Family Field Trip

So if you haven't been to the Oakland Zoo, you are missing out. It's not San Diego Zoo, but it's far superior to San Francisco. We had so much fun. Adults and Kids enjoyed this little trip down to the East Bay. We caught a gorgeous day, and there is even a little ride section right outside the zoo itself which we indulged in on way out.


They loved the stroller. I am not sure if it was because it was not their own, or because it was the type they could just get in and out of on their own.....probably a little of both.


One of the most awesome things about this zoo was their kids discovery museum section. We spent lots of time there, looking and exploring.




Mattie was home (so for those of you paying attention, that means Matti was home last for Lilly and Drew's birthday which was over a month ago....so this post is only a month overdue) You could get so close to the animals at the Oakland Zoo. Every section we went to, there was plenty of animals hanging out and it felt much more like what their actual environment would be instead of just concrete cages.



This is such a typical Lilly look. Caught perfectly on film forever.



It was a fun filled, tiring (in a good way) day, and its BEEN A LONG TIME since I have turned around and seen this in my car. A long time.

Winter Song 2010

Ohhhhh, how I miss the snow. I just don't see it as much these days with, well, hmmmmmmm- LIFE. We finally made it up with the kids and they got to experience the snow for the very first time.

We waited for the Logue's to arrive and then we prepared for battle. If you have never seen or used a snowball maker, I highly suggest you look into it for next years snow season. It makes the most incredibly perfect snowballs with as little effort as the motion to use a big pair of garden shears. SO AWESOME!!


The children were dressed and ready to get on the battlefield.


Drew felt the sting of a snowball to the face(as we all did at some point)


His anger and feelings of revenge intensified at the mystery slinger who nailed him.



We switched gears, taking a break from snowballs in the face and some tears, to some FUN sledding on a perfect little hill right in our driveway. If I can figure out how to upload a longer video, I have some hilarious footage of some sledding right in this very spot. When I say hilarious, I mean slightly sad and upsetting for Drew, but very funny for the adults present.


Casey and Lilly loved hanging out together!


When it was time to take a break from the elements outside, there was a special treat waiting for us inside known as the Wii. Oh my. Did everyone have a ridiculously fun time with this. Golf seemed to be the crowd favorite and it really is easy enough for 3 year olds to play. I was not too thrilled when Drew selected Tiger Woods as his player, but we will move on.



We ventured down to the lake which was so beautiful.


We woke up Saturday morning to a gorgeous layer(like 5-7 inches on our cars) of fresh snow that would make for a great snow play day!


Why did I find the kids in their snow gear in their car seats so amusing? It was like they had a body cast on or something.



My boy.


This snowman was curteosy of Jeff Logue. It was massive. It was twice the size of Lilly. Lilly still talks about Frosty to this day.


It would not be a close up of Lilly without food all over her face.


All the kids had an awesome time on the park covered in snow. There was some frustration(on my kids behalf) trying to get around with the "body casts" aka snow suits on. They just couldn't quite move like their little brains were telling them to, and screaming and yelling *might have happened a few times.

* might can be translated to did indeed happen


Drew trying out the sledding disc...


Lots of these were made....


It was a beautiful weekend to be in Tahoe and a wonderful time with great friends! I see more snow in our future!

A scaled down version of the Sonoma County Fair

We had a limited version of the fair this year. We had our fill or rides and animals at six flags the prior week to the fair. But our main reason for going was to listen to our church band. So the goal was music, dancing, and seeing dinosaurs.

The set of music they played was great!


Lilly's shy face and not sure I want to start dancing yet look.


Drew got right into his groove, running and busting a move out on the dance floor


Lilly warmed up and wanted to dance with Drew. Very Cute if I do say so myself.



Now there's the Lilly we all know.


Yes...everything is better when you spin and spin until you fall over.



Moving onto the dinosaur flower exhibit. I have to say that it was one of my favorites from the years I can remember. The kids were mesmorized.


Drew had many stories to tell Todd about dinosaurs he knew about.


Lilly wants this hanging in her room instead of butterflies now.





Of course we played...find the dinosaur hiding in the flowers game. Lilly providing an example of that here.



Like I said it wasn't the full experience of the fair, but I guess the bright side is.... LESS GERMS.

SIX FLAGS!!!

This was seriously such a fun day. Drew and Lilly were in the "there is so much going on here that I will just be on my best behavior all day" form that we could not complain one single bit about our delightful children.

**WARNING: you are about to see way too many pictures**


We started off slowly with the rides. The swings were perfect and surprisingly Lilly really wasn't that interested in pursing more rides after the swings. There was also the height factor and she still is a munchkin rising to only 34 inches or so.




HERE COMES THOMAS. OH MY GOSH!! LIVE IN FRONT OF MY EYES(just a sample of what was going on in Drew's head when we saw this)


Thomas makes Drew so happy.


Papa some how fit and sqeezed through the tiny compartment to go on Thomas with all of us.


Why do they make you walk through the Thomas store on the way out? It is mean and some what torturous to young children and parents.


The sea lion show was our first show of the day. We only went to two. There is so much to do there we barely made it to either of them. Nothing like some snacks to pass the time before the real action starts.


The Stage(sorry there are no sea lions in any of these pics..I swear they were there though)


My kids obviously not seeing the intended part of the show at that time.


Okay..that's slightly better with following whats going on in the actual show.


What are these large creatures doing here?


As close as Lilly got. But wanted Daffy to checkout her dress.


Drew flying solo. Such a proud moment.



The kids loved bugs bunny house...or maybe it was a bugs bunny area?? Lilly needed to take a rest.





Onto the dolphin show. Drew was entertained. Not quite sure about Lilly.



Toward the end of the dolphin show, Drew started to suck on his shirt the way he sucks on his blanket during nap time. And although this the first sign of tiredness on the outside at 2 pm...they hung in for three more hours. Impressive for my kids who nap for three hours still everyday.


As risky as it might have been to send the kids off with a willing grandpa and awesome aunt, there were thoughts that at any moment they could lose it...Fall into into a tantrum that they wouldn't be able to recover from and no amount of sugar or ice cream could help(you know it's bad then) But the grandpa and aunt braved uncharted waters and Todd and I got to go off for over almost two hours and go on BIG KIDS rides(no pictures of that included in this post)



So as we are screaming our guts out on rides, Lilly and Drew checked out the reptiles.


Went on jeep rides with Auntie Vicki(or Mickey as they call her)



Stalked a young boy for awhile.

According to the grandpa in charge at this time, this spider man face painting captivated my kids. The poor kid was being a great sport my dad says just sitting there and being poked and touched by Lilly and Drew. My dad said they were so fascinated they wanted to follow the boy home.



Checked out the giraffes.


They also got to be way better friends with the large creatures they once feared earlier that day.




What a great family trip!


I possibly see season passes in our future. :-)