Weekend #2 with Uncle Dustin - Legends at Candlestick Park

A few weeks after his last visit, Uncle Dustin came down to celebrate another fun event with us -- Legends at Candlestick Park!  The 49ers football stadium is set to be demolished in a few months, and so they organized one last game between 49ers legends and NFL legends as a way to say farewell to the iconic venue.  We got to watch Jerry Rice and Steve Young take on Dan Marino and a host of former NFL players -- it was a dream come true for these kids of the 80's!

Lindsay and Daddy at Candlestick Park

The Legends take the field!

Newest 49ers Fan

These two were so excited to see their childhood heroes play ball!

This one was just excited for the popcorn... 

And sitting by Uncle Dustin...

And doing the wave. :)

She also fell in love with "49ers Cow".  Yes, that's his official name, no matter how many times we tried to persuade her to name him something different. 

The 49ers won, of course... on a questionable last play where the other team let us run in for a touchdown.  Hey, a win's a win!

We love that Uncle Dustin can come down and visit us so often now!  Time for us to head up to Seattle to visit him!

Happy 4th of July from San Francisco!

Happy 4th of July!  We spent this beautiful NorCal weekend hanging around town and grilling in the backyard.  I still cannot get over the crazy perfect weather around here!  We spent most of our afternoon at the Google campus checking out the Android statues before watching fireworks on TV.

4th of July treat at Tin Pot Creamery -- "ice cream with a face"!

The "Android statues" are statues outside of the Android building on Google's campus that represent the operating systems they have created.  Google named their operating systems after desserts, so each statue looks like a giant yummy treat, especially to a 3-year-old.  They are quite possibly Lindsay's favorite thing in California -- she always wants to go visit the androids!

Walking around the Google campus

Ice Cream Sandwich android

Loving on the Kit-Kat android

She was determined to get a picture of "the biggest cupcake in the world"

Her photography skills are getting better!  Mommy and Daddy in front of the Gingerbread android

After visiting the statues, we tried to get a holiday family photo in the backyard... with mixed results.

Not bad for a selfie with a DSLR camera!

A selfie was harder with 3 people... very blurry.

We found our camera timer, but it was hard to explain to her when to smile!

This was as good as it gets, folks!

Maybe one of these days we'll be able to go see the fireworks instead of watching them on TV... but until then, Happy 4th of July from our family to yours! :)

Weekend #1 with Uncle Dustin

For Christmas, I got Todd tickets to see the NASCAR race in Sonoma.  Since it didn't look like something Lindsay would really enjoy, we invited Dustin down for the weekend for a double-header of a Drum Corps International contest and a road course race!

Lindsay was very excited to see Uncle Dustin again!

Checking out the bands at DCI West at Stanford Stadium

Silly girl... at least she's looking at the camera!

Drum Corps always put on great shows!!

I didn't get any pictures from the NASCAR Race, but Todd and Dustin said it was really fun.  And not really a place for a 3-year-old.  We watched the race from home, and Lindsay was excited that one of her favorite drivers won -- she loves it when Carl Edwards do a back-flip off of his car!

Howdy, Texas!

At the beginning of June, we were able to take a little trip back to Texas to visit our families.  Even though we've only been in California a few months, we had completely forgotten what a Houston summer is all about!  Humidity, rain storms, and mosquitos aside, we had a great time seeing our family and friends.  We didn't get many pictures, but we did get to eat LOTS of Mexican food! :)

Professional travelers on the airplane!

Celebrating my birthday while we were back home with everyone.

Posing outside of Tommy Bahamas (Lindsay's restaurant request)

Fun afternoon at the Children's Museum with Lollie and Aunt Abi!

My restaurant request -- Guadalajara's!  Mmm!!

Seriously thought about the logistics of carrying an order of queso on the airplane...

While we were home, Todd and I got to enjoy a "date night" at the Market Street Hyatt.  They have an awesome outdoor bar and lounge on the second floor!

A deer family in Grandma's backyard.

Adios, Texas!  We'll be back again soon! :)

April Showers bring May Parties

May is a month of celebrations in our house -- two birthdays, Mother's Day, and Memorial Day make it seem like one big, never-ending party! :)  Here's a quick photo recap of our festivities this year...

Lindsay's first "signature" 

Daddy's birthday dinner at Mayfield Cafe

First attempt at 3-year-old photography... close enough. :)

Mother's Day goodies from my two loves!

Mommy's birthday celebration

3-year-old photography is getting better!

Father's Day fun at the park and duck pond in Menlo Park

Santa Cruz Beach and Boardwalk

In early May, we made the short drive over the mountains to Santa Cruz, home to the famous Santa Cruz Beach and Boardwalk on the Pacific Ocean.  Todd's grandma actually sold flowers on this boardwalk as a teenager, so it has been on our list of things to see since we moved here!

It was a beautiful day, and much warmer here than it was at our house, so we were a little over-dressed.  At least we didn't have to worry about too much sun since we were all in jeans and long sleeves!

Fun on the Boardwalk!

She was most excited about seeing the beach.

Of course this place has a carousel... It's in California, isn't it? :)

This is a really old carousel... and it was by far the fastest carousel we've ever been on!  Glad she had a seat belt on, because I was holding on to the horse to keep from falling over.  Every picture Todd tried to take was blurry because we kept moving by so fast!

We spent most of our afternoon playing in the sand.

The water here was COLD.  It was a warm day, so the beach was crowded, but there were only a handful of people in the water. 

The Giant Dipper... a 90 year old roller coaster that is still going strong!

Cool girl in her shades 

Focused on burying Daddy's hand

Was able to get a quick look at the camera... barely!

I'd love to come back and explore more of Santa Cruz -- it looks like a fun little laid-back beach town.  And as long as we bring the beach toys, Lindsay will be happy!