bay area trip

We took a trip down to the Bay Area a couple weeks ago to visit family and friends. We kind of underestimated holiday traffic but Brooklyn was a pretty good sport.

We split the trip in half -- stopped in southern Oregon -- and day two was the 4th of July. We had taught Brooklyn that it was "Happy Birthday American flag day" and she had a blast pointing out all the flags. "Big one!" "Baby one!" "Flag over dere!"

We really enjoyed the scenic drive, even if at times we were wishing we'd have traveled by plane. It was pretty cool though -- we realized that just outside our window on the 4th of July we saw spacious skies, amber waves of grain, purple mountain majesties, and fruited plains! Oh, and sunflowers.

We got to Laura's grandparents' house early in the evening. Brooklyn wasn't quite sure what to think -- she was pretty shy for about half an hour.

But she warmed right up...

...and was giving hugs...

...and high fives in no time. Uncle David was a great buddy for Brooklyn!

We couldn't resist. (You'd think that after folding about a million of these his first year of college, Austin would have had enough of Old Navy flag shirts...)

It was great to spend the holiday with family.

Uncle David showed us the pumpkin he's growing -- it's already really big!

Brooklyn loved being with Grandma and Grandpa Fitt -- they've got a park practically in their backyard, which was perfect for B.

It didn't take her long to find a favorite spot on the playground.

She was content just hanging out on the see saw most of the time.

Later that night Uncle David gave Brooklyn a present they got at a patriotic play the day before -- a light-up wand that kind of resembled a light saber from Star Wars -- she loved it!

And the next day Grandma Fitt gave Brooklyn a play-doh set, which was another big hit. She loved taking the dough out and putting it back in the containers and then putting the containers back in the cardboard box.

It was back to the park... and back to the see-saw.

Uncle David surprised everyone by going down the big slide -- Grandma and Grandpa told us he'd never tried it before! What a brave guy!

That evening Mary came by to pick up Laura to go to their friend Sydney's wedding. Austin went with B to Berkeley to visit his friends (and former co-worker) Sam and Roxanne and their new baby Eliza.

The wedding was in a beautiful rustic location in Napa -- the scenery and decorations were beautiful.

They loved being able to share in Sydney's special day!

Dinner was in a really cool cave in the mountain.

Laura and Mary had a great time catching up and being together as sisters.

The next day we went to visit our good friends the Andersons that used to be our neighbors here in Redmond. Brooklyn was excited to see her buddy Luke.

Like, really excited. (Okay, okay -- this kiss was way more innocent than it looks here!)

We had a great time catching up with them and Heather made an awesome brunch that we couldn't stop talking about on the way home.

We think Luke needs to be in a commercial or a tv show. Or a future indie rock star.

That evening we went to visit Mary and Chase and their family in Mountain View. Mary and Chase had just gotten back from Europe and they gave us a great slideshow of their trip. Next time we want to go! :) B loved playing with her cousin Jane...

...and cousin Livia. They were silly at their little table. We had a good time with them and wish we lived closer!

On Sunday, Brooklyn had a lot of fun doing puzzles with Grandma Fitt.

We had a great time visiting Laura's grandparents and Uncle David. It was great to spend time with them, share Brooklyn with them a bit, and enjoy tasty meals together. She couldn't stop talking about "Gramma grandpa Fitt and Uncle David" the whole way home.

We had a great time seeing family and friends -- it was a perfect way to spend the holiday.