Merry Merzville

Autumn is here

2011-11-27T14:24:00.005-08:00

Autumn is here a video by jessicafm on Flickr.

Autumn is here

2011-11-27T14:24:00.003-08:00

Autumn is here, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Autumn is here

2011-11-27T14:24:00.001-08:00

Autumn is here, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Lost in the corn maze

2011-10-23T12:10:00.001-07:00

Lost in the corn maze, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

You are my Sunshine

2011-10-18T00:01:00.001-07:00

You are my Sunshine a video by jessicafm on Flickr.

Bye bye Brigden Vineyards

2011-10-17T12:37:00.001-07:00

IMG_5244, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

On Sunday, October 16, Mom and Mick held a going away party for Brigden Vineyards, the home and vineyard they lovingly created from the ground up... Within two weeks, Mom and Mick will move to a new home and start turning its grounds in to an even more lovely setting than this... So long Brigden Vineyards -- you are a beautiful place!

Happy birthday Davey!

2011-10-07T09:18:00.001-07:00

Happy birthday Davey!, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Our beautiful David is 5 years old today. So smart, so sweet, so strong in body, so strong willed, so handsome... our wonderful boy. We love you!

Country carnival in Marin Wood

2011-07-16T19:59:00.003-07:00

Country carnival in Marin Wood, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Our little devil likes face painting, finally.

Country carnival in Marin Wood

2011-07-16T19:59:00.001-07:00

Country carnival in Marin Wood, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Davey participates in his first watermelon eating contest. Never eat anything bigger than your head, right?

Pink Spring Daisy

2011-05-29T12:13:00.001-07:00

Cocktail experimentation, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Last month I attended an infusions class at 18 Reasons, taught by Sean Timberlake.

It was a really fun class where we learned to make rhubarb shrub, rhubarb liqueur, strawberry vodka, rhubarb bitters and lime/jalapeno tequila. All concoctions were fantastically delicious!

Inspired by the class and the season, I went home and quickly made my own batches of the tequila, strawberry (with black peppercorns and vanilla bean) vodka and rhubarb liqueur.

Today, faced with a tree full of lemons, I started a batch of limoncello, which left me with a lot of lemons to squeeze. What did I do? I made lemonade! Then, having just fine filtered the rhubarb liqueur and bottled it, I thought it high time to make a cocktail. This is a first experiment but dang, it is SO good, I think it will not require further tinkering.

Ladies and gentleman, without further ado, J~~essica's Spring Lemon Martini~~ my Pink Spring Daisy!

Ingredients:
2oz fresh lemonade
1oz strawberry vodka
1oz rhubarb liqueur

Put crushed ice in a cocktail shaker, add the lemonade, strawberry vodka and rhubarb liqueur. Shake vigorously. Strain in to chilled cocktail glass.

Shades of the best strawberry sorbet you've had, but with a magnificent buzz.

Try it, you'll like it!

Love my mothers day gift from Davey!

2011-05-08T15:23:00.001-07:00

Love my mothers day gift from Davey!, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Captain DB Merz

2011-05-08T15:22:00.001-07:00

Captain DB Merz, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Bath time

2011-04-16T22:22:00.001-07:00

Bath time, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Giants vs Dodgers

2011-04-15T20:21:00.001-07:00

Giants vs Dodgers, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Merry go round

2011-04-10T23:24:00.001-07:00

Merry go round a video by jessicafm on Flickr.

Poipu Beach

2011-04-10T23:22:00.003-07:00

Poipu Beach, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Mark & Davey at Sunset

2011-04-10T23:22:00.001-07:00

Mark & Davey at Sunset a video by jessicafm on Flickr.

Sunset on Hanalei Bay

2011-04-10T23:21:00.001-07:00

Sunset on Hanalei Bay, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Sunset on Hanalei Bay

2011-04-10T23:20:00.003-07:00

Sunset on Hanalei Bay, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

They're here!

2011-04-10T23:20:00.001-07:00

They're here!, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Sunrise hunting

2011-04-10T23:18:00.001-07:00

Sunrise hunting, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Hunting for sunrise shells on Lumahai Beach at sunrise with Mark and Dena. Life is good.

Oh my, Lumahai

2011-04-10T23:17:00.001-07:00

Oh my, Lumahai, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Jojo's shave ice!

