San Francisco

August 19th-23rd, we decided to take a trip to San Francisco with my parents. It's one of the few places that I've been that Josh hasn't and I LOVE San Francisco. It's usually pretty easy to convince my parents to go on a trip-especially if it involves cooler temperatures in August, and Josh isn't going to pass up a vacation where he can see 2 baseball games in one week. (Especially if he finds out about super cheap airline tickets.) So off we went!

 The flight was just long enough that Meili could enjoy it, but not so long that I had to stress about how to keep her occupied.

 We did get her a new set of horses for the trip. Can I just say, "Money well spent!" She loves them and it was so cute seeing her set them all up on her tray table.

 We wanted to spend as little time as possible in Oakland, since I keep hearing about how it is the third most dangerous city in the US. But, we at least had to see the temple. And Josh loved it. He said that was one of his highlights of the whole trip. 

 Talk about the perfect location!

 Finding a dog statue on temple grounds is rare. Maybe that's why Josh was such a fan.

 That night we went to an A's game. If I didn't record this story for future posterity, Josh would be mad. So here goes... We stopped at a Burger King to get some food, and Josh noticed a man standing in line. He said that because he was wearing a Boys and Girls Club shirt and had a young man with him, Josh thought he seemed like a good guy. (I think that you don't talk to strangers in Oakland, end of story. But whatever.) Josh started up a conversation with him, and asked if he knew a good place to get cheap A's tickets. The guy hesitated, and then said, "Well, how many do you need?" It just so happens that the Boys and Girls club gets free nose bleed seats all the time, and he had some back at the office that he was willing to give us for free. So we ate our food, and he went back to the office, came back, and gave us free tickets. And Josh had a smile on his face for the rest of the day!

 It was a good game, but we left a little early, since it had been a long day already. Of course, we missed the A's winning with a walk-off homerun. Oh well!

 On Tuesday we decided to check all the "sites" off our list. We went to Fisherman's wharf, the Golden Gate Bridge, Lombard street,the "painted ladies" (houses from Full House, and finished off the day with China Town.)

 Meili would have been satisfied most of the trip with just chasing the birds. One of these days she's gonna catch one I tell ya!

 It was kind of foggy like this the whole time we were there, but the weather was still pretty nice.

 So funny story. It was so crowded to park by the painted ladies houses, that my dad and I just decided to jump out of the car really fast while Josh, Meili, and my mom circled the block. My dad asked me to pose for a picture, and when I got my camera back ...

 This was the picture he had taken. Do you see me in that picture? When I asked my dad, he pointed to that asian boy in the plaid shirt.

 So this is the second picture he took. Right... now I see the resemblance.

 As cool as Lombard street is, I just can't for the life of me figure out who would choose to live there. It seems like a nightmare to me.

 In China Town Meili got this little umbrella, which we then had to convince her not to play with the rest of the day, and a little Asian outfit. (Her name is Meili. How could we resist?)

 Then we ate dinner in China Town-which I would not necessarily say I recommend. 

On Wednesday, we went to Alcatraz.

 My mom told Meili that we were going to ride on a ferry and Meili said, "I get Tinkerbell!" From then on we had to call it a "Ferry-boat," to avoid any confusion. I think she still liked it, even if she didn't get to ride Tinkerbell.

 The American Cup just happened to be the day that we took our ferry ride, so we got to see some pretty cool sailboats.

 Someday I will get a picture of Meili in her sunglasses, where they are not crooked. But still cute right?

 Alcatraz was cool, but as usual with me, I left with more questions than when I came. So now I need to read some books and learn a little bit more about some of the stories. Also, Meili fell asleep in Josh's arms on his hike up to the building, so that changed our plans a little. The biggest downside: apparently, it's fly season.

 D Block, or solitary confinement. Josh went in one of the cells, for a few minutes while they turned off all the lights. He agrees that he would probably go nuts.

On Thursday, we decided, rather last minute, to take a drive to Santa Cruz. I'm so glad we did, because I think that was a highlight for a few of us.

 Meili, of course, loved all the mechanical toys, and playing arcade games.

 Then we played on the beach for a few minutes. I was so excited that I could finally let her run and do whatever she wanted, and I didn't have to tell her not to touch something, or not to walk over there. We could just play!

I think she and I could both live pretty happy lives as beach bums!

 I don't know what it is about this child and horses, but real horses, fake horses, big horses, little horses, they are her happy place!

