Labor Day Weekend Recap

We had a quiet weekend, starting out with Family Movie Night.  Gabriela and I had some special mommy daughter time to pick up our movie and dinner, and we may or may not have stopped in at the See's Candy store too.  Midway through The Muppets, we took an intermission to visit with cousins Mina, Caetlin, and Wes who were on their way up to Oregon for the long weekend. 

Daddy and Gabriela made pancakes on Saturday, just like they always do. Gabriela was a little fussy and sicky, so we decided to stay home that day. 

Sunday, we went on the monthly Alameda Family Bike Ride.  Daddy got a bike, so all four of us were able to go. We rode around the whole island!  I am pleased to report that this was the second month in a row that we held the last place spot, thank you very much. It was a long ride for some four year old legs.  Thank goodness the bike rides end at Tucker's Ice Cream where we get free ice cream after our rides. 

I only had a mild heart attack on the way to the bike ride. Lane and Gabriela were riding behind me (in the very wide Alameda bike lane), when I heard her start crying.  I turned around to see Lane jumping off his bike. I couldn't see Gabriela, but I could hear her crying. What I did see was a big SUV stopped right by her with its hazard lights on.  I was completely terrified.  She didn't get hit, or even close to it.  The driver just stopped to make sure she had enough space to get up safely.  And, really, she was fine. Four year olds fall down on their bikes sometimes.  Daddy comforted her, I comforted her, and then she got back up on her bike like she always does.   I didn't realize how traumatized I was until afterward, thinking about it over and over again. 

I cried a little on that bike ride.  

We have been to Tilden Park a lot in the last month. We went to Little Farm with some friends at the beginning of August, then we went back to ride the steam trains and carousel with one of Gabriela's preschool buddies.  We went back last week with some other friends to Little Farm, and Gabriela, who is usually terrified of the cows, decided all on her own that she was going to feed them.  By herself.  So she did.  And then she asked if we could go back on a day when Daddy stays home, so she could show him how she feeds the cows.  That morning when we woke up, the first thing she said to Lane was, "Daddy, you are going to be so proud of me when you see me feed the cow".  

And he was. 

 

 At first, Gabriela only wanted to feed the gray cow. Apparently, that one didn't try to eat her alive. But after building up some courage, she decided she could do it.

 There was a lot of fun to be had at Little Farm that afternoon.  Gabriela fed all the leaves from her celery to the chickens and this lovely looking rooster too.

 Gabriela got to pet the bunnies there.

 And grind some corn, which she then fed to the chickens.

 She brushed a goat.

 And then we started feeding the goats.  They are our favorites.  Easton even fed the goats. 

He thought it was amazing.

 So did the goat.

 

See, I told you Gabriela was turning into a farm girl!

 Easton was so happy feeding those goats.  And Gabriela was a good sport about sharing her celery.

 

She really was having a hard time with the idea that eventually, she was going to run out of celery. Toward the end, Gabriela was ripping off the teeniest, tiniest bits of celery for the poor little goats to eat.  See for yourself:

 After feeding the animals, we enjoyed a lunchtime picnic and then headed out to the Nature Area to walk along a gorgeous trail around around a lake at the park. I was surprised we'd never done it before. It was so pretty. We were too busy enjoying the view to take any pictures.  But we had so much fun spotting moss growing on trees, watching the tadpoles swim around in the water, finding cool nature to take home and add to our fairy gardens, picking little berries off the bushes, and spotting turtles in the water. 

When we finished our trail, we came back to the grass, got out Gabriela's soccer ball and played for about an hour - chasing Gabriela, kicking the ball back and forth, throwing it as high up in the air as we could. 

It was a great way to end our long weekend with Daddy. If only they were all three day weekends.

San Francisco with Uncle Noal

Last Sunday we took the Ferry from Alameda to San Francisco to visit Uncle Noal and Auntie Elizabeth.  That's right, people. Gabriela asked if she could call Elizabeth her Auntie.  so sweet.  Anyway, taking the ferry was a summer fun list adventure, so we went for it.  It was perfect.  There is free parking, and it's only a 20 minute ride.  We explored outside on the boat, 

where Gabriela declared it to be too windy.

