Oakland Adventures

Today we ventured up to Oakland, the only part of the bay we haven't seen yet. We decided to go to the zoo and the temple. Oakland was a lot more beautiful than I thought...at least the parts that we saw. We also experienced the first day of paid vacation that either of us have had since we have been married, and that was our favorite part of the day...we were getting paid to play!! Woo Hoo! What a great day.....


T*H*E Z*O*O

Ava was the best tour guide ever!

They had a little play park and Ava loved climbing on the rope spider web.
Ava really liked to point out that the elephants had big bums and were stinky.

Then we ended the day on some rides.

T*H*E T*E*M*P*L*E

The Oakland Temple was beautiful. There was a big terrace around it and so many beautiful flowers. You could see all the way to San Fransisco up on the terrace. The picture doesn't show it, but you could see the golden gate and downtown of both cities. It was really beautiful.

This picture is for Tamar...Palm trees and yellow roses always remind me of my sister...how fitting they just happened to be in the same shot! Love you Tamar!!And my favorite flowers....

We had a really nice day in Oakland, and have now seen most of the bay area. So big and so beautiful and the weather has been amazing. We thought of you Sokimna and Rico!!
We love it here!

San Jose to Santa Cruz and San Francisco

This little girl is on her way to the beach and couldn't be happier or cuter!
We had another BUSY, but relaxing Saturday. It has been hot this weekend, so our first stop was 30 minutes southwest to Santa Cruz. We went to a beach that was a little ways away from the boardwalk, and it was so nice. It was busy, but so quiet and calming. The beach here is great, cause it was 95 degrees, but the beach breeze is so nice, it didn't feel hot at all. We got our feet wet, and that is about all cause the water was still really cold. We brought Ava a bucket and shovel this time and she was in heaven. She loves to dig in the sand! Today she told me "tomorrow we go to the beach and play with water and sand...Okay Mom?"

Then we went back up to San Jose to clean off the sand, and then got back in the car and headed 40 miles north to San Francisco for some yummy food. We carpooled with 2 other Apple employees, Scott and David, and Scott's wife Jessica. So between the movie going for Ava and all the Apple talk, I got a little nap in :) We went to this great Vietnamese restaurant where they have a whole roasted crab. They are HUGE and so fresh! They even tied plastic bibs on you...so sophisticated!

Then we went to Ghirardelli Square for a little dessert. I got a GIANT chocolate covered strawberry...you know how I feel about California strawberries, add a little chocolate, and it was amazing! This is the original Ghirardelli square and they have all the chocolate making things inside that Ava thought was great.

San Jose has been such a nice location. It is right near so many other fun places. We did get to drive down that windy (Lombard) street from the movies and see the bay bridge and the Golden Gate, but it was too dark for pictures, so we will have to go again in the day time!

Skinned Knee and Cute houses

Lovely picture eh? This weekend Riley played a little softball. The problem was, it was right after work and he was just in his slip on shoes, so when he slid, this was the result. His friend from work has a church league that they invited Riley to play in, which will be fun. I love the summer nights here, and Ava loves being a cheerleader.

Then this is random, but I love the houses around here. We are living downtown, and this is the park we go to. It is just a couple blocks away and you can't believe you are still in the downtown of a city. There are blocks and blocks of these houses so close together. I think they are really cute, but they are probably millions of dollars for the big ones....

These are the smaller and cheaper homes, they only run you a good 750K. That is in a slumping housing market too....at least if I never live in one, I enjoy the park and thinking they are so cute!

Full Moon in the Morning?

Nothing like waking up to this little girl's bedhead and buttcrack! ha ha

Apparently she was SUPER hungry this morning, so she undressed herself and headed to the fridge, I turned the corner and couldn't stop laughing. She is just so darn cute!

Pizza Anyone?

Today at the Children's museum Ava was all about making Pizza, and it was really cute. She gave me a menu, made me Pizza with Broccoli on it, and even shook a little freshly grated Parmesan cheese on top for me...It was delish!

This one is for Emily..Here is the blowing ball machine that Lincoln loved so much! Ava played it for him today. She also likes to use this for a blow dryer...

So Lucky!

This mother's day was a nice time to reflect on how lucky I am...

I have the most hilarious little love to spend my days with

(She was playing in bubbles that she spilt in Aunt Sandy's backyard. I just realized it looks like she peed and then was playing it...Nope, just bubbles!)

And my best friend forever!

I hope that everyone had a great Mother's Day! We love all those in our lives that are mothers in anyway...
Momma Griffitts, Momma Crebs, Grandma Shar, Grandma Marsha, Grandma Roan, Grandma Cheri, Grandma Evelyn, Auntie Elmer, Aunt Sandy Foreman, Aunt Holly, Aunt Teresa, Aunt Sandy Griffitts, Aunt Kelly, Aunt Suzie, Ramona, Grandma Janet, Casey, Auntie Amy, and the list goes on an on. There are so many wonderful women who have helped us become who we are. We are so grateful! We love you all!

Random happenings...

I love how she is covering her eyes to protect her identity, like in those magazines that do the section on Do's and Don't. This is a so a Don't do!
For some reason, Ava decided she would help clean her clothes...so to do this, she took everything out of her drawer and placed them gingerly on the sofa, all the while saying, "Look mom...Cleanin my clothes!" She also came up with the great outfit she is wearing above.
So proud of her cleaning!

We ventured to the Farmers Market today. We took the train down town, met some interesting people, and got some killer strawberries. Ava got a cute bracelet and we saw some amazing artwork and food. It was great fun. I think that after a few weeks and a farmers market I am now a California fruit snob. I don't know if I will ever be able to eat Rexburg fruit again!! Oh well, it is worth it.

We went out for Family Home Evening on Monday and had some ice cream. It was nummy, and I loved eating outside on a warm night. Ava really did like her ice cream, no matter what her face says.

This one's for Tamar!

We had a pretty fun filled Saturday...We woke up early, went out for some good breakfast and headed to Monterey Bay to check out the ocean side town and the killer Aquarium that everyone here talks about. Ava liked it, and there were so many cool animals. The Jellies were our favorite cause they looked so pretty. This area was so the kids could sit and every thirty seconds or so the water rushed down over them to show what a tide looked like on a reef. She could have stayed here all day and giggled every time the water splashed over her.
She loved touching all the different star fish, crabs and sea cucumbers.When we told her we were going to she ocean that morning, all the would say is "See Dori, See Nemo!!" So we had to make sure to see these little reef fish. Then we headed to Santa Cruz, which was on our way back home. It is a totally hippie town were everything is natural and everyone loves everyone. It was so laid back and nice. It was a little bit of a rainy day, but still in the 70s so it was nice with the ocean breeze. We layed on the beach and Riley actually had his first "beach" experience. He has been to seattle, but that isn't really a beach at all. It was a lot of fun, and we will have to go back when it is sunny and actually get in the water!

Ava didn't lay down for long, she was too enthralled with the sand to lay down.

We took Ava on some of the boardwalk rides, and she screamed when it was time to go. She is definantly a beach bum girl.
Here are just some birds and seals that we thought were fun.

So there you go Tamar, we are enjoying our time in California! We know why you love it here so much!