Sacramento

it was our friend Miriam's Birthday last week so this past weekend we went to visit her in Sacramento. We decided to take the train so we did not have to deal with traffic, surprisingly it was not that expensive and WAY less stressful with a mobile 9 mo. old that wants to crawl around everywhere.
He didnt sleep like we planned but he DID have fun crawling on the table!

The next day we went to Apple Hill, it was a great little area with lots of yummy apple stuff, apple cider, pie, donuts,milk shakes, caramel apples ect... we had to bring back some dutch apple pie and cider.....yummy!
There was also a pumpkin patch and petting "zoo" we were able to gets some cute pics from.


All in all it was a great trip and it was so good to see Mir! We all had a great time and at the end Bryson was all tuckered out!

Like Father, Like Son

I've long thought that Bryson inherited a few things from me: his love of music, the way he's always happier when outdoors, and even his awesome facial expressions (my favorite is the single cocked eyebrow - he's been doing it practically since birth!), but it wasn't until recently that I realized just how close to the tree this little apple has fallen.  You see, Bryson LOVES Scooby Doo.  The talking stuffed Scooby I've had for years (people always assume it's Bryson's...) has become one of his favorite new friends.  He cracks a smile everytime he hears it talk, and he usually crawls towards it at full speed.  He's adorable to watch with Scooby - just check out these pictures (and the flannel pajamas) !!!

 

I mentioned Bryson's musical inclinations, didn't I?  Well, this has recently manifested itself in a very entertaining fashion.  Our little guy has turned into a one man band.  Who knew he was already so talented?

Oh yes, and there's at least one more trait that our rapazinho shares with dad - we're both easily entertained.  yes, Bryson and I enjoy the simple things in life... like crawling through cardboard boxes.  :)

Shoreline

Recently, we took a hike closer to home at a place called Shoreline. We've walked around Shoreline a few times, and we always see some wildlife - usually geese, squirrels, egrets, herons, ducks, and terns - but this time we saw something unexpected. Actually, we saw a LOT of unexpected critters. As we were walking along a trail, we saw a few huge pelicans flying right over our heads. They glided down and landed in a marsh just a few feet away from us. Right behind this first few birds was a HUGE flock literally hundreds of these massive, beautiful birds. We took a few pictures, but they hardly do the scene justice. It was amazing watching them fly in and fly out. Here's a few snapshots and a brief video clip of our experience (plus one of Bryson in his beenie before our chilly morning hike - he's just so darn cute!). Enjoy!

Bryson's First (Crazy) Summer

Bryson's first summer sure has been a crazy one. We've gone through lots of ups and downs, and that little boy has traveled up and down the state several times. On the bright side, we have lots of fun pictures and videos to share. :) This top picture is one of Bryson's first experience at Huntington City Beach (you'll notice the pier in the background). We set him down for a few seconds to take a picture, and he immediately grabbed two fistfuls of sand and shoved them in his mouth. He's such a little boy.

This summer marked another important first for Bryson (and us too): his first trip to Gilroy's annual Garlic Festival! Ever since I first heard that such a thing existed I've wanted to go to the garlic festival, and this year I got my wish. We had some AMAZING garlic fries, garlic steak tacos, and even some deep-fried garlic. (Yeah, it was pretty awesome.) Being the intrepid food adventurers that we are, we also sampled some more exotic garlic cuisine, like garlic ice cream (we have proof - it's in the picture above), garlic chocolate covered peanut butter cups, and garlic grilled kangaroo skewers. No, kangaroo does not taste like chicken... it's more like a gamey beef.

Bryson has been learning all sorts of new things lately, and that has made playing with him even more fun. Recently, our rapazinho discovered the magic of bubbles. Here's a few pictures of him and bubbles in our little back patio.




In August, we camped in Big Basin Redwoods State Park (which, BTW, was the very first state park in California) with our friends the Bergs. Both Bryson and the Berg's two-year-old Luke had fun looking at the big trees, going on hikes, and sitting by the campfire. Bryson's favorite part, though, seemed to be eating dirt. :)