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This Year we got the pleasure of flying out to visit Opa and Oma over spring break. Opa and Oma moved from Aspen to California a few years ago and we couldn't wait to go out and see them and their new home! |
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| After a full day of flying we landed in San Francisco where Clint met us and drove us North toward Santa Rosa to stay with he and Oma for a few days. Will and Kate absolutely loved their little beds and table and chairs to eat at while we stayed! |
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| The weather was beautiful while we were there and the kids loved playing and exploring Oma and Opa land. |
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| Where does this little path lead to?? |
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| Sitting outside enjoying the view and hot cup of coffee our first morning in California :) |
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| We love it here!! |
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| Kate and Will picked out a few toys for Opa and Oma's cats and dog to play with. |
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| Adesa really seemed to love her new carrot toy and Kate too! |
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| I think there was a bit more commotion around the house than what Adesa was use to for sure! |
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| Will fell in love with the crooked house that Opa and Oma have in their garden. He thought it was so crazy :) |
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| Will found the orange tree right away and started picking. |
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| Hanging out and swinging outside. |
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| Opa let Kate and Will help him feed all his pets. Since we don't have many pets (except fish) at our house, the kids were super excited to help. |
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| After they fed the fish, they moved on to feed the birds. |
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| And stopped to play with Adesa along the way. |
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| Will LOVED Adesa! |
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| Adesa was getting ready to have her puppies just a few short days after we visited. So we helped Opa and Oma set up the welping pen. |
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| And line up the colored yarn to use as the puppies' first collars for identification after they are born. |
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| Then back outside to the crooked house for some more playing! |
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| Will loved exploring every corner of their home and finding new things! |
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| More playing and exploring. |
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| Poor Adesa didn't have a lot of energy to play fetch with the kiddos. |
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| We had some down time too to just relax and unwind. |
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| Opa took us out 1 day to the redwood forest for some hiking. |
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| WOW was it beautiful in the forest! |
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| Kate and Will tried climbing those ginormous trees. |
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| And sat on many fun branches. |
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| I am still amazed at the size of those trees! |
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| We found a few parks to play at while we were there. Will and Kate love to play tag with dad every chance they can get. |
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| On another day we found an outdoor children's museum. Only in California can you have a children's museum outside! It was a beautiful day and the exhibits were awesome! |
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| We spent a lot of time playing, and could have easily come back the next day and do it all over again. |
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| There was a little schoolhouse that was full of crafts for the kids to use their imaginations and build. |
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| Kate was ALL OVER IT!! |
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| How are we going to fit these in our suitcases for the airplane ride? |
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| After awhile Brett and Clint perched themselves up on a small hill to supervise the kiddos. |
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| Of course, Will met a new friend right away. When she asked Will if was from California, Will replied......" No I am from a land far far away called Iowa." So Stinking Cute!! |
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| Will and Brooke became best of friends for a few short hours that day. Will was incredibly sad when we had to leave. |
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| The second half of our trip was spent in downtown San Francisco. Clint drove us down to our hotel on the Pier and we set out to do some sightseeing with before he had to leave to go back home. |
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| Those ships were huge! |
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| Such a fun time with my Honey! |
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| And my crazy princess. |
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| The Exploratorium was one of the top sites to do on our list. It's like the DSM Science Center, but 10 times bigger and better! |
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| These chairs were pretty hilarious! |
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| There were so many cool experiments and exhibits to learn lots of new things. |
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| We took a break at midday from the Exploratorium and headed to have lunch on the Pier. |
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| Will tried Kate's smoothie and obviously wasn't impressed! If it isn't milk or water, he doesn't want it. |
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| We had some of the best seafood ever on our stay. |
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| Then back to the Exploratorium for more fun! |
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| A trolley ride was on the top of my list. We didn't rent a car while we were there, so we had the opportunity to ride both the trolley and a cable car to tour the beautiful city. |
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| The Trolley was SO MUCH FUN! |
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| We made it to Lumbard Street, the crookedest street in the city. |
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| Many people drove down it, but we decided to walk. |
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| We also found the Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory! YUMMY! |
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| Kate and Will fell in love with those machines that flatten out the pennies and stamp a new design. Brett said he use to do this as a kid and was pretty excited as well when he saw these machines on almost every street corner in the city. |
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| We also found the wax museum and had to take a pic with my children's namesake before we left. We had a delightful time in California and cannot wait to visit again!!! |
