More Sun on the Beach at Crissy Field

Today was our day to go to the Exploratorium, and then to the beach afterwards if we had time, but when we drove into the parking lot at the Palace of Fine Arts, the line for the museum was around the corner & the lot was packed!  We didn’t feel like waiting an hour to get into the museum, so we changed plans & headed to Crissy Field for some beach play. 

And what a day we had.  It turned out that it was the national Kite Boarding Championships were taking place later that day, and the wind was just perfect for flying our own kites (thank you Mary for thinking ahead!!).

Alexandra kept trying to get into kite flying as well, but mostly like chasing the tails.

The entertainment was non-stop; Kite Boarders, Groups of Parachutes with colored smoke, a fly-bye from the Blue Angels, Sun, Wind…  It was heaven. and everyone in constant motion…

Sun in San Francisco

Amazingly enough, the sun followed us down to San Francsico for our visit with the Z side.  We spent the morning in Golden Gate Park letting the girls run & play a bit before catching up with the girls’ Nounas over lunch. 

Alexandra, being the little monkey that she is, climbed right into the cup, and quickly discovered the fun of centrifugal force. These are really the most stable swings I have ever been on, and still fun because you feel a bit like you are going to slide off at any second… (trying to keep them away from the water was a challenge!)

And no trip would be complete without a ride on the carousel!

and finally off to lunch, and a bit of a collapse while waiting…

Ski supreme

It’s all in the family…

The Patriarch.

The Son-in-law

The daughter.

Next up, the return of the prodigal son…

Next year, the first grand-daughter!  (Sophia was already grabbing the handle of the rope tow.  I was so proud!!!)

Swimming, swimming, swimming…

What weeks we have picked to be on vacation!  It has been the highest temperatures ever recorded in Seattle (103 – 39c), and we have to luck of being at the lake.  The only unfortunate thing is that the water is getting so warm, that it isn’t refreshing to jump in any more.   We figure it is about 80!  It’s been so warm that most of our conversations now take place while swimming.  Sophia’s swim skills have come a long way, and Alexandra now just wanders in to the water, waves or not…

Lake time with friends

Over the past couple weeks we have had some great playtime with lots of friends.  Our neighbors are so welcoming to us (thanks again Keith & Nola!!), and Sophia just loves having all the kids around to play with!  Alexandra does too…

Party Thursday…

We had another great day in the sun with Liam, Ava & their parents and grandparents.  Liam & Sophia seems to just be able to pick up where they leave off every 6 months.  Today was no exception, and then the little girls just try to keep up!

 

Sharing the castle

Sophia has been a little possessive of her chateau at the lake the past couple of summers.  It is hard to share when you are only able to play with your big toy a couple of weeks a year.  I was a bit nervous about how Sophia was going to react given Alexandra’s new walking ability.

However, Sophia has surprised us again with her generosity & love for her little sister.  She has had a great time playing together in the castle, but Alexandra has taken possession of the door, so Sophia is now climbing in & out of the windows!

Alexandra & her fans

It is amazing how smart some animals become when children are involved.  Ducks aren’t normally thought of as the smartest creatures on the water, but boy did they see Alexandra coming!

Kids = Food

Monster Alexandra Mash

Just a little monster mash from our little monkey Alexandra. Her walking has really come along the past couple of days, and she is laughing all the way thru life right now!