We made the favors for Holly's birthday party (and I neglected to hand half of them out!). We used the bubble art we had made earlier. I cut the paper into 2"x3" rectangles and then I cut slits on either side. Holly stamped "thank you" on each one and then Conor and Greta slid the bubble container into the paper slits. It's was a real assembly line. I love how they turned out. And I love the play on bubble art and bubbles!

While Conor's parents were here we of course took them to our favorite beach. I love Sunset Beach. However, we're really feeling the increase of people living in the bay area. The beach parking lots fill up so fast! We snagged a couple of the last spots. The beach was windy and cool, but still quite fun.

We weren't going to do a birthday party for Holly. But gathering people together and being with friends is so quintessentially Holly that we couldn't forgo a big old party. She is such a social creature. Five year olds really know what they want! So that was a bit tough, but we managed to compromise on a few things and the party was an overall success. Simple, and yet I found myself sleeping the entire weekend following.

Also, it seems that five year olds like to pose.

Gilroy Gardens is the best! It's beautiful and is truly a garden and it has excellent rides for the children. We love going there! We took Catherine and Jim there and fun was had by all!

Conor's mom, Catherine, had never seen Redwoods, so visiting a redwood forest was a must. We opted for Big Basin over Muir Woods. It's a bit closer to where we live and parking is much less of a hassle. And there's some really big trees! Redwoods are awe inspiring. They really are majestic. It was a great little afternoon trip.