Seahorse

Alex graduated to Seahorse class at swimming!

There's a slightly wider view of the video here.

Crafty

Another Lakeshore craft, enjoyed by all!

Acadamy of Science

Next of our list of adventures was the Academy of Science in Golden Gate Park. I don't have any pictures to prove the boys were there, but they were, and they all had a fun time! We arrived just in time for the penguin feeding. There is a pair sitting on eggs, so hopefully soon we'll get to see the baby penguin. Inside the rain forest, Alex spotted some little frogs and we were lucky that this butterfly decided to take a break.

As I've said before, Alex is a west coast guy. Almost immediately after entering the rain forest, he started to complain about being sweaty. I can't say I didn't agree with him! I don't think the heat and humidity was a problem for Aunt Leslie and Ryan!
The exit of the rain forest is an underwater tunnel with some of the largest fish I've ever seen. (I'd heard of them from a video game I used to play...see, video games are educational. Or something.) Alex and I leaned up against a concrete wall to cool off while we waited for the gang to catch up. Then everyone explored the many aquarium rooms and visited the touch tank. Zachary was kind of just swishing his hands in the water and I told him not to touch the water. He wisely told me that "if I don't put my hands in the water, I can't touch the sea star." True.

Happy Easter

The Easter Bunny knew that Ryan was going to be staying with us, and the boys all woke up (at varying hours of early) to a fun filled basket!
Even though it was cold and rainy, we headed back into the City to spend the day at the San Francisco Zoo. From the ticket plaza, you can spy on the giraffes!
It was a good thing it was so chilly, because the Nestle Bunny was handing out chocolate milk! And my backpack was filled!There was also a puppet show, crafts, a bean bag game and some live bunnies to pet.
This peacock was showing off his beautiful feathers, and we saw the baby gorilla. He is 2, just like Zachary!

The boys mauled a baby elephant on the way by too. (just kidding) And in typical Bay Area fashion, the day cleared up and we were able to shed our jackets for a train ride!

How do you compare to a full size ape?



Alex and Zachary had a lot of fun playing with the big cats.

Touring

Today was a day of tours. We started out at the Jelly Belly Factory, because who doesn't love jelly beans?After enjoying the tour and all of the free jelly beans, we drove aimlessly for a while and found a cute little town to stop in for lunch, Suisun City. There was a great little diner-y place along side the river, and I still don't know how a tray of their cinnamon rolls didn't end up in our car. We also found an It's It outlet shop. Next time we are going prepared with a cooler!

Our next tour was at Travis Air Force Base's Air Museum.
The boys are trying out the space capsule simulator. It raises up for take off! Outside, they all had fun running around all of the planes and being able to touch them, spin their wheels and look inside some of the windows.

I just had to add this same plane from our last trip out here. I know the boys have grown, but they don't seem to be catching up to the plane!

Fisherman's Wharf

We began our day with a ferry ride from Alameda to Pier 41. It was a beautiful day on the water and in the City. We checked out a few shops, and then rode the carousel. I was impressed that the boys all chose animals that were near each other. It made it much easier to get a picture of them all!
After lunch at Grammy's favorite restaurant (Bubba Gumps), we went to the Aquarium of the Bay. It's a fun aquarium with some different interactive areas, and two long underwater tunnels.
Alex, Zachary and Ryan all enjoyed petting the rays as they swam by. They were keeping a count of how many they touched, and it was a challenge to get them away.
Zachary found this hat in the gift shop. Even though he totally can't see a thing, I think it looks great!

Let the Whirlwind Begin!

Cousin Ryan and Aunt Leslie arrived today for a fun filled week in the Bay Area. It is the first time they have been able to come to visit us, and the first time the cousins will be together since before Zachary could even roll over! I can't believe it has been that long! Today was a take it easy day and we went to the park across the way to play and then walked along the water. We also started planning for all the upcoming fun!
The last time the cousins were together!

Pre-Easter

We're getting ready for Easter out here in Cali. The Easter Bunny has dropped off a couple of helpers, and a yummy gummy treat tree.The boys had an Easter egg hunt at school and found many fun eggs full of treasures!

Backyard Video

A little bit of batting practice.

Zachary shoots 12 of 15.

Preschool Zoo Day

Zachary and Alex's preschool went on a field trip to the Oakland Zoo. Everyone started out together, but soon, the group broke up with the plan to meet for lunch and a train ride.
Alex and I saw a monkey playing with pink sunglasses.Zachary chose to explore the zoo with his favorite teacher, Teacher Elizabeth. Fortunately, she took some pictures, so I know what he saw.
It was kind of strange knowing Zachary was there, but he wasn't with me. He had lots of fun though. After lunch the class took the train ride together, and we all saw the new baby wallaroo!

Let's Play Ball!

The big first game of the season has finally arrived!
Alex was the first batter of the season and he got a great hit!He even made it to first base.The coach has a rotating lineup that allows each kid to play every position. For the first game, Alex was assigned to the pitcher's spot. Since there are a few extra kids than positions, sometimes they double up, which leads to scrimmages to get the ball.


At one point, one of the players from the other team, who was supposed to be on first base, ran out to field the ball too! There is also a fair amount of picking daisies in the outfield, and drawing in the dirt.
It was actually very entertaining, but Zachary couldn't resist the pull of the awesome playground behind the diamond.

I have a great video from the game, but it is from Phil's phone, and we are having difficulty re-formatting it to post it. Once we figure it all out, I'll add it.