Roadtrip!!!

Yes, I'm once again behind in my blogging. But that's what Friday nights with a wide-awake baby are for, right?! So, to recap...on June 30, Mackenzie, Giselle, Jackson and I drove to the Oakland airport to pick up Grandma Linda, and all five of us made the 12-hour trek northward to Eugene, OR. Keith had to work, so he stayed home with the dogs and rats and a verrrry quiet house! The trip went AMAZINGLY well considering we had three kids ages four and under in tow. Jackson wasn't even eight weeks old yet. We had the occasional sister squabble, and Giselle was doing "flip overs" on a bike rack during our stop in Redding and fell flat on her face on the concrete...not pretty. But we finally made it to Eugene at 3 a.m. and started a great two week visit with LOTS of family and friends! Saturday Market, 4th of July BBQ, Florence beach trip, running through sprinklers and swimming at Linda's house with cousins, visits with friends I've known since first grade, meeting new cousins for the first time, a joint birthday party for the girls...all SO much fun! At the end of our stay, Grandma Joni joined us for the return drive home, and again the kids did beautifully (although Giselle was pushing everyone's buttons by the final few hours, but who can blame a 3-year-old for feeling trapped after 12 hours in a carseat?!). We're looking forward to our next visit, although next time we will be making the trip by airplane since we won't have to haul stuff from storage back home in the truck.

The girls with 88-year-old Great Grandma Elaine. We had lunch with her, Uncle Lee, "Aunt" Julie, and my mom, and then we went back to Great Grandma's apartment to play, read, and look at old photo albums.

Giselle and Mackenzie hanging out at Aunt Mimi's house with cousin Lera, my cousin Aliya's gorgeous little 11-month-old daughter

My cousin Myra, who just graduated from high school (I feel oooooold now!)

My second cousin, Cierra, who came down from Spokane with her mom, Tami (my cousin), and grandma, Cheri (my mom's eldest sister)

My cousin Rosie with her oh-so-cute son, Ravell, and Aliya with baby Lera

Lady Gaga a.k.a. Giselle

Ravell at 16 months

My stepmom Linda's niece, Tracey, came down to Eugene from Vancouver with her two adorable little girls, Lily and Aubrey. Our four girls spent the day having picnics, splashing in the inflatable pool, running through the sprinklers, and watching movies. They have so much fun together!

Aubrey, who could easily pass as Kennie, Giselle, and Jackson's sister

Lily, deep in thought :)

Giselle had a blast in the sprinklers, but she was shivering and her lips turned blue even though it was in the 90s

Hanging out at Grandma Joni's house on my old rocking horse, which was passed down to me by my Dad

Day trip to the south jetty in Florence with my friend, Jennifer. It was very chilly out on the beach, and I had to keep Jackson covered up so he wouldn't hyperventilate in the high winds

Giselle turned 3 a few weeks before our trip, and Mackenzie was going to turn 5 several weeks after our Oregon visit, so we celebrated both girls' birthdays with a party at Linda's. Mackenzie, the dinosaur fanatic, had a cake topped with Brachiosaurus, Triceratops, and Stegosaurus.

Giselle's cake was topped with Princess Giselle

Grandma Linda holding Jackson

Jackson and me, my mom, Giselle, Great Grandmas Elaine and Barbara, and Kennie

Eating an early morning breakfast at Linda's before heading back home

Giselle turns 3!!

This past weekend, we celebrated our baby girl's third birthday with three days filled with fun activities. We started off the festivities on Friday, her actual birthday, with...what else?...chocolate!!

On Saturday, we drove up to Sonoma and had lunch with Grammie Phyllis. Then we all went to Train Town, an amusement park with train models, kiddie rollercoasters and other rides, and a petting zoo. The girls went on a train ride with their Dad, flew on a kids-only airplane ride, went for a spin on the ferris wheel with Dad and the "dragon" rollercoaster with Grammie, and then finished off the afternoon on the carousel. Toward the end of the day, Giselle asked if we could stay at Train Town forever because she was having so much fun. Such a sweet girl!!

Our final stop of the day was in Rohnert Park to see Grandpa Pat. The girls had a great time playing with Mattie the dog (not sure if I can say the same for Mattie) and a new magnetic building toy, and the birthday girl managed to soak herself in the backyard in Mattie's drinking bowl. In all, Giselle--and the rest of us--had a fabulous day! I don't have pictures but, on Sunday, I took all three kids to see Toy Story 3 while Keith had to stay home to do homework...he really missed out as it was a great movie!