Beach babes

A few weeks ago we drove up to Dillon Beach for a barbecue with Charlotte's preschool friends. Summer in San Francisco tends to be rather foggy, so we were looking forward to a sunny day away from the city.


We did find some blue skies and sun, but the pictures don't show the dark fog that covered the ocean and kept most of us far from the water.


The fact that I never managed to take Alexander's jacket off might tell you something.

Friends who bead together...

These are my friends Tina and Julianna. I get to see them every time we visit Cleveland because Mummy's friend Emese néni (Emma) is their mother. We like to have play dates. This time we had lots of fun making necklaces together.


You can make necklaces like this too, the next time you're in Cleveland. Visit our friend Laura Jacobs at Embellish in Rocky River. She helped us with our beads, and I'm sure she'd help you too. I'm already planning to make a bracelet the next time I'm in town!

Our inspiration

Someone asked where we got the idea for our family blog. Well, we can't take all the credit. We were inspired by our cousin Matthew (Máté), who has been blogging since he was born. But he wasn't just the inspiration for our blog, we generally find ourselves inspired by him.

For example, he really knows how to wear the color blue.


He's got quite a gourmet palate.


And he'll take you down in two seconds flat if you get distracted.


For further inspiration, check out http://matthewstrada.blogspot.com/

I love swimming lessons!

I started my first swimming lessons this week in Brisbane, CA. I'm a Starfish. I have learned to put my face in the water without screaming for a towel, to blow bubbles through my mouth and my nose, and to bob up and down to keep warm in the water. We've played "Motorboat, motorboat" and "I'm a strawberry pancake" and have gathered up the rings that sink to the bottom of the pool.


Here Sophie and I have just reached the side after swimming in the deep water for the first time. (We are wearing life jackets.) We jumped in here as well, but I prefer jumping into the shallow water.

Here's video of me swimming on my back:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4853557098409250639&hl=en

Why we went to Target today

This is what happens when I try to get the kids to use every last drop of paint before buying more. We did have a few drops of blue and green, but they got lost in the sea of black paint. Apparently, Charlotte was painting a cloud, and Alexander was painting a horse.


They both went through phases where they "fingerpainted" using paintbrushes so that their hands wouldn't get yucky! Thanks to Crayola's washable paint, I let them have at it and they were cleaned up within a few minutes.


We restocked our craft box with some purple, orange, blue and green, and so the little artists should be able to get a bit more creative next time!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-35323879032464499&hl=en

Welcome!

Welcome to our family blog! We are the Websters: Julian, Maria (Mária), Charlotte (Sári), and Alexander (Sándor).

We know that our families and friends have not received enough photos, video, or updates lately. We hope that creating this blog will help us to share more of our lives with you. Posts will not necessarily be in chronological order and may depend on what happens to be downloaded from the camera at the time. Please check in now and then to see what we're up to!

A not-so-happy day

Today I just need to post some pictures that make me smile.

I started out the day with a long to-do list, the energy to get it all done, and the expectation that I would have two smiling helpers. Instead, I had two tired and grumpy non-helpers. I need to end this day by reminding myself how happy and silly they can be.


This was on the train at Children's Fairyland in Oakland. They both had so much fun on all the rides.


This was at the newly-opened Koret Children's Quarter in Golden Gate Park. It's a fun new park, but we'll like it much better when the novelty wears off and the crowds go back to school. One or the other of them kept blinking in the pictures, and after a while they just thought it was so funny to do it on purpose.