2011-04-10T23:07:00.001-07:00

Jojo's shave ice!, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Hanalei farmer's market

2011-04-10T23:05:00.001-07:00

Hanalei farmer's market, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Kauai resort Mariott

2011-04-10T23:04:00.003-07:00

Kauai resort Mariott, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Marriott on Kauai

2011-04-10T23:04:00.001-07:00

Marriott on Kauai, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Merz Men on a walk/ride

2011-04-10T23:02:00.001-07:00

Merz Men on a walk/ride a video by jessicafm on Flickr.

Mark and Davey enjoy a bit of biking together on a beautiful Spring morning.

Watching hula dancing girls...

2011-04-10T18:54:00.001-07:00

Pensive lei, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

...at the free hula show on Wednesday evenings at the Coconut Grove Shopping Center on Kauai.

Every resort needs a slide like this

2011-04-10T15:27:00.001-07:00

Every resort needs a slide like this a video by jessicafm on Flickr.

Davey had the BEST time on this slide. This experience, alone, made the cost of a night at the Marriot worth it.

Way to Go San Francisco Giants!

2011-04-10T15:25:00.001-07:00

Giants Home Opening Night, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Here's to another ring this season!

A gorgeous day for a walk

2011-04-10T15:24:00.001-07:00

A gorgeous day for a walk, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Peets customer

2011-04-08T11:17:00.001-07:00

Peets customer, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

A glimpse in to the future?

Hiking the waterfall trail with Deb

2011-02-14T11:22:00.001-08:00

Hiking the waterfall trail with Deb, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

We had a great time hiking the Waterfall Trail on Saturday. We didn't expect to take that hike, which is 3 miles long and has a 500 foot elevation climb. However, we ended up on that trail with Davey happily trucking along 90% of the time, looking for the waterfall. Now that it's raining (as I type this), he's eager to get back to see more water in the creek.

Cleaning the orange juicer

2011-02-14T11:16:00.001-08:00

Cleaning the orange juicer, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

So eager to try what we found in storage, he lugged it to the bathroom on his own to clean it.

Signing valentines

2011-02-14T11:09:00.001-08:00

Signing valentines, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Deeee aaaaaay veeee iiiiii (dot!!) deeee!

An exciting new years eve

2011-01-05T12:45:00.001-08:00

An exciting new years eve, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Happy holidays

2010-12-24T09:52:00.001-08:00

Christmas tree hunting, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

From us to you, happy holidays and a very happy new year. xoxo

Scoping out Christmas trees

2010-12-24T09:51:00.001-08:00

Scoping out Christmas trees, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Christmas tree hunting

2010-12-24T09:48:00.001-08:00

Christmas tree hunting, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Cutting down the Christmas Tree

2010-12-24T09:47:00.001-08:00

Cutting down the Christmas Tree
Originally uploaded by jessicafm

Is there room on this cable car?

2010-12-24T09:27:00.001-08:00

A day in San Francisco, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Hanging off the cable car

2010-12-24T09:25:00.003-08:00

A day in the city, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

It really is fun to play tourist from time to time, isn't it?

Viewing Union Square

2010-12-24T09:25:00.001-08:00

A day in San Francisco, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

...from the top floor of Macy's.

Got his letter mailed to Santa!

2010-12-24T09:18:00.001-08:00

A day in San Francisco, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

On December 23rd Mark, Bonnie, Davey and I went for a day in downtown San Francisco. While waiting to get in to lunch at Cheesecake Factory, we wandered about Santa Land on the 7th floor of Macy's. While there, Davey sat down and drew a picture of Santa on a postcard and popped it in to the Santa Mail Box. Yay!

I'm sure we can all relate...

2010-12-24T09:01:00.001-08:00

I'm sure we can all relate..., originally uploaded by jessicafm.

December 23rd at Macy's San Francisco...

Our house guest for a couple days

2010-11-28T14:52:00.001-08:00

Our house guest for a couple days, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Davey and I are dog sitting Travis, Mom and Mick's dog, for a couple days. While allergy testing shows Davey is allergic to cats and dogs, we're giving this a try to see how he does. Travis, besides, is the sweetest and most well behaved dog I can imagine.

This morning we all went for a walk to Peets and Noah's for lunch. Davey was on his bike and Travis on a leash. Everyone had a grand time. Now it's nap time but later this afternoon we will go for another outing to Pioneer Park for more bike riding and walking.

