Scottish Steps and San Fransisco

Our next stop was at Scott's Uncle John and Aunt Alison's house. They live in Alamo, California on a beautiful sloped lot that John has landscaped into a little boys wonderland! As soon as we drove into their drive, Ethan and Christopher remembered the house and our last visit there. Uncle John had headlamps that he shared with the boys' so they could explore the yard at night. Well, I'm sure you can guess that this was the first thing they wanted to do! So John (being the good sport that he is) took Ethan and Christopher out at 10pm looking for gofers in his yard! And then first thing the next morning, guess where the boys were again? In the yard doing laps around the paths (which John has measured for distance so they were challenged to run a mile) and hunting for gofers! The boys spent so much time in the yard and on the paths that John and Alison named a group of steps on the path the "Scottish Steps!"

John and Alison are so fun to stay with because they have tons of energy and they always have great ideas for outing near their home. They think of everything and this time, our family voted to go to San Fransisco for the day. So off we headed to the city for the day with our very capable and fun tour guides. We rode the cable car, ate chowder on the wharf, visited the seals and sea lions on Pier 39 and enjoyed the street entertainment along the way. We also enjoyed a quick visit to the Golden Gate bridge.

We also ran into our friends the Brockettes from Dallas close to Pier 39! We'd been on the lookout since we knew they were in the city too but I never really thought we'd see them! Small world isn't it!

It was a fantastic way to spend the day! Alison is a terrific cook and she fed us well while we were there. She'd covered every base for the boys in making sure that they'd enjoy their time there and that they had everything they needed! For that, we are forever grateful! We loved our time in Alamo and we especially loved catching up and relaxing with Aunt Alison and Uncle John. Thank you both for all that you did for us! We look forward to our next visit!

Great Grandma Nicol's 90th Birthday

Next we headed further West to meet Scott in California to visit his Grandmother in celebration of her 90th birthday! We had a wonderful day with Great Grandma at her home, having lunch at Mankas Corner and visiting her old ranch. We picked fruit from the ranch and then headed back to her house where Aunt Alison and Uncle John were meeting us for dinner. We also enjoyed catching up with Aunt Mary Marcha and cousin Ariel while we were there!

The quote of the trip may have been that Christopher shouted "well she doesn't look 90!" as Grandma came out to greet us upon arrival! And she certainly doesn't! She's as healthy as can be and we were so grateful to spend that day with her so our boys will know what a special Grandma she is.

Happy Birthday Great Grandma and many, many more!

Cousin Camp

After our time in Dallas in July, we headed West to Arlington, Texas to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa Nicol and all of the boy cousins! What a blast it was to hang out at G & G's house with their pool, lake, canoe, kayak, ping-pong table and games in the yard. It's such a retreat for our family and our boys were so excited to see their grandparents and their 4 boy cousins and Aunt Amie, Uncle Bobby, Aunt Kiki and Uncle Todd.

We utilized/played all of the above over the weekend and spent time sharing meals and catching up. Grandma Jane cooked many wonderful meals (thank you!) and we were busy the whole time. On the Monday morning, Aunt Amie and Aunt Kiki organized and hosted (with the help of Grandma) Cousin Camp '08 in Grandma's backyard. That including swimming in the pool, canoe and kayak racing/paddling, making bead necklaces, obstacle course, tie-dying t-shirts and more! The boys had an absolute blast and it will be a fantastic memory and tradition for them to share as they get older! Thank you Aunt Amie and Aunt Kiki!

Here are a few pics from the weekend and CC '08!