We took our very first family vacation and let me tell you it was amazing. The first thing I have to say is that, even though Clint and I say it every day, our little dudes are truly amazing! I cannot even begin to explain how awesome they were on our twenty-four-hour road trip (we made it in just twenty-two hours on the way back). We are so thankful that Clint's dad let us borrow his huge and awesome traveling van because we had to pack a lot of stuff. The boys slept great in their carseats and enjoyed watching lots and lots of Yo Gabba Gabba while they were awake. We had to make a handful of stops along the way for potty/diaper breaks and to grub it up, but other than that, these four Byrds were troopers.
Our first full day back in Cali we were able to go to a Dodger game with all my Snyder siblings and their kids. This was the boys' very first Dodger game and even though we lost, it was still amazingly awesome. The boys were so happy to be there and had fun being passed around with all their cousins, aunts and uncles. One thing we did learn is that Graham is so very blonde, he needs sunscreen applied to his hair because the sun goes right through to his scalp. Both Mama and Graham got scalp burns :( That night we took in dinner with my mom and (BIG) little brother and then we got to hang around at home and watch as the boys began their weeklong mission to destroy my mom's house.
Monday we went to the Santa Barbara Zoo with my brother Chris and the boys had so much fun - the zoo is becomming one of their favorite places to go. We also got to celebrate my big sister Charlene's 45th birthday at her house that night. Tuesday the boys and I hung out at home and we went swimming with my friend Elise who I haven't seen in 15 years!!! It was so amazing to see her, she really is a beautiful person inside and out and it was very awesome to catch up. That night it was all about friends friends friends!!! We went to dinner (BJs - mmmmm - pazookies - mmmmm) with some great great great people (Sara, Kim and her boyfriend Brandon, and Rev. Kevin). It was a very great night and nice to go out without having to worry about my kids getting bored and throwing food on the floor. (On a side note - I'm still waiting for the Santa Barbara Zoo pictures to be sent to me from Chris, which is why they are not included in this blog).
Wednesday Clint and I left for San Francisco while the boys stayed home with my mom, once again on their mission to destroy her house. We encountered a huge fire along the road on the way and got some awesome pictures while we had to sit and wait. There must have been about twenty fire trucks battling the fire. Once we got to San Fran, found our hotel, lucked out on a parking spot and checked in, we decided to hop onto the cable car and make our way downtown. But we never made it onto the cable car, and actually ended up walking quite a few miles to Fisherman's Wharf where we were able to pop into a bar and have a few beers, before making our way down to Ghirardelli Square for some dinner - ice cream (by the way, did I mention that there are no diets on vacation and I actually budgeted in pounds I would be gaining?). We made our way back to the hotel on foot, walked up possibly the craziest inclined hill ever (I seriously don't know how either of us made it up), and somehow, miraculously, made our way back to the hotel.
Thursday was a great day. No time for sleeping in, we got up, found a great, very close and half-off parking spot for the day and had the most delicious crepes at Fisherman's Wharf for breakfast. Clint's had ham and cheese and mine had dark chocolate and strawberries - YUMMY!!! We then went on the cruise to Alcatraz and tour of Alcatraz, which was Clint's first time and it really never gets old for me. It was a beautiful day outside, not hot and not cold, the most perfect weather you could ask for. After Clint had taken about a zillion pictures at Alcatraz we headed back and Clint finally got to eat the famous clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. He LOVED it!! We went to the Aquarium by the Bay and got to pet sting rays and sea cucumbers. We walked around the Wharf for awhile and then made our way to the Wax Museum. Clint loved it but I was not a big fan. It was all a little . . . creepy. After the Wax Musuem and some more browsing and shopping, we made our way to a little bar and grille back at Fisherman's Wharf and had our lovely anniversary dinner of nachos and beer while we watched NBA Finals Game 7 (go Lakers!). After our "dinner" we headed down to the Rainforest Cafe and had the volcano yummy deliciousness for our anniversary dessert (and of course some drinks).
Friday was our double decker sightseeing bus day and it was COLD!!! Riding over the Golden Gate Bridge on the (OPEN) top of the double decker bus chilled me right down to my bones but we both loved the view. The sightseeing tour around the city was great and we ended our San Fran trip with the Boudin Sourdough Bread Factory tour as well as a clam chowder sourdough bread bowl for Clint and a delicious sourdough margherita pizza for me (did I forget to mention that we had the awesome crepes again for breakfast?). And so we made our way back to our boys and our last few days in California.
Saturday was the boys' very first beach day and it was great! My brother Chris and my sister Charlene went, along with their significant others and a handful of nieces and my (one) nephew. The boys loved the beach. Killian definitely loved the water and Graham definitely loved (eating) the sand. It was a great day but needing a nap kind of cut our time short. Later that night at my Dad's we had Snyder tacos (yummy) and some good family time. At the end of Saturday night I got to have some Mommy and Me time with my mom and then it was off to bed because the next morning we were off again. After a monster packing adventure, we were back in the van. We stopped by my Dad's house for a Father's Day breakfast and then we were off!!! And even though the drive this time was two hours shorter, it felt much much longer. But once we were back home, it really felt great to get home to our house and get the boys back on a schedule.
All in all our vacation was amazing and we simply cannot wait for future family vacations to see where they take us!
It sounds like a blast! I'm glad ya'll had a great vacation!
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