Halloween Loot!

2010-11-03T18:49:00.001-07:00

Halloween Loot!, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Yes, it was a good Halloween! Davey liked his trash truck costume, he had a great time with Grandma Bonbon while she took him trick-or-treating and told him "the story of us." He got a nice haul of candy, too! There was plenty he couldn't have (milk containing candies) but there was also more than enough that was "safe."

Here's a bit of video as Davey and Bonnie left to go trick-or-treating:

And here's how our house looked. Earlier in the day Bonnie drew designs on the pumpkins and I did the carving and gutting.

Davey is a trash truck!

2010-10-31T13:27:00.001-07:00

Davey is a trash truck!, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Trash truck costume is nearly ready!

2010-10-31T09:39:00.001-07:00

Trash truck costume is nearly ready!, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Finishing touches required: glue on some "trash", add head- and tail-lights...

Davey and Linda are Jack-o-lanterns!

2010-10-31T09:37:00.001-07:00

Playing with piglets

2010-10-19T13:50:00.003-07:00

Pumpkin hunting at Peterson's Farm

2010-10-19T13:50:00.001-07:00

Pumpkin hunting at Peterson's Farm, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Pumpkin hunting at Peterson's Farm

2010-10-19T13:49:00.001-07:00

Pumpkin hunting at Peterson's Farm, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Climbing to the top of the world

2010-10-17T23:08:00.001-07:00

Climbing to the top of the world, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Ubuntu says Happy Birthday Davey!

2010-10-10T10:16:00.001-07:00

IMG_3041, originally uploaded by freemntn.

A surprise dessert for Davey from Ubuntu of passion fruit tapioca and coconut sorbet. We had supper there, and Davey was SO patient and good over the two hour meal, the night before his 4th birthday.

Happy birthday

2010-10-07T11:36:00.001-07:00

Hi!

2010-10-07T11:34:00.001-07:00

Happy 4th birthday, David!

2010-10-07T11:29:00.001-07:00

Happy 4th birthday, David!, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

First pumpkin patch visit of '10

2010-10-03T14:33:00.001-07:00

First pumpkin patch visit of '10, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Davey's birthday party

2010-10-02T23:30:00.001-07:00

Davey's birthday party, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Let the birthday partying begin! Yes, Davey's birthday is still 5 days away but we had his "kid" birthday party today, the Saturday prior to the real day. What fun we had!

We went to Marin Treks in Novato where Brian (Mr. C) showed and taught the kids about leopard geckos, ball pythons and tortoises. The kids all had the opportunity to touch and/or hold those creatures, which pretty much all were doing by the time that was up.

Then we had some excellent Amici's pizza (kudos to Mark for getting them to have pizza ready 45 minutes before they open their doors!), cupcakes and juice boxes.

An interesting twist: For the first time, it was almost all dads accompanying kids to this party. There were two other moms there (Grace's mom, Cammeron and Alex's mom, Suzanne). That was totally funny! One wonders if maybe some moms were a little squeamish about snakes, lizards, etc.? Ha, totally funny! Of course everyone at the party was a lot of fun.

Davey loved the gifts his friends gave him. We spent the afternoon, pre and post nap, putting together the various gifts and playing. Thanks kids!

Wednesday I'm taking off work to take Davey to meet up with Papa and Linda in Calistoga for a birthday lunch. On his actual birthday, Thursday, he'll go to school so he can wear the special birthday hat at circle time and eat cupcakes (or rice crispy treats? hmmm) with his Kittens classmates and then something special for dinner that night. Family birthday party next weekend? I guess Mark and I had better figure that one out quickly!

Good morning!

2010-09-28T13:18:00.001-07:00

Good morning!, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Beachy afternoon with Dad

2010-09-20T21:25:00.001-07:00

Beachy afternoon with Dad, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Lindsay, Davey and Prescott

2010-09-06T23:17:00.001-07:00

DSCN8606_edited-1, originally uploaded by kikip.

Dinner at Pasta Pomodoro after Papa played at the Sausalito Art festival.

Sisters

2010-09-06T23:15:00.003-07:00

DSCN8582, originally uploaded by kikip.

Hanging back stage

2010-09-06T23:15:00.001-07:00

DSCN8585, originally uploaded by kikip.

...while Jefferson Starship plays at the Sausalito Art Festival on Labor Day, 2010.

