Mai Fest

We are having a nice, easy weekend here in Alameda.  Yesterday we went to a flea market and this afternoon, we walked over to Spiesekammer for Mai Fest.  They had a german / polka band, fest foods, and a bounce house and slide.  O was loving the bouncy house!  He pretty much did not want to get out, at all...

Climbing up...

Ready to slide down...

We did convince him to take one short break to dance with Daddy.  He would not stay away long, though, and headed right back to the bounce house!

Weekday Picnic

The weather was so nice and sunny earlier this week (always really) that O and packed a picnic dinner and took the bike and trailer to a nearby park for a picnic dinner and fun on the playground.  

We had a nice time, and it was a good way to break up the weekday evenings.  

Happy Mother's Day

O and I had a very nice Mother's Day weekend.  On Friday, his school had a little Mother's Day event and he gave me a card and a little bag that they decorated.  It was a gorgeous weekend here, so we spent a lot of time outside in the garden, riding bikes and at the Spring Festival on Park Street both days.  O had a great time listening to the bands, dancing and people watching.

Other than that, we had a nice relaxing weekend at home.  O is doing really well on his balance bike - I will have to get some video of him this week.

Happy Mother's Day to all of the wonderful, loving and talented Mothers I know!  Especially Grandma (Mom) and Nan (Marian).  Thank you both for making special and lasting memories with Olin.  He talks about you both so often, and is very excited for July.  Specifically, he wants to do painting and crafts with Nan and make cinnamon bread and chose his costume pattern with Grandma.

Mom, thank you for teaching me by example how to be a good mother.  You may not have ever set out to teach the lessons, but your love and the care you put into everything you do for us kids taught me how to do this.  If I am half as good a mother to Olin as you are to all of us, he is a lucky kid.

Mount Diablo

We had another great weekend here.  Yesterday, we drove out to Mount Diablo to spend the day hiking and camp for the night.  O has been anxious to go camping again (since last weekend!), and since Tom is leaving for a couple of weeks, we decided to camp Saturday night.

Mount Diablo is just over an hour away, so it was a quick trip to get there.  Once we claimed our campsite, we headed to Rock City to check out the caves and limestone formations.  It was a lot of fun.  O did great climbing and scrambling around on the rocks and boulders.

Here we are perched in a little wind cave:

O and Daddy, scrambling up a rock formation:

One of many great views:

"Hyabob!"

After breaking down camp in a little sprinkle this morning, the sky cleared, and we went back to a different section of Rock City.

This next rock looked like too much fun for the whole family to resist.  O did a GREAT job climbing up (and back down after some sunning at the top).  He is a real trooper!

Here he is at the top of that long climb...

We found more neat little caves and formations to climb around in.  By the time we finished today, O was a pro at keeping both hand down on the rocks for stability when climbing up.

Before heading home, we drove up to the summit of Mount Diablo.  The view is amazing from up there, 360 degrees around the bay and delta.  Best view anywhere in the area!

Next camping trip is at the end of May.  We are looking forward to it already!

First Camping Trip of the Year

 We had a great weekend here.  Tom got home on Friday afternoon, and O was very happy to have his Daddy back!

On Saturday, we enjoyed the company of friends at a party for one of our former sponsor cadets who is getting out of the Coast Guard.

Early on Saturday, we drove up to Sonoma to go camping.  O was excited about it all week, and fortunately, the campsite and the experience did not disappoint.  We all had a nice day visiting a couple wineries before setting up camp for the afternoon and evening.

This morning, we hiked in the State Park where we stayed before heading back home.  We shook out the camping cobwebs, as I considered this our camping "shakedown" for the year.  Now I have the bug, and will want to go every weekend.

Last weekend, Tom and I went to the Coast Guard Ball. We had a nice time at the "fancy dance" as O liked to call it, and he got to enjoy the undivided attention of a babysitter.

Three!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday to our favorite boy!!!

O had a great day today - first thing this morning he got to open presents and see the fun decorations in the kitchen.

He got a great blanket from Grandma...

A new bike from Mom and Dad...

We all had fun playing at the playground.

After playing, he got to open another surprise from Nan...

Fire Chief Olin in the house.

Back up, there's a fire in here!

And then Cake!!!

He liked the cake.

Yummmm

Monterey Bay

We took a trip to Monterey to celebrate O's Birthday and see a little bit more of the California coast.  

On the way down, we stopped at a winery, of course.  O would be disappointed if we didn't!

We also stopped at Marina Dunes, just outside of Monterey.  It is a gorgeous beach, and we had fun playing in the sand and watching the waves crash in.

On Friday, we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  O had a great time.  His favorite things were the penguins and the otters.  He also enjoyed the touch pools, although he was a little wary of the critters.

We all enjoyed the jellyfish exhibit.  It was pretty amazing.  Here is is with moon jellyfish.

On Friday afternoon, while O was taking a nap at the room, Tom and I drove the 17 Mile Drive around the peninsula and Pebble Beach.  Although anything to do with golf is lost on us, the scenery was spectacular.

Before departing for home we stopped at Dennis the Menace Playground.  It was a pretty cool playground with lots of fun things to do.

Checking the structural integrity of the swing bridge.

Whee!!

Here he comes,

there he goes.

Nan!

The trip to Monterey was a great adventure!