Meeting Cecelia Ryan Lee

We finally made it to Eureka to visit the newest addition to the family, Cecelia Ryan Lee. She is beautiful of course, and Skeeter and Marisa are doing fabulously. It was such an amazing gift to see my little brother being a daddy, and he is a natural. She responds so well to his presence. You can feel the love oozing out of both Skeet and Ris. We can't wait to go back, and next time Evan hopes he gets to hold her, not just give her a kiss. Although he was pretty distracted by the three video gaming systems upstairs. He played his first video game and loved it. He wasn't all that great at "spraying" the ducks, but he had fun.

I had to get a picture of Drama too because he was feeling left out.

Grandma Tammy and Papa Kirk brought Cousin Alysha down for the day.

Grandpa Bob came too! They were all so glad that they only had to drive two hours instead of the seven to Sacramento.

She wasn't crying the whole time grandpa had her, but I didn't have any crying pictures or grandpa pictures, so I thought I would combine since my battery was dying.

Happy Mama!

Cousins!

They look more and more alike every day...I am sure by this time next year we will be saying the same about Cecelia; those Lee genes are strong:)

Evan wanted another picture with his cousin.

I love this one!

Our last few minutes with her were spent trying to get some movement out of her.

Aah, much better! Lucky for us the five hour drive to Eureka feels way more doable than the seven to CC. Not quick enough for every weekend, but maybe once a month:) I can't stay away from this cutie for too long.

UC Davis Playdate

Hard to believe that it had been almost a year since we got together. The kids have changed so much, but they all played so nicely together. Ella (and the rest of her family of course) was a great hostess. She shared her toys well!

It was a beautiful afternoon, so the kids (and dads) played with the water.

This is Robin showing the boys her lightsaber app on her phone.

They all had a great time shopping and making food.

And of course there was yummy food for us adults too:)

The boys were loving the chance to switch things up a bit and take a break from trucks.

Yes, that is a Mrs. Potato head earring in his nose. I guess the kids weren't the only ones having fun!

Evan got the camera, and of course the first thing he takes a picture of is Ella's little sister Kendall.

And that is that...poor play dough. Hopefully it won't be a year before we get together again. Thank you for hosting Julie and Darrell!

Santa Cruz and Thomas

We started our trip with a slight detour to the Vacaville outlets looking for some new tennie runners for the whole family. No luck, but I just thought this image was too funny.

 Evan and Ben walking out to the end of the pier.

 Humongous sea lions

 The view of the boardwalk from the end of the pier

 Zoom

 Very friendly sea gull

 Poor pigeon

 After dinner we headed to the Boardwalk for some games and rides.

 Evan was in heaven!

This was Evan's favorite ride:)

 He loved it so much, we couldn't make it to the beach the next day without stopping.

 He loved the view from the Ferris wheel.

 He spotted this one from the Ferris wheel and decided he wanted to go on it.

 He was so excited!

 Started out okay... but it did not end as well. Still I am impressed that he made it through with no tears.

 Off to the beach after that one.

 And that's that.

 We ate lunch and we were out of there.

 The next morning, Thomas!

 The ride to Felton did not agree with him.

 But it was nothing a little fresh air, water, and a park couldn't fix.

  

 Ricky's for chocolate chip Mickey Mouse pancakes. Thanks for the article Sue!

 He was so excited just for the train ride from the parking lot to the event.

 

 So many things to do. Next time we will plan to spend more time doing the activities and just hanging out.

 Harold the Helicopter tattoo.

 After learning Harold wasn't there, he was very happy to see Percy.

 Meeting Sir Topham Hat

 Finally the ride of all rides!

 It was a beautiful ride.

 This is us not waiting in that line, but still getting a picture with Thomas.

 A PB & J and we are back on the train, in the car, and heading home.

Unfortunately it took us as long to get home from Santa Cruz as it did from Ashland:(