California Trip Part 1: The Beginning

I am so glad that we took this trip. It was so much fun, we stayed pretty busy with both relaxing and sightseeing. I got to meet my cousin's boyfriend and their adorable little boy. I also got to meet my other cousin's wife. She is sweet and they will make cute kids once they start having them. Because there are a few interesting stories, I am going to do this in separate posts.

On the trip up there, we stopped at a rest stop to use the bathroom, change Nikolai's diaper and eat. We seemed to be running early and my Aunt and Uncle had to go pick up my cousin Sarah, Bobby and their baby Gatlin. Well, we decided to have some cheese (I was going to have it in a sandwich) and Brandon had the keys in the ignition waiting for me to come back from the bathroom. He was entertaining Nikolai, the driver's side doors were locked. The cooler was in the passenger side. After getting the cheese and bread, he locked the doors and shut them. In the process, locked the keys in the car.

We were lucky the cleaning lady was there and gave us some wire hangers to use. I guess this happens frequently because the hangers were all stretched out. Brandon was having a hard time breaking into my car and the person that had parked next to us noticed. He just happened to be a tow truck driver and skilled at popping the lock on vehicles. That is probably the bulk of his calls when working. So he popped the lock on our car. It maybe was a total of a half hour since locking the keys into the car and getting back into it. We ate after we got our keys back.

Driving straight through was a little difficult but getting there was totally worth it. Here was Gatlin and Nikolai's first time playing together. It is Nikolai's payback for all he has done to poor Lincoln. We like to think that Gatlin was giving him kisses. I think Nikolai enjoyed the time with another baby for the entire week. And I really appreciated having another 9 adults there to help keep the baby entertained.

We spent a lot of time in the pool. Nikolai, after the initial introduction with the pool enjoyed himself as well. Here he is watching the boys play with a beach ball back and forth. He is sitting in the spa waterfall to the pool. The second time we took him swimming he started getting cold so my mom took him and he was wrapped in a towel. After Brandon and I spending time in the pool, he started getting agitated and seemed to want back in with us. It was so cute! I am so excited that he likes the pool. I cannot wait to take him swimming again! 

On Tuesday we went to a vineyard. Brandon and I did not do a wine tasting, though I would have liked to. The buildings in Napa are beautiful! And seeing grape vines is wonderful! Unfortunately my allergies did not agree with me. I had a stuffy nose the entire time, from this date on. But at least I still enjoyed myself. And Nikolai  Finds my nose blowing very funny!

Anyway, we ate at the Culinary Institute of America. Their food was pretty pricey for one plate. Brandon and I shared the steak. Oh my goodness, it was so good. We also split a side of risotto and wow! It was delicious! I found those buildings interesting too. They had stars on them! I am not sure what it meant, but liked it.

The following day, my cousins Sean and Sarah, and Bobby and Gatlin went to visit their Aunt on their mother's side. So Brandon and I decided to visit Old Sacramento. We went there for the purpose of visiting the Railroad Museum but went there last with only 45 minutes before they closed. That was not enough time to look through the museum. They had cars from the trains open to tour through but did not allow strollers, so Brandon and I had to take turns. That made it so slow.  Nikolai found the toy trains very intriguing! I loved his reaction to the moving trains!

The rest of Old Sacramento was pretty cool too! The buildings are old style, just refinished and some of them had plaques explaining what they were used for in the 1800s.

That night was our last night with Bobby, Matt and Cari. Jokingly we decided to do a 'family picture' with Matt, Cari and the babies. The two want to wait until after Matt finished his residency, Cari finishes her masters, they have paid down their school loans and have money. So with that in mind, Debbie decided to make a "family christmas card picture".  They will make a cute family when they have kids. I just wish them good luck and not have twins! :)

It amazing the difference between babies. Gatlin cruises, but does not crawl. Nikolai started crawling there, but is still a ways off from walking. Gatlin with run while holding on to your hands. It is so cute! Poor thing is teething though, and I do not look forward to Nikolai starting teething!

I am so glad we went! The first few days were great and the last few days were just wonderful too. But that is another bunch of stories, and I am going to be going to bed. :)