Who's got a new silly straw?

2010-08-22T20:28:00.001-07:00

Who's got a new silly straw?, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Chicken time

2010-08-21T22:43:00.001-07:00

Chicken time, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Do the Davey Dance

2010-08-17T21:03:00.000-07:00

Mark took Davey out do dinner at Pacific Catch. You can see he enjoyed the music. I love our little dancer!

Zucchini muffins that Davey helped me make

2010-08-09T13:19:00.001-07:00

Zucchini muffins that Davey helped me make, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Davey was an awesome sous-chef, helping me measure and mix the dry ingredients and using the plunger to push the zucchini in to the food processor for shredding. Of course he was also great at cleaning the bowl and spatula...

Davey in his sleeping cave

2010-07-25T16:27:00.001-07:00

Davey in his sleeping cave, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Burnt Cedar Beach

2010-07-24T15:45:00.001-07:00

Burnt Cedar Beach, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Thanks Rozzie and Prescott

2010-07-23T21:14:00.001-07:00

Thanks Rozzie and Prescott, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Dad's 42nd (?) birthday

2010-07-23T21:13:00.001-07:00

img062, originally uploaded by kikip.

Sand Harbor

2010-07-23T12:59:00.001-07:00

Sand Harbor, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Attack of the zombie ducks!

2010-07-14T13:43:00.000-07:00

Happy boy on the river

2010-07-13T18:36:00.001-07:00

Happy boy on the river, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Mark took Davey up for a visit on the Russian River to visit Grandma Bonbon today. He's having a wonderful time on the river, as you can see. Our little water boy.

Dinner with family is fun!

2010-07-12T08:36:00.001-07:00

Dinner with family is fun!, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Self portrait

2010-07-11T09:49:00.001-07:00

Self portrait, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Biking buddies

2010-07-09T14:35:00.001-07:00

While riding his bike around Pioneer Park yesterday, Davey picked up a biking buddy...

Sausalito fireworks

2010-07-09T14:34:00.001-07:00

Sausalito fireworks, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Happy in the Hay Bales

2010-07-01T21:28:00.001-07:00

P1060694, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Marin County Fair, July 1, 2010

Davey plays along...

2010-06-06T16:18:00.000-07:00

My Heart Rocks - The Linda Imperial Band

2010-06-04T13:06:00.000-07:00

We are going to be married, Mommy

2010-05-27T19:26:00.001-07:00

We are going to be married, Mommy, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Sweet words from Davey

2010-05-25T20:42:00.001-07:00

Enjoying the water, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

"shh, honey, its time to go to sleep.". "but mommy, I have so many things in my brain to tell you!"

Gliding on his bike at Hearts Desire Beach

2010-05-23T21:49:00.001-07:00

Davey and Doc Flash go fly a kite

2010-05-23T21:48:00.001-07:00

Davey and Doc Flash go fly a kite, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

And nobody wanted to go home

2010-05-09T11:54:00.001-07:00

Leaving. :-(, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Alas, we had to reenter the real world once again. We shall return. SOON.

Climbing practice

2010-05-04T19:48:00.001-07:00

Climbing practice, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Surfers

2010-05-02T23:45:00.001-07:00

Surfers, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Hibiscus and boy

2010-05-02T23:44:00.001-07:00

Hibiscus and boy, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Playing in the surf at sunset

2010-05-02T12:26:00.001-07:00

Playing in the surf at sunset, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Morning in the surf with Daddy

2010-05-01T23:41:00.001-07:00

Morning in the surf with Daddy, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Secret Beach

2010-05-01T17:55:00.001-07:00

Secret Beach, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Secret Beach

2010-05-01T17:54:00.001-07:00

Secret Beach, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Spending the morning at Ke'e Beach

2010-04-30T18:00:00.001-07:00

Spending the morning at Ke'e Beach, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

6:38am on Hanalei Bay

2010-04-30T11:53:00.001-07:00

6:38am on Hanalei Bay, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Little footsteps

2010-04-30T11:48:00.001-07:00

Little footsteps, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Does he look happy?

2010-04-30T11:47:00.001-07:00

Does he look happy?, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

Child of nature: redux

2010-04-30T10:15:00.001-07:00

Child of nature: redux, originally uploaded by jessicafm.

"The penguins were holding the gate open for us.". - Davey waking from his nap, recounting a dream for the 1st time.