Addie and Dad Visit Cali pt. 2/3

So throughout the week Addie and I got to have a lot of adventures. When it's over 100 degrees outside you end up indoors watching movies while dad and Uncle Derek watch soccer. So Addie got to watch Nemo, Monster Inc, and Mouse Movie (The Tale of Despereaux) and play with my itouch until it cooled off.






One day we decided to head down to the river. I grew up on this river, so i figured it'd be a good spot to introduce Addie to something besides a pool. This water comes straight out of the bottom of Folsom Lake, so even though it was 100+ outside, the water was frigid. Addie didn't mind at all though, she walked right out in it. She chased some ducks, played in the mud, and wanted me to swim her out to the "dolphins" (buoys).

And probably the coolest (literal) thing we got to do was hit up a local park. they had a little man made river and waterfall that we played in. I dragged my good friends Chris and Eli (of Killing the Dream fame) out with us to help keep my kid entertained. they did a great job!

My favorite shot:

Dad and Addie Visit Cali pt. 1/3

Well, Addie and I (dad) decided to run off to northern California for a few days and hang out in my hometown of Folsom (yes, like the prison). i was excited to take Addie by myself for a few days and give Kassie a few days to relax before the 2nd baby gets here.

Everything went great, Addie is a good traveller, she has a few movies that she loves, she's not a super-picky eater and she sleeps well. Unfortunately it was ridiculously hot the first few days so we were inside a lot, but we had fun!






Addie decided that her Little People each needed their own seat

First we wanted to get together with each of my grandparents. We saw Grandma Lois first, and got a 4 Generations picture.

Then we had Grandma Wilma over and got another few pics.

After we hung out with the Grandparents Addie got to hang out at home. She played with my old train set whenever she got the chance. this huge track was in the living room for most of the trip.

She also got to meet one of the girls that my mom watches, Ally. They played a lot and got along really well. Ally's parents have given us a ton of clothes so it was funny to see Addie wearing outfits that Ally used to wear a few years ago.

Addie basically survived on yogurt, cereal, pizza, and ice cream. She wanted ice cream all of the time, and being the responsible parent that i am, i broke down often and gave in to her demands.

Sleeping Beauty

There was a time when we were just waiting to find Addie asleep somewhere other than in her bed. These days it's more of a surprise for her to actually make it back into her bed! Here are some of our favorite shots of Addie not sleeping in her bed:








Soon she'll be moving into a true big girl bed (twin-size), when her bed gets converted back into a crib. Maybe she'll like that bed enough to stay in it!

Daddy Needs to Man-up

Addie has been playing with her Little People a lot lately, specifically a little train that carries the Mercer Family. It's really cute, she has us all picked out from her large group of people, and she tows us around on the little train.

Here's our little family:

Hopefully you've noticed a problem; where's dad? We'll apparently dad is the African Safari lady who rides the teeter-totter on the train:


Well maybe Addie didn't have any other options right? wrong, here are 2 options that i would have preferred, notably the Fireman


And here's video-proof of Addie's decision:

Wild Animal Sanctuary

Kassie once again found a cool thing to do in Denver; the Wild Animal Sanctuary. Kassie found out about the Sanctuary awhile ago, but we haven't really had a chance to get out there, and by "out there" I mean out there! This place is beyond Brighton, the area that most "Colorado Natives" probably don't know exists, but that's a whole 'nother conversation.

Anyway, we