Oakland Zoo

We had just one day during our trip to California where both boys were healthy (though Elliott was still pretty worn out) so we took a quick trip to the Oakland Zoo. I haven't been since I was little so it was fun to see what has stayed the same/changed since then. And of course, the main reason for going was for a ride on the zoo train. Uncle accompanied us and we finished the day off with a stop at his apartment where the boys got to sit on his motorcycle.

brushing a goat! Elliott was so brave and would walk up to just about any goat

Oliver kept his hands jammed in his pockets :)

taking a rest by the alligator tank

found a very slow moving slide

and Oliver had great fun pushing his brother down it!

train!

the second hit of the day, Uncle's motorcycle

Binny & Grampy's house

Well, my trip with the boys to California didn't quite turn out as planned. The night we arrived, both boys woke me up vomiting. I then spent the next seven days cleaning up vomit, not exactly how I had hoped to spend our short trip. We did manage to see Great Binny and Great Grampy at the end of our trip, and even though Elliott was still a bit under the weather, both boys had a great time!

the sliding door is always fun to play with

this car has been around since I was a kid, but the tape holding the horn together was very bothersome to E

Lego time!

Winston pic!

I just love this photo of E playing with the newly built Lego forklift.

Apparently Legos are just more fun to play with while lying on the ground.

Oliver was thrilled to see the assortment of strawberries and grapes on the table. He has been waiting for these fruits to come back into season and helped himself frequently to them.

mouthful of strawberries, wearing Grampy's Boeing hat, a gift from Nick!

quick group shot

the best (great) grandparents anyone could ask for!

And this little guys mustered up the energy to try riding a tricycle, and succeeded at pedaling for the first time!

photos at the table

I took these photos of the kids a few weeks ago while playing with the new-to-me manual settings on my camera. I love how some of them came out and the last one is my favorite.

Lunch with Elliott while big brother is at preschool:

Showing me that he is 2!

Breakfast the next day:

love!

snow day!

We went to bed last night with the snow falling, and freezing temperatures all week meant we woke up to a beautiful three inches of snow! We rushed out the door and were at the park by 7:30am (on a Sunday) to make sure we got to enjoy it before it melted. The boys and Penny had a blast and were so excited to have a second good snow day this winter. I brought our nice camera for a change and had fun playing with all the manual settings that I learned how to use at a photography class last weekend.

the cutest!

snowball making

snow dog!

luckily our neighbors had sleds we could borrow

Oliver had great fun pushing Elliott down the hill

checking in at the bottom of the hill

look closely for Penny's orange ball in the top right hand corner!

ready to catch a snowball from Leo, our neighbor

look closely, Oliver is just about to be hit!

flying snowballs!

Now Oliver pushes Nick down the hill

Neighbors!

happy guy!

finally Oliver was ready for a turn

kiss for Daddy

and snow for breakfast