California trip...part two...first

I'm having quite the time with uploading pictures, so this trip will be posted in two parts. Unfortunately, all the pictures I posted today are from the last half of the trip, so I apologize for the confusion!

This was my gazillionith time to California, and Mallory's first! My dad and his whole family are from Northern California, so we get the privilege of vacationing there every couple of years. Yes, it's still a vacation even with family:) We were expecting the typical breezy, sunny California weather, but it ended up being warmer than it was in Texas! Bummer! But, I will quote my dad and actually say that he was right, "It's a dry heat!" Anyway. We had a full 8 days of traveling and taking it all in. My dad was in his element being able to show off the grandkids to his sister, brother, dad and all of his nieces and nephews. Mallory and Tate were a hit! We ate at all of the "regular" places, watched the Cal Bears beat the Tennessee Vols, made a trek on public transportation to San Francisco, relived childhood memories and had a lovely dinner with my grandfather's new girlfriend. It was a full week and we all still love each other! The only person missing was Brad...and he was really missed!!!

So, the part I dreaded the most ended up being okay. I was slightly terrified of flying with Mallory. She has never flown before, does not nap well in her car seat and didn't know what 3 1/2 hours of being cooped up in an airplane would do to her or her ears. But, all in all, she did GREAT! We were able to get her a seat last minute (both ways, praise the Lord!). She didn't sleep, ate plenty of Goldfish, watched 3 DVDs, read every book twice and even got her picture taken with the pilot. What a good girl!

Okay, now the pictures. Unfortunately, these are out of order, but you'll get the general idea. Enjoy!

On Sunday, we met our cousin Amy in San Francisco for the day. That was quite an adventure. Let's just say that I am in awe of mommies that live in big cities that deal with public transportation and strollers on a daily basis. I don't know if I could do it. But, we survived and Mallory was entertained by all of the people watching.

This is a picture of "lawn bowling". Sorry, but it's strange. I don't know much about it, but it seems weird. It's like something out of a movie. All of the players are wearing white, it's so quiet and they are rolling these balls across the lawn to each other. I asked Amy if she lawn bowls, and she replied she wasn't old enough. Enough said.

One of the many reasons I would love to live in Northern California. Golden Gate Park. It is beautiful and I kept saying how much I wish Texas had stuff like this. We stopped by the Flower Conservatory to let the kids stretch their legs. It's BEAUTIFUL! There were dogs running (which Mallory loved!), families having picnics and just general lounging all around us. Amazing. The flowers were gorgeous too!

This is the actual Conservatory part, but we couldn't stay long enough to go in. I'm sure it's neat though!

The 40th anniversary "Summer of Love" fesitval was going on the same day we were there. Supposedly, the haze of smoke is from the BBQ pits, but I'll let you use your imagination:) There was somd great people watching here, let me tell you! One man was walking by us and said, "The hippies are here!" Surely, he was looking past us since we obviously did not fit in there! My parents would have though!

I might regret this sometime, but hey, we were on vacation. This kept Mallory entertained for a long time while I was getting ready. She isn't like normal children, she likes to shred, sort and then clean up the toilet paper instead of unroll it. I'm thinking she'll be type A like her parents.

This was on the plane ride home, Tuesday. I put her in the seat while I buckled in her car seat. Like the picture above, she is a little Type A. She would not look up at the camera for anything until she figured out how to buckle the seat belt.

My dad is a little obsessed with In-N-Out Burgers. To the rest of the family, it was just another fast food hamburger. We had to eat there twice on the trip. Mallory wouldn't wear the hat for him, so we snapped a picture of Tate and Grandpa instead.

Cousin time! Mallory and Tate had LOTS of bonding time on this trip. Here they are after a hot afternoon playing footsies while the mommies took bathroom breaks.

Monday, on the way to my grandfather's house, we stopped at a place called the Nut Tree. They recently reopened it, and although it's not quite like how I remember it as a kid, it was fun to take my daughter to it. My sister and I would take our pictures in these animal head things every time we would visit. They also have a train that you can ride around the park and used to have pineapple and marshmallow cream as appetizers in the restaurant! Mmmm!

Although her face doesn't show it, she really did enjoy her first carousel ride! Her mommy almost passed out from the heat and getting dizzy, but Mallory and Tate had fun!

Stay tuned for more....if you are just dying to find out the rest, check out Kelly and Wade's blogs!