the santoro life

Noah and have been married for 11 years! We got away for a long weekend in San Francisco while my parents stayed in SD with the kids. We stayed right in the heart of the city and walked everywhere which we always love. Not having a car is so nice sometimes. The theme of the weekend was indulgence...lots of eating, drinking, walking and shopping. And some sleeping but of course we were both up by 6:30am both mornings. Getting old is really not fun. We stayed at the White Swan Inn - super eclectic, funky spot in Nob Hill with a B&B feel. It was an awesome hotel and I hope we get to go back. No shortage of wallpaper! It was absolutely everywhere. Never seen so many prints, patterns, textures in my life.  Had to take this pic for Emmett. We walked by the Grace Cathedral on Saturday night. So pretty. A good little reminder.  I really wanted to ride a cable car but they were always packed so I settled for a picture.  On Sunday we walked thr...

Last week was another fast and busy week - Finn had a school conference (doing awesome, got a great report), Noah and I went to a concert on a school night and we celebrated me turning another year older! This week it's half days for the kids all week, then spring break next week! Didi and Bapa get here Wednesday for a visit. Woo hooo!! Bunny ears for my girl! Emmett finally got a proper haircut! He absolutely loved it and was cracking up the stylist. Not into the mohawk at all. Clean cut boy! We went to Wheat & Water on Saturday night with friends (and no kids!) for food and drinks. It was so fun to celebrate with friends old and new. We are blessed with some amazing friends.  A sweet card from my Finnster. Doesn't get much better than that.  We had birthday brunch at The Cottage. Pancakes for the kids and mimosas for me and Noah. YUM The kids had a BLAST with Kelsey while we were out Saturday night. She built the best fort ever with...

It was another one of those beautiful, warm and sunny weeks with rain and cold forecast for the weekend, so we made a last minute call to go out to Palm Springs Saturday and Sunday for some sunshine and pool time! We mini golfed, swam in the hotel pool, spent some time at a park/playground and shopped at the outlets. It was a perfect, quick getaway! Me and my buddy. Emmett's new phrase is "I'm a part of this family!" I can't believe he's turning three in less than one month.  Did some driving in the hotel parking lot. I remember doing this with my grandpa and thinking it was just the coolest! Finn was a little reluctant at first... Sophia was ALL IN. Funny swings at the park. We met a family at this park who had spent an entire year traveling the world with their kid who was Emmett's age.  We got home Sunday afternoon and headed to Larry and Colleen's for dinner. We finally got Emmett and Zach together! Sophia was their "te...

Finn and I were lucky enough to meet Molly and Sloane last weekend! It was awesome to get so much QT time with my number one. We flew all day Thursday, then drove two hours to Jane's house. Amy was home from India, too! Snuggling babies is seriously the best. Ever. Those tiny butts didn't touch a crib the entire weekend.    It was amazing traveling with only ONE kid! He played Nintendo, we watched Planet Earth and I read a book. Yes, a BOOK.  Look at this pro. He has been so excited about the girls since they were born. Being a twin himself I think made it a little extra special. He was so good with them.  Helping Uncle Walter with the feedings. He was into feeding them but terrified of the spit ups.  On Friday we went to Dogwood Canyon for lunch and a hike. It was chilly but we had fun.  There was an awesome treehouse (like a professional one) that was fun to explore.    California boy in the country! Dinner sel...