California Dreamin'

I LOVE California. Here is a small peek into our trip:

*Thursday night we had a family BBQ at Grandma and Grandpa's home. Grandpa grilled burgers and hot dogs. Grandma made some yummy dessert, salad, etc. Jon & Jan plus kids, Rory & Jessica (with their baby in utero), Scott, Shawn plus kids, and James & Miekka plus kids. I drove up to Livermore earlier in the day to pick up Justin.

*Loved the sales at the Gilroy outlets. Miekka and I had fun shopping for cute girl clothes. I found jeans for $2 per pair. I finally found a shirt to go with my new skirt from the DI. Almost spent a fortune at Gymboree, Carter's, and Strasburg.

*Amelia, Seth, and Jacob had a blast playing with rice in the backyard.

*Visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium with James, Miekka, Seth, Jacob, Julia, and Joshua. We had so much fun. Amelia ran out of spit from blowing so many raspberries (her noise for a fish). She tasted as much water as she could from the touch and feel play areas. We had lunch at my favorite place: Papa Chano's.

*Amelia got her feet wet in the ocean for the first time. I played a precarious game trying to balance my two babies: Amelia and camera. The water was cold!! She was fascinated by all the seagulls.

*Saturday Scott invited me to his studio for a three hour jam-packed photography and photoshop session. My head is still swirling from all the information he taught me. Can't wait to practice some more.

*Sunday Uncle Shawn gave a good talk on pioneers. Grandma made a smashing dinner of grilled pork, potatoes, fresh tomatoes, and bread. Her dessert was an awesome peach tart. Holy Smokes!!! I think I gained about 30 pounds.

*Drove Justin back to Livermore. Amelia and I stayed up there until Wednesday morning.

*Monday Amelia and I drove to San Francisco. My little GPS unit forgot to tell me the highway into the city is tolled. The first time I was allowed to pass without paying (they only take cash). The second time I was fined $30...bummer...felt like a retard. We drove to the Golden Gate Bridge the parked on the eastern side. We walked to the other side on a cool pedestrian path and back. I captured some cool pictures of the bridge and the islands in the bay. The weather was really cool due to a crisp breeze. Amelia was really tired so we rested at the hotel for a couple hours until Justin got off work. For dinner we found a little Italian restaurant. All the garlic smells from Gilroy caused a raging craving for something Italian. I ordered a plate of garlic clam spaghetti. Amelia munched on a plate of spaghetti much to our amusement.

*Tuesday Amelia and I explored the wharf area. The toll booths were much easier to deal with when you have cash. We paid $16 for 4 hours of parking (yikes) then explored the waterfront. We walked from pier 1 to fisherman's wharf. The tree man was even out scaring the wits out of unsuspecting tourists. Amelia wouldn't eat a $7 cheese sandwich because the bread was weird. Little stinker. I found a onesie that says " drama queen in training" over the Dairy Queen swoop. Driving in San Francisco was a bit hairy. My little digital GPS told me what to do in an annoying, persistent voice. I got really tired of the word, "recalculating."

*Wednesday we drove back to Gilroy for the night. A raging fire burned down a building in the school next to Grandma's home. The same building burned down in January, it was unfortunate because the renovations were nearly finished.

*Rory and Jessica's home is beautiful. I really enjoyed seeing all the work they have put into their home. I hear they are all moved in now! The nursery was the first room Jessica finished. Their baby is due any time now. We met Jarom's new girlfriend, Stephanie, who just happens to be my sister-in-law Courtenay's sister! I met Stephanie at John and Courtenay's wedding back in September. Fun times.

*I really enjoyed seeing Amelia Jean and Amelia Jean Jr getting to know each other. Grandma Jean taught Amelia to say happy. Amelia pulled out all the stops showing off her walking skills, spouting off new words, mimicking, and pulling funny faces. She even let Grandma hold her for 5 seconds of her own volition.

*Our flight home was wonderfully uneventful. We made it home late Thursday evening.