Smile Big
Every year, my husband and I have professional photos taken of ourselves and the kids. And every year, we consider it one of the best investments we make. I’m certain that the winning bidder of this next item will feel the same way.
Photographer Jacquie Mellott Marques, owner of Bon Vie Studios on Laurel Street, has generously donated a package that includes one weekday photo session and one 11″ x 14″ print (valued at $360). Bon Vie Studios combines classic photography with fun, energetic photo sessions that result in creative and gorgeous images of your children and families.
Weekend at Blue Lake Springs Cabin
From parents Suzanne and Eric Hughes comes this two-night stay in a three-bedroom cabin in the Blue Lake Springs area of Arnold, California! The cabin, which sleeps six and features a hot tub, is a 5-minute walk to the Fly-in-Lake recreation area and close to Murphys for wine tasting. Thanks, Hughes Family!!!
Tennis anyone?
Your summer could be a whole lot sunnier if you spent it here:
All this could be yours if you are the highest bidder on a 3-month Family Membership to the Pacific Sports Resort at Redwood Shores (valued at $1,050). Situated on ten acres, this magnificent facility boasts nine tennis courts, five squash courts, four pools, two group exercise studios, a Pilates studio, and a spa.
Weekend Roundup
Just picked up the weekend mail. We’re honored to have received:
A gift certificate that entitles the bearer to any Family Size Pasta (Serves 3-4) from Amici’s East Coast Pizzeria.
A Group Tour & Tasting (for up to 30 people) at Byington Vineyard & Winery in Los Gatos (valued at $300).
A gift certificate for four group lessons at King’s Swim Academy in San Mateo.
I go to Yoga
“I be the Mommy. You be the little lady,” my three-year-old directs. “You stay here. I go to yoga.”
Considering I’m lucky to make it to yoga twice a month during the school year, I find this pretty rich. On the other hand, it’s another in an endless series of examples of how children use play to make sense of their world. Playing “Mommy-Who-Goes-to-Yoga” allows Natalie a chance to control our separation. It also lets her experience the scene from my point of view, which in turn helps her to develop empathy.
Play is so important to children.
When I do get to go to yoga, I usually head for the Yoga Health Center on El Camino in San Carlos. They specialize in Bikram (hot) yoga, which I find incredibly effective for stilling the mind (there’s really nothing like exercising in a humid, 105-degree room to ground your attention firmly in the present moment). Owner Regina Bannon French has generously donated two 5-class passes (a $120 value)!
Namaste!
Someone is going to…
Disneyland!!!
SPNS just scored four Disneyland® Resort One-Day Park Hopper® tickets. These tickets, valued at $420.00, provide admission to a magical experience at both Disneyland® Park and Disney’s California Adventure® Park for one day.
Thank you, Disneyland!
Staycation
Want to get away from it all (without venturing too far from home)? The Rosewood Sand Hotel in Menlo Park is offering one lucky bidder a one-night stay in deluxe accommodations and breakfast for two at Madera, the hotel’s Michelin-starred restaurant.
In other words, you could be swimming here…
sleeping here…
and enjoying a crab meat frittata here.
This package is valued at approximately $600. (Please note that $200 of the winning bid will be reimbursed to Rosewood Sand Hill Hotel, and the overage will be donated to SPNS.)
More Love from the Mailbox
The very popular Peninsula Swim School in Redwood City has kindly donated $100 toward the purchase of swim lessons.
The Mountain Winery in Saratoga provided us with a package that includes a bottle of Mountain Winery Reserve Chardonnay, a bottle of Mountain Winery Reserve Cabernet, and four weekend wine tasting vouchers (a $94 value). I drove down (and then up, up, up!) today to pick up the donation today; the location is absolutely breathtaking. Past enthusiasts of the vineyard include John Steinbeck and Charlie Chaplin!
Ten Toes, the darling children’s boutique shoe store on Laurel Street in San Carlos, has donated a $20 gift certificate.
Nothing Bundt Cakes (a favorite at SPNS board meeings) has also donated a $20 gift certificate.
Have a budding chef in your household? Les Petit Chefs Academy in San Mateo has gifted us three drop-in class passes. Go check out their offerings on their website.
Come Hungry
We have a caterer!
I am THRILLED to announce that M Woodward Catering will be providing a very special menu for our evening. Be sure to check out the rave reviews that Owner and Executive Chef Michael Woodward has received for his past events.
May I interest you in a Niman Ranch slider with Point Reyes blue cheese, caramelized red onions, and rosemary aioli? Or perhaps a mini puff pastry pizza with ricotta, blackened tomato, proscuitto, and fried sage?
I thought I might.
A Party…with Poletential (Ladies’ Choice)
I was first introduced to aerial fitness by a mom in last year’s PreK class. She is a passionate practitioner of the sport and invited our class to watch her perform in a showcase to celebrate the opening of a new aerial arts studio in Redwood City. For the uninitiated, aerial fitness is a workout/art form that involves dance-like, acrobatic movements while suspended in the air. Here’s what it looks like (once you’ve gotten really, really good):
After the showcase, we were invited to try out the studio’s apparatus, a combination of ropes, silks, and hammocks hung from the (very high) ceiling. Here’s what I learned about aerial arts that night: it’s breathtakingly beautiful, it’s ridiculously fun, and it is one heck of a workout. I mean, look at the athlete above. You’ll wake up the next morning feeling very, very aware of muscles you didn’t know you had.
But wait….there’s more.
Adjacent to the aerial arts studio is a pole fitness studio. Now, if you just read the phrase “pole fitness” and immediately conjured up images of seedy strip clubs and strategically-placed Jacksons, let me assure you (or, perhaps, deeply disappoint you)…this ain’t that. Much like aerial fitness, pole fitness is incredibly fun, intensely aerobic, and surprisingly empowering. Twirling around a pole made me feel like a kid on the monkey bars. Only, you know…sexier.
Christina Kish, owner of Poletential, has generously donated an exciting party package (valued at $320-$800, depending on number of participants). The lucky bidder will receive her choice of one of the following options:
Girls’ Night Out: Join 8-20 of your girlfriends for a 1.5 hour pole dance lesson. You will learn some pole tricks and transitions and then it is time to dance! No experience required. We specialize in first timers. Wear shorts and a work out top. You can dance barefoot or in the heels we provide. It is all about the TWIRL at Poletential…we warn you, it’s addicting.
- OR -
Aerial Hammock Group Party: Beautiful silk envelopes your body as you sway through the air…ok, that is at the end…first we work-out! The aerial hammock is a fitness apparatus that allows you to flow through movements while all or part of your body is suspended in the air. You will engage in traditional Yoga, Pilates and flexibility exercises using the fabric to challenge your balance, build your strength and extend your range of motion. No Aerial experience is required to find benefit from this class. Your Aerial Hammock Group Party will be 1.5 hours and for 8-12 adults.
Happy bidding!
