six weeks of the school year left". Six weeks! Eek! I can't believe that the long Summer vacation is almost upon us again.

With the realization that Summer is almost here I really got thinking about our plans for the break. Ava will be attending a Summer camp for two weeks for the first time ever (I'm just as excited about it as she is!) but apart from that we have absolutely no plans. The thought of all three kids home, all Summer with no plans kind of freaked me out a little, so I started thinking about activities that we can do to keep ourselves busy. We're sure to be doing lots of crafting at home, but with limited space in our apartment, and the lovely Summer weather, I like to take the girls out as much as possible over Summer.

We're really lucky here in the Bay Area that we have access to both stunning urban and natural environments. We'll most likely spend plenty of time hanging out in San Francisco visiting museums, galleries, cafes, playgrounds and amazing outdoor spaces along the waterfront. But you can guarantee that most of our time will be spent getting in touch with nature here in the East Bay where we have a wealth of parks filled with all sorts of natural wonders to explore. We sure do love to explore!