Magical Bridge Playground - Palo Alto, CA

We wanted to show some cousins this wonderful park while they were staying with us overnight.

Chabot Space and Science Center - Oakland, CA

We were stuck in horrible traffic on our way home from visiting family in the East Bay. We decided to stop by Chabot to let traffic die down and ended up getting a family membership. We just happened to run into some Avalon teachers and staff, also known as The Ian Fays, that happened to be performing there that night for a special event. You can check out their music here: https://www.facebook.com/TheIanFays/

Clayton Bowl - Concord, CA

Bowling for cousin Rebecca's birthday

Pacifica, CA

And we're at Pacifica again. 

Pacifica, CA

When the Pacific Ocean is this close and you have nice weather, you just have to go often.

Happy Halloween! - San Bruno, CA

Repetto's Pumpkin Patch - Half Moon Bay, CA

Very first school field trip

Bay Trail - Burlingame, CA

We had a lot of spare time before school started so we decided on a morning walk/roll on the Bay Trail.

Ready, Set, Fly - San Francisco International Airport

The Arc, jetBlue and SFO organized a training seminar to help families with special needs to experience what it is like to get onboard a flight. This was such a great experience!

The Avalon Academy - Burlingame, CA

First day of Kindergarten!

San Francisco Zoo - San Francisco, CA

We went to the zoo today with our good friends, the Walkers. Check out my older post for more information about the zoo: http://jillianmichelestevens.blogspot.com/2011/05/san-francisco-zoo-san-francisco-ca.html

Magical Bridge Playground - Palo Alto, CA

We were interviewed by the San Jose Mercury News for an article about California Children's Services. We met up with a Mercury News photographer at Magical Bridge Playground for photos to be included in the article. Here's a link to the article: http://www.mercurynews.com/health/ci_28713811/californias-plan-absorb-medically-fragile-children-into-managed

Sea Bowl - Pacifica, CA

We decided to give bowling a chance. It was lots of fun!

Young Eagles / San Carlos Airport - San Carlos, CA

We went to the airport to check out Kate's latest hobby, flying with Young Eagles.

Ryder Park - San Mateo, CA

Big sister Kate got to plan the whole day, which included a stop by the donut shop before Ryder Park.  Check out my older post for more information on this wonderful park: http://jillianmichelestevens.blogspot.com/2011/09/ryder-park-san-mateo-ca.html

Billiards at Shelter Creek - San Bruno, CA

Why should big sister get all the fun? We all had good laughs and horrible shots but we had fun doing it.

Minions Movie (Maya Cinemas) - Pittsburg, CA

Auntie Theresa told us about a program at Maya Cinemas (Maya Cares) that allows special needs children in the theater for free and offers discounted admission for caregivers and family. They keep the volume down and the lights up to help with sensory issues. It is definitely worth the drive out to catch movies there. We got to see Minions ON THE BIG SCREEN!

Rockaway Beach - Pacifica, CA

Auntie Angelique and Auntie Whitney had some down time before heading to the airport so we went over the hill to our favorite, Rockaway Beach.

Inside Out at Century Theater Tanforan - San Bruno, CA

Commodore Park - San Bruno, CA

Auntie Angelique was visiting the Bay Area for her 29th birthday. :) Grandma Sue (also 29) was visiting from Idaho also. We had a half day picnic at Commodore Park. It was windy and chilly but very nice. It was nice enough for a long nap.

Oyster Point Park - South San Francisco, CA

We took an afternoon walk along the bay and stopped briefly at the beach at Oyster Point Park.

San Francisco Bay Trail - Burlingame, CA

I won't lie. Our visit to the Bay Trail was brought on by our desire for a coffee break. There is a Starbucks inside the Marriott and the lobby has very comfortable seats with the perfect view of the bay and flights coming into SFO.

Rockaway Beach - Pacifica, CA

Grandpa Howard, Aunt Jenny, Aunt Theresa and my cousins came out for a visit. We brought them to our favorite local beach.

Magical Bridge Playground (Mitchell Park) - Palo Alto, CA

We met up with Daddy's cousin, Diane and a little girl that she takes care of, Gigi.

Canine Companions for Independence - Santa Rosa, CA

After applying for a skilled companion dog, submitting all the required information and forms, and doing a phone interview, we were asked to come in for an in-person interview. We are officially approved and are on a waiting list. Yay!

Oyster Point Park - South San Francisco, CA

We went for an afternoon walk by Oyster Point Marina and followed it up with lunch and another walk in downtown South San Francisco. It is a small but cute area surrounded by ugly commercial businesses and way too many auto body shops.

Santana Row - San Jose, CA

We were in San Jose for Rotary Playgarden but the family was hungry. We found Veggie Grill and Starbucks at Santana Row.

Rotary Playgarden - San Jose, CA

We heard about this new accessible playground in San Jose so we had to check it out. Check out their website for more information: http://www.rotaryplaygarden.org/

Bay Trail - Burlingame, CA

Set off for another walk on our favorite portion of the San Francisco Bay Trail.

Parca Day at the Fair - San Mateo, CA

Magical Bridge Playground (Mitchell Park) - Palo Alto, CA

 This is such a great place to play! Visit their website for more information: http://magicalbridge.org/index.html

Filoli Gardens - Woodside, CA

We went to Filoli Gardens specifically for our annual spring photos. Unfortunately, we got there 45 minutes before they closed so we had to really rush through. It is very expensive so we will only come back if there is a special deal going on.

Filoli is a country house set in 16 acres of formal gardens surrounded by a 654-acre estate, located in Woodside, California, about 25 miles south of San Francisco, at the southern end of Crystal Springs Lake, on the eastern slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Now owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Filoli is open to the public. The site is both a California Historical Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

California State Capitol - Sacramento, CA

Since we were already in Sacramento, we stopped for an outdoor tour of our State's Capitol building. We were just minutes late before they closed the inside for tours. We'll definitely have to come back some time.

California State Railroad Museum - Sacramento, CA

The California State Railroad Museum is a museum in the state park system of California, USA, interpreting the role of the "iron horse" in connecting California to the rest of the nation. It is located in Old Sacramento at 111 I Street.

The museum features 21 restored locomotives and railroad cars, some dating back to 1862. The "Sierra Scene" shows a large scale mockup of a construction scene high in the Sierra Nevada representing Donner Pass circa 1867, featuring the locomotive Gov. Stanford. Other exhibits show how the influence of railroads changed American society, influencing travel, commerce and daily life, as well as the lives of railroaders and the diversity of people who work on railroads. Changing exhibits featuring photography, ephemera, and artifacts from the museum's collection, add depth and incidental information to the overall story of railroad history. The Museum has an extensive educational program for elementary students from across the region to help them learn about railroad history using re-enactments, costumed docents, and including train and handcar rides.

Sawyer Camp Trail - San Mateo, CA

We were a little late to school today because we got distracted with the beauty of this place and stopped in for a roll again.

Muir Woods National Monument - Marin County, CA

Kind of just decided we needed to check out some redwoods. So we headed across the Golden Gate Bridge to Muir Woods National Monument in Marin County.

Muir Woods National Monument is a unit of the National Park Service on Mount Tamalpais near the Pacific coast, in southwestern Marin County, California. It is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and is 12 miles north of San Francisco. It protects 554 acres, of which 240 acres are old growth coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) forests, one of a few such stands remaining in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Sawyer Camp Trail - San Mateo, CA

We have passed by this trail many times on the way to school but finally had time to stop and check it out. 

Sawyer Camp Trail is a popular six mile trail located in the San Andreas Fault rift valley in San Mateo County, California near Hillsborough and the San Mateo Highlands. Approximately 300,000 people use the trail every year. It provides excellent views of San Francisco Peninsula's Crystal Springs Watershed. The trail is managed by San Mateo County and totally surfaced in asphalt. There is considerable biodiversity along the trail due to the variation in habitat and the presence of serpentine soils. In particular the plant communities of Northern coastal scrub, grassland and California oak woodland are present.

Pacifica, CA

It was a little too warm on our side of the peninsula so we took the ten minute drive to Pacifica... where we immediately needed our jackets.

Magical Bridge Playground (Mitchell Park ) - Palo Alto, CA

We missed opening weekend for this inclusive and wheelchair accessible playground because we were afraid it would be too crowded. This place is AMAZING! So much thought went into every detail. Our favorite is the wheelchair accessible carousel, of course! Love Love Love this place!

Presidio - San Francisco, CA

We tried to find ancestry information from the old military hospital at the Presidio but the archives here don't contain information that we were looking for. That didn't stop us from having a great time and enjoying the perfect weather and the fantastic architecture of the old buildings.

Family Picnic at Buchanan Park - Pittsburg, CA

Lots of family got together at Buchanan Park to see Uncle Kirby and Aunt Linda. They were visiting from Idaho. We wish we could see them more!

Easter Festivities (Mommy's work) - Palo Alto, CA

San Francisco Zoo - San Francisco, CA

Again, just because it is so close! 

Check out my older post for more information about the zoo: http://jillianmichelestevens.blogspot.com/2011/05/san-francisco-zoo-san-francisco-ca.html

Stanford University - Palo Alto, CA

We were in the area with new jerseys, shirts and hats; and we had time to spare. Why not go exploring around the campus when it is near empty during gorgeous weather?

Indian Springs Resort - Calistoga, CA

Another work weekend for Mommy means that we get to stay in this beautiful old world style resort. We spent time walking up and down the streets and checking out the shops in downtown Calistoga. After Mommy was finished with meetings we headed over to Old Faithful of California. Other than forgetting the charger for the food pump and having to rely on gravity feeds from a large syringe, it was an incredible weekend!

Bay Trail - Burlingame, CA

Needing to get outdoors since so much time was spent inside the hospital we came here on March 6 and March 8. This is one of our favorite sections of the Bay Trail and it's not entirely because the conveniently located Starbucks inside the Marriott.

Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford - Palo Alto, CA

An unfortunate series of events that is partially due to a surgery at a very
young age led to major abdominal surgery and an extended stay in the intensive care unit.

Oyster Point Park - South San Francisco, CA

We are always looking for new areas of the San Francisco Bay Trail to explore. This is our first time heading into South San Francisco to get to it. Wish we had come here sooner!

East Bay Family Day - Concord, CA

Left: Todos Santos Plaza; Top Right: Salvio Pacheco Square; Bottom Right: Newhall Park

We took a trip to Concord to celebrate some January birthdays with family. We started at Newhall Park and ended up exploring Todos Santos Plaza and Salvio Pacheco Square before heading into The Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner and dessert.