The flight out went fairly well - you really just never know with Keeley whether she will behave or scream her little head off, but I was very prepared with snacks and DVD's and new toys. (HUUUUUGE thanks to go my good friend Beth who mentioned that there are rechargeable universal batteries out there that you can buy to extend the amount of time you can use your portable DVD player on a plane! I picked one up before the trip and it was used and loved!)
Here are the kids in the airport, looking out at the airplanes!
Once we landed, claimed our baggage, took the train to the rental car agency and got our car, Todd and I were H-U-N-G-R-Y!! (The kids, not so much, as they had filled up on lots and lots of delicious snacks, but they were happy, so it was all good! LOL!) In a moment of brilliance, I asked one of the rental car employees where the closest In-N-Out Burger was, and much to my delight, there was one within a few miles of the airport! SCORE!
In case you don't know, In-N-Out makes the most delicious hamburgers, fries, and shakes. But they are only available in California, Las Vegas, and a few cities in Arizona. I really wish they'd venture out to Texas.
Anyway, we enjoyed our lunch tremendously, and bribed the kids with chocolate shakes to keep them happy while we ate. :D
Then we headed to our "home" for the week - Todd's aunt and uncle, Louise and Keith's house in San Francisco. They generously let us stay there with Todd's parents during our visit. (They also own a condo in the downtown area, close to Keith's work, and they stay there during the week.)
Soon, Don and Carol arrived, and the kids were so happy to see Grandma and Grandpa!
We ventured out for dinner later that evening, and settled on a family-friendly Italian restaurant, where we all enjoyed some delicious food! They were very accomodating of the kids, which was much appreciated. Both Don and Carol had dishes with seafood, including some small squid. They gave a couple of them to Luken to sort of play with, but after I told him he could eat them, he bravely tried one and liked it! Of course, we were referring to them as octopuses. He thought the whole thing was fabulous! I wished I had brought my camera along to dinner, because it would have made for some fun pictures...
*****
The next day was cousin Kirsten's 10th birthday (this is Todd's sister's oldest daughter - our niece - and they all live in Santa Clara, which is just a bit south of SF.) She had chosen to go to the San Francisco Zoo to celebrate her big day, and we all tagged along for the fun!
Keeley and Grandpa, admiring some animals!
All the cousins: Ashleigh, Chris, Kirsten, Luken, and Keeley!
Gorilla:
Keeley, enjoying some freedom!
There were peacocks ALL over the zoo, and they are LOUD!! I learned that they can fly, as I saw one flutter up into a tree.
Taking it all in...
Admiring the lions with Aunt Louise:
Kirsten and a new friend:
Cutie pie!
Grandpa took the kids into the petting zoo. Keeley was trying to hug a goat, haha!
All morning long, we were on the hunt for snakes for Luken. We were told the Anaconda was not on display that day. :( However, there were many volunteers out on the Nature Walk with various animals, and two boys (the volunteers were all school-aged kids, 12 and older, and they were very knowledgable and sweet with all of the little kids) had a snake on display. SCORE!
But first, a turtle... just to get warmed up, hee hee!
Luken LOVED petting the snake (two fingers, down the back, in case you were interested.)
The slithery little guy:
Keeley got in on the action too, little brave thing! I wonder if she will be horrified by these pictures one day, or if she'll always be this daring?
Look at the pure joy on Luken's face!
After that, we headed to lunch, and the kids were being silly in the wagon we'd rented there.
Here's another cutie Keeley shot!
Luken and an elephant statue:
You knew it couldn't be all fun and games, though, right? ;)
This is the life, eh?
After we'd seen everything there was to see, we had the obligatory visit to the gift shop, where Aunt Louise treated each kid to a souvenir. Luken chose a giant, plush snake, and immediately decided to strangle himself with it! LOL!
Saying goodbye to the cousins (for 2 days... we met up with them again later!)
More to come in the next post!
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