As long as you catch the last ferry ride home that works with little kids' bedtimes, it's fine.  If your husband makes fun of you for wanting to get there early, and then you don't end up getting there early, or even on time, he might have to drive across the bridge with his brother, bring back the car, and then drive you back home with two sleeping kids. But don't worry, you will still get home an hour before the next available ferry. And you won't have to worry about getting back to the Ferry Building with a sleeping baby and a sleeping 4 year old.  Needless to say, we had more adventure than we planned on. 

So, let's rewind to our arrival.  We got to the Ferry Building in 20 minutes. so quick!  We strolled around outside and Gabriela chased the birds - one of her all time favorite activities, until we met up with Auntie and Uncle.

The Ferry Building has all sorts of enticing aromas and shoppes.  It's also very beautiful.  Gabriela somehow convinced her daddy to buy her a chocolate covered alfajor before lunch. The child is brilliant, I tell you.  This smile may have had something to do with it.

We drooled over and admired hand crafted goods.  Elizabeth and I munched on empanadas. Easton sampled some too, and gave them a thumbs up.

While enjoying the beautiful sunshine along the Embarcadero, we came across this sculpture that we decided we needed to explore.

Gabriela loved all the waterfalls.

Lane took some cool water shots.

And then we walked through Chinatown.  It was a nice relaxing walk, especially since the street was closed to motor vehicles for Sunday Strolls.

We got extra touristy for Gabriela and decided to take a cable car back to Noal and Elizabeth's place. 

Easton slept a lot that day. Gabriela, again, said it was too windy. Welcome to San Francisco, baby.

We enjoyed some wine and a delicious salad and pasta dinner.  Easton immediately found the garden stash of tomatoes and got right down to business sampling them. He bit into about four tomatoes before we finally moved them out of his reach.

Thank you Uncle Noal and Auntie Elizabeth for hosting us again, (and also for driving Lane to Alameda to get our van so he could drive us home).  We always have a wonderful time visiting with you and we can't wait to do it again.

Gilroy Gardens: Part 3 - The Water

Part of the reason Gabriela could not be convinced to go to the petting zoo at first was because she was so excited to play in the water.  So we took her there, after prying her away from Marina the Chicken and the baby goats. The way the water play works is that you have to do lots of work to get the overhead buckets to fill up with water, and then stand in just the right spot to get drenched.  Gabriela was standing right next to the right spot several times, failing to get wet.

 Grandpa and Daddy helped get the water to come out, and Daddy started situating Gabriela in just the right spot.

 Get ready for it.

...

 

 

 

Gabriela was pleased with the result.  It was sure a warm day.  I'm glad she got to enjoy the water park fun.

 Thanks again Grandma and Grandpa for such a fun filled day - roller coasters, rides, ice cream, petting zoos, train rides, nearly adopting chickens, and water play!  That's a lot of fun in one day!

And here's proof that Easton was there too.  He enjoyed playing with Grandma and Grandpa while he was awake.

Gilroy Gardens: Part 2 - The Petting Zoo

We had to bribe convince Gabriela to go to the petting zoo.  But after hanging out for a while, we couldn't get her to leave.  She loved it!  After seeing some kids holding chickens, she decided that she needed to do this as well.  It was a little awkward for her at first, but she managed to pick one up.

 Gabriela was so proud of herself.

 She and Grandma fed the goats.

 Grandma helped Gabriela feed her chicken. 

 And by this time, this girl was a natural. She picked up another chicken all on her own, making sure she got just the right hold. 

 Look how gentle she was with the little chicken.

 And then, Gabriela found her favorite one. She held it in the crook of her arm, cuddled the chicken, fed it, and walked around with it for at least 30 minutes.  She even named her chicken Marina. In fact, Gabriela was heartbroken when the chicken finally hid underneath a tractor to escape the heat (and maybe a certain 4 year old too).

 We also watched a turtle get his lunch.

 Gabriela and Marina got an up and close viewing of lunchtime.

 And then we saw about the cutest thing ever in any petting zoo I've ever visited. Baby miniature goats.  But this was even more special - this little guy had been born that same morning. The mama was still licking the afterbirth off of him - that's how new he was!

 Gabriela got to hold a different baby goat that was one or two weeks old. 

 I couldn't believe how brave my big girl was, and it made me want to go live on a farm right then and there, seeing how much love she had for those animals.