 Half the reason I was in favor of going to Santa Cruz, was so that Meili could get a nap on the hour and a half drive back. Let me ask you; the child was EXHAUSTED the entire trip, going to sleep later than usual, waking up earlier than usual, falling asleep in her daddy's arms. But do you think she slept in the car on the long drive back like we planned? Of course not! Instead she talked and talked and talked and sang and talked and sang some more. I started laughing and crying from exhaustion on the third round of "I looove balloons! I love balloons! I love them, I love them, I looove balloons." (If you're thinking of the tune from Elf, you're on the right track.)

 Thank goodness for the slide at the Giants Stadium so she could run off a little more energy.

I knew that San Francisco weather is no Southern California weather, so we all came to the game prepared with our jackets. We did not come with our parkas, and winter hats, and gloves which we apparently should have, because it was freezing! Meili stayed warm in Josh's jacket though. And because she was finally all tired out, we could all sit back and enjoy the game a little. (Until our toes almost froze off.)

We left Friday morning.

A few more details I want to remember. Meili called our hotel, our "show and tell" and called the elevator, an "alligator." So every time we were in the car, she would say, "Are we going back to the show and tell and ride the alligator?" Can she just stay this cute forever?

One of her highlights, which we didn't get a picture of, was her air mattress. I brought it for the purpose of her sleeping on it at night. That was not what she had in mind. Instead she used it to barricade herself or other people into/out of rooms, to jump on (of course), and her favorite, was putting it on top of our bed and watching tv.

Hogle Zoo

I talked my friend from High School, Kira, to go with me to Hogle Zoo. I've been wanting to go all summer because when Meili turns 3, we'll have to start paying for her. (Poor girl, once we have to actually pay admission for her, we won't do fun things anymore. Hopefully she has good memories from the first 3 years of her life!)

 Honestly, Meili and Kira's daughter, Eliza, probably would have been satisfied playing at this little splash pad all day. But we MADE them see all the animals.

 Seeing as how the only zoo I've been to in YEARS is Willow Park, I was impressed with all the animals that Hogle Zoo has, and the fact that you can actually see them. You can see the bear sleeping over in the corner.

 Meili said her favorite animal was the polar bear because he was doing tricks in the water, but she and Eliza just stared at this monkey, and we had to drag them away.

We had a few major meltdowns, and with Kira and I both pregnant, we were pretty exhausted by the end of the day, but I would say, overall, it was a success!

The Fair

August=County Fairs.

We went to both the Cache and Box Elder County fairs.

 Meili loved the rides and couldn't get enough. To me, she suddenly seemed so big that there were actually quite a few rides she could go on.

 Josh was sure that this little roller coaster was going to be a bad idea. And to me, she did seem a little nervous at times, but she said it was fun, and it was one the first things she told people about at the fair.

 But nothing compares to riding horses. We saw these horses on the way in, and tried walking around the entire fair, trying to distract her, but alas, we paid our $3 for her pony ride. And she still talks about it to this day.

 The boy leading the horse asked if I wanted to walk by her. (I'm sure that is common among most 2 year olds.) No, no, this picture is Meili waving "sayonara" to her mother. Because, when you have a horse, who needs Mommy?

And what's a fair without cotton candy. She would have eaten the whole thing if we had let her.

Randomness

These pictures are truly random-couldn't find anywhere else to post them-kind of pictures.

 I am a first-time mom, and so obviously my child is a genius, and an artist, and the most beautiful etc. etc. But for real-are you not impressed by her artistic ability at 2 years old? That person is complete with hair, legs, feet, eyes, nose, ears, and a mouth. I mean really!

 She put this little ensemble together all by herself... In August, mind you. Yes, I'm sure the neighbors giggle every time they see Meili riding her bike outside with a beanie on.

 And speaking of bike riding... welcome to Meili's new obsession. She went from struggling, and I mean STRUGGLING, to riding all around the neighborhood in a matter of days. We thought this bike was just a couple months too big for her, now we think she may wear it out by the end of the summer.

 Another outfit she put together by herself. (Truth be told, I had a little input on the shirt.) She is her daddy's daughter through and through.

And I had never mentioned these shoes. Josh rarely gets excited in his life. But there's something about getting a good deal on Air Jordans for his little girl that makes him giddy like a kid on Christmas. (I will add that these shoes are a mom's worst nightmare. Which means they are some of Meili's favorites-because Daddy told her they make her run fast and jump high. Sure they're cute, but they have actual laces, and they are high tops-which are not easy to get an uncooperative little foot in. Add in the fact that Meili thinks she needs to completely undress when she goes potty, and we have quite the situation on our hands in public bathrooms!)