Vacation - Part 2

Since camping outside didn't work out, the next night, Tuesday, we stayed up late watching a movie ("The Croods")  on tv and we all spent the night in the living room. The kids loved it!

On Wednesday, July 2, we went to Children's Fairyland in Oakland. The kid-sized ferris wheel was great.

 

I think the whole park was a little young for Gabriel but with plenty of kids there (and some his age) he had a great time interacting with them all. His favorite part (we spent the most time there and went back a second time) was a "wild west" structure. There were four child-sized buildings with two sets of staircases that went up to a second floor that connected all buildings. Some buildings had balconies, all had multiple windows and doors.There was even a slide down. The highlight was the jail!

We rode the little train.

And they enjoyed the miniature carousel. 

The theater stage had fun cut outs. My little flying monkey!

They enjoyed the pirate ship and Ephraim climbed up the posts on "shore."

My two happy boys!! 

On Thursday, July 3, we went to Marina Bay Park in Richmond. There were a few bounce houses (way over priced, but once the kids see them...).

Then we sat on the lawn and ate our picnic dinner (homemade chicken nuggets, breaded zucchini, and fresh strawberries). It was extremely windy and cold, even with sweaters and jackets and hats, so...

 ... after Ephraim's second potty break and defrosting in the van for a few minutes, the boys sat on top of the van and had a perfect view of the fireworks!

 

Staying up that late to see the fireworks was too much. The kids and I enjoyed sleeping in! I think the cats liked snuggling with us too. These two are such buddies.

On Friday, July 4, we went to Burlingame to visit my Uncle Dan and Auntie Margaret. We had a fun BBQ lunch in their beautiful backyard. Sadly Uncle Dan had to leave for work but Margaret took us to the Coyote Point museum. There were lots of interactive learning stations. This "factory" one was the best. The kids could have worked it all day, moving balls along the conveyor belt, raising them in the hand-cranked elevator, moving the level to make them go down the ramp, etc.

Ephraim put his foam creation up the wind tube.

We saw lots of animals there too, but I didn't take pictures of them. The two rescued golden eagles were majestic. The otters were our favorites, so playful!