long beach recap

We spent the final week in July in Long Beach, CA hanging out with the Reese clan for Griffin's baptism/Carolpalooza. A good time was had by all. Maybe I was too tired out by Tornado Alex and Trampoline Katie, but they had a great time playing with their cousins, aunts and uncles, and I dare say the adults got along with each other as well. :)

A few highlights:

The beach is always one of my favorites. Katie had fun splashing in the waves - or is that Uncle Tom trying to drown her? :) - and flying a kite. Roger busted out his 2 m/4 string kite out on Saturday (I even learned how to fly it), which only reinforced his desire for an even BIGGER kite. The Hall cousins saw the ocean for the first time. Alex made it out the first day, and didn't even eat that much sand!

Saturday we took some family portraits in the morning, which hopefully turned out because of COURSE we want to document the existence of Shamu on dry land! Griffin's baptism was great, even though Aunt Kat got stuck in traffic and was tardy. We had time to go to the beach before a nice family BBQ, and played 'The Newlywed Game' afterwards for mom and dad's anniversary. Smarty pants Rog found some questions on line. Rog and I set it up, and ended up playing and LOSING! David and Pam won. The couple with 40 years together under their belts came in a close second.

Monday we hit Sea World. We went down early, thinking that the kids wouldn't make it all day - or that I wouldn't for that matter - but we stayed until 10 pm. Katie and Alex did great, although I think Alex was more interested in the animals than Katie was; she was VERY into the frozen lemonades, as was I. They saved me time and again. Entrance fee: $51 a person. At close to $5 a beverage, they should just let everyone in for free and count on the sun to make their cash registers sing. There was a small meltdown in the afternoon because Katie didn't get to pick out her own hat - and it wasn't even princess OR polka dotted! BAD MOM! - but other than that it was an excellent day.

(I can't believe I forgot about this! Thanks for reminding me Mag.) Tuesday morning Katie and I were hanging out at the pool, chatting with Mag, when a 5.4 earthquake hit. It was funny, because at first I was looking around for the large truck that had just rattled past, shaking the ground. Then some lady came out on the second floor with her baby, freaking out, and Mag and I looked at each other. Katie's first, mine and Mag's second earthquake. It woke Roger up, but Alex was a trooper and slept right through it!

Every morning Katie asked to go to Griffy's house so she could jump on the trampoline with him. She scored a Tinkerbell dress from her cousins - complete with sparkly ring and wings - which she removed occasionally to allow for clothing changes underneath. It's just too bad we don't live close enough together to play more often!

I need to collect pictures from others who were more snap-happy than I, but here are a few. I really need to grow a couple more arms!




In case you're wondering, this is my favorite purchase from the trip. Tuesday Mag, mom, Katie and I took a little fieldtrip to Ikea. Man, could I have gone crazy. Suitcase limitations kept me in check. I did pick up these little beauties (sans the cutlery) and I am LOVING them. They are the perfect size for the small ones and very handy for picnics out in the backyard.

trip to CA

Alex and Katie have finally made it to northern California! Lizard was flying out to visit Mag in Mountain View, and she had a layover in Colorado. We jumped on the flight and borrowed her lap for one of the wee ones. I don't know that it was the relaxing vacation she was originally intending, but we had a lot of fun! We flew out on Halloween, but little Miss Katie wasn't in the mood to be a leopard. Alexander is still willing to do things my way most of the time.

Thursday Liz and Mag went to the spa and got massages. I got to kick it with my entourage. That night we visited Aunt Amy and Grandma Dorothy out in Danville at Amy's house. Sometime during the week Aunt Mag found Alex's second tooth!

Friday we dragged Kalle with us to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Katie was most excited about the sharks and the octopus - they currently have a great white shark that they are rehabilitating to release back to the ocean. The otters were also a big hit.

(not my photo) Saturday we headed over to Berkeley for some Zachary's pizza, tie-dye for Lizzy, and some strolls down memory lane for Kat. We parked near my old apartment, just down the street from People's Park - which is still full of homeless people - and walked up Telegraph to the campus. It was fun to stroll around campus a little bit. It really is a fun campus - lots of open grassy fields - but boy had I forgotten about the steep slope from the top to the bottom! The view of the bay from the Lawrence Hall of Science is still fantastic. Too bad I couldn't remember which building up the hill I used to work in. I guess some information starts to leave after 20 years!

Sunday we drove up the coast to the beach at El Granada, in honor of Dave and Pam's bunch. Once we got set up, the fog totally rolled in and froze us out. This did not stop Katie from playing, or Alex from giving Aunt Mag lots of kisses! If we had just continued on to Montara or Linda Mar we would have had nothing but sunshine the whole time! After the beach we went and had dinner with Aunt Mary in Pacifica, and had some girly spa treatments with her. The herbal hand scrub was amazing!

(not my photo) Monday we headed across the Golden Gate Bridge to Muir Woods. We would have hit the beach again if it hadn't been totally foggy. The redwoods were gorgeous - a 600 year old tree had fallen a few weeks ago, so they're in the process of rerouting the walking path a little. Katie enjoyed running around, although she wasn't too keen on wearing a sweat shirt. Her purple fingers are on view in the photo album of the kiddos. Driving back across the bridge, I MAY have ran the toll. The sign said 'carpools - no toll'; we were definitely driving with more than 3 people, but I just paused and then zipped right through. We'll see if a ticket shows up in the mail! Mag and I were laughing so hard afterwards that I missed the exit for 19th Ave/Highway 1. We ended up taking 101 home. Guess I was a little cooked after our week of playing!
We flew out at the crack of dawn Tuesday. So sad to say goodbye to our North-America-based aunties! When we got home, Katie slept for about 6 hours, and would have slept longer if I hadn't woken her up for some dinner! Thanks Mag and Kalle for giving up your bed for us, and thanks Lizard for letting us come along on your trip! We didn't get to really chat much with the little people running around, but we had a great time. Hopefully we didn't totally wear out our welcome and we'll be able to invite ourselves over again soon!