Vacay to the Bay

Oh,what an adventure! We got up very earlyWednesday morning, packed up the car and the kid and headed up, over the Altimont. First stop, North Berekely BART Station and on to the Embarcadero in SF. What a fast and nearly effortless way to travel. Now, after waiting a "long, long time" for the "F" car and watching 3 or 4 very full ones go by, we decided to walk the 1.5 miles to Pier 39. This was actually good after being in the car and on the train. Tickets in hand, we made our way into the Aquarium of the Bay just in time for Amelia to announce that she was "really hungry." Back out the way we came and on down to the pier for some lunch. After consuming our chowder-filled bread bowl, it was back to the Aquarium... for real, this time! We really liked the new jelly fish exhibit! Being a SpongeBob fan, Amelia let her Dad know that she needed a net. Into the tunnels - Wow! What a great way to see the fishies as well as a guy in a scuba suit doing some cleaning. After some time in the touch pools, it was back to t

he

Pier for Bungee Bouncing

and the SpongeBob SquarePants 4-D movie ride. Back to the BART and Berkeley to stay with friends, Justin and Morgan. Amelia really likes their Lab

radoodle, Lucky as was kept quite busy with him.

Up early and out the door to meet cousins Gwynne and Chris for breakfast. Then, all in the car for the ride to the Oakland Zoo! We were met there by Auntie Kay and Uncle Rick for the first part of the day. And... What a Day! Amelia had a "key to the zoo" and loved using it.

We saw lots of different animals, insects and reptiles - Great Zoo! There was also a carnival area there where Amelia rode every ride - her fave being the "miracle-go-round." I also liked the Sky Ride - a ski lift that took you over the animals!

Home again and not a moment too soon as my car is needing some love. Lots of driving this summer and I think I'm done for a while. Also, I don't know why this is blue and underlined!

You Tube

If you haven't already, go to YouTube and type in "cute blonde not too tired for chocolate cake." It's a very cute video of Amelia trying desperately to get through her teeny slice of chocolate cake before passing out at the kitchen table... good stuff!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odCzP6a8FGI

You can also click on this link... maybe.

Amelia's Art

Amelia drew this "Olive Family" at Grama Gwynne's the other day. I was happy to get a shot of it before it got erased. The story is told that it took the girl nearly 15 minutes to create this masterpiece as she stood back, arms crossed after each addition of legs, fingers, hair, etc. It seems to me that the "Mamma Olive" is bending down to talk to the "Baby Olive." Anyway, I just loved it!

BowlFest

Had a really fun time at the Black Oak Lanes this evening. Gwynne, Joel, Amelia and I shared a lane w/ bumpers and a ramp for the wee one and.... she bowled a STRIKE!!!!! Actually, I'm the only one in our foursome that did not have a single strike during the game. This was way more fun than staying at home!

Flener Wedding Weekend!

We had a fun and exhausting weekend in Sublimity, Oregon for cousin Justin Flener's wedding to Miss Jessica Stoopes. Lots of driving, lots of family and lots of berries!

We left early Friday morning, along with Gwynne, Emily and Roxy in a seperate car and headed north. Making many stops along the way, one at Crag Rock which was very beautiful, we arrived around 9pm. Saturday was spent playing in the pool, napping and primping for the party. We all headed over to Kerry and Don's for drinks before the gorgeous garden wedding - the fastest vows I've ever witnessed! The Bride was beautiful, the weather... perfect! We made it back to the hotel with a passed out toddler around 11pm.

Sunday was spent back at the Flener home for a full day of family visiting. Joel and the little girls spent the first part of the morning picking Marion berries and blueberries which were later made into one of Don's famous cobblers. Wonderful. Many hours later, it was back to the hotel for some much needed Zs before leaving at the crack of dawn Monday morning.

This time, we had an extra rider as Maxx needed a ride home. Amelia slept a lot more this time which made for less stops so after dropping Maxx off in Red Bluff, we arrived home before 6pm to some very excited pets!

Ava and Amelia play in the pond.