Apparently not much happened in January that was photo-worthy, but this picture of the boys and Hayden after getting haircuts was kinda cute:
In February we went to a San Jose Barracudas (the Sharks minor league hockey team) game for a friend's birthday:
We did some hiking at Pinnacles National Park in March, which was a new experience for all of us -- it was the boys' first time, and even though Hayden and Steph had been there several times before (back when it was just a National Monument) it was always to go rock climbing, so the hiking was just something in the way of our reason for being there.
Later in the month Hayden and Steph spent a weekend away, although we just went to Danville. Here we are at the top of Mt. Diablo:
For our first big trip of the year we went to Maui for spring break with our old next-door neighbors. We hadn't been to Hawaii in over 10 years, so the boys has obviously never been. Now that they're old enough to go snorkeling we figured it was finally time, and it was a great trip!
When we got back we tried to keep the island vibes going by drinking Maui Mules (just a Moscow Mule with some POG added, which we made up on the trip) and eating Hawaiian chips in the backyard:
Here are Steph and the boys at Evan's school band spring recital (he plays the clarinet):
Hayden had to travel back east for work several times in the late spring and early summer, and on one trip his flight home was on Evan's 10th birthday:
We didn't have any big adventures over the summer break, but among a variety of day excursions we went to the Exploratorium in SF:
the Alameda County Fair:
and the California Rodeo in Salinas:
For Steph's birthday we went to a recording of Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me at Davies Symphony Hall in SF:
The end of August brought the start of a new school year. Evan is now in 5th grade, and Alex 2nd, meaning this is the last year they'll both be in the same school until their Senior/Freshman years in high school:
In October Alex turned 8, and he insisted on having his birthday party at the house:
Also in October the entire 5th grade went away to Science Camp for the week, which was a big hit:
Alex and I went to the last San Jose Earthquakes game of the season, which ended up being quite an exciting last-second 3-2 win that sent the Quakes to the playoffs:
Steph is starting on a big new project in her art practice, InTouch, that's going to need a lot more space than she had at her old studio, so she took an opportunity to move to a bigger studio downtown:
For Halloween, Evan was a penguin and Alex a Pikachu:
We spent most of our Halloween prep time working on the boys' costumes, so the adult costumes consisted of Steph making a Wonder Woman tiara/headband:
For the first time in several years we made the trek back to Columbus, Ohio to see Hayden's side of the family for Thanksgiving:
We needed a picture that included Peekay for the Christmas card, so after we got back he staged on on the front porch:
And finally, here we are with our Christmas tree:
All told, we had a pretty great 2017, and we're already looking forward to 2018. We hope you all had a wonderful year too!
