Ano Nuevo and strawberry picking

The day after my birthday was Memorial Day so S had an extra day off, which we put to great use! We drove to Ano Nuevo to see the Elephant Seals, not realising that we would have to walk 3 miles to see them! Maya coped admirably well - she spent some of the time on Mummy or Daddy's shoulders but did the majority of the 3 miles on her own two feet. She did need a lot of encouragement towards the end though - "I think I've walked a lot and I think I'm very tired now..."

The long walk was well worth it, though! The scenery is lovely and it was very cool to see the seals.































On the way back to the car, Maya got into the long grass and pretended to be a monkey!





And then we went strawberry picking! Another new experience for Maya and one which she thoroughly enjoyed. The strawberries were completely delicious, very cheap AND organic! I just wish the farm were close enough for us to go there every week to get more. We could have wished for it to be a bit warmer and less windy, but you can't have everything!

Sweet Treats

Maya loves helping in the kitchen. When I start making dinner, she brings her chair to stand on and immediately asks what she can do. I usually manage to find something that she can handle - mixing things, pouring things, putting veg in the pan... she especially likes breaking eggs, though I usually have to dig around a fair bit to remove the bits of shell ;)

We had a baking day and made lots of sweeties which we wrapped up in little bags to send to family. Maya's favourite part was definitely the sprinkles! She also loved wearing her apron and hat and refused to take them off until Daddy came home from work so he could see them too.











Showing off her owie, which she got when she reached up and put her finger right on the hob. Ouch! Our baking day ended with a bowl of iced water in front of a DVD and a whole lot of crying.



The end results:

Bread!

I have become a bread-making maniac, I tell you!

The first loaf (well, ok, the second - the first was a complete failure because I hadn't fixed the kneading blade in properly. Doh!)

Looks almost good enough to eat, hmmm?





If you thought THAT was good, wait til you see my focaccia...





But as they say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Or, as *some* say, the proof is in the pudding ;)

So let's ask Maya what she thinks of it...

Let the flavours diffuse. Chew slowly. Savour every bite.



What's the verdict?



That good? Wow!

Granny's visit!

We did lots of fun things while Granny was here!

We went to the beach and, once Maya decided that she would pluck up the courage to run around a bit, she really did have a lovely time flying the kite, kicking the ball and splashing in the water's edge.



















We had plenty of fun at home too! Maya got a Hopscotch game for her birthday and is really into jumping her way down it. She's still not terribly good at jumping but at least she's having fun!



The weather was warm enough to use the pool!













And Maya's been learning to ride her brand new bike.









But the highlight for everyone was probably the trip to Discovery Kingdom - Maya's special birthday treat. The animal shows were really good and Maya was pretty much mesmerised by everything!

























And last but not least, the Easter Bunny paid a visit and hid some eggs in the garden while we were out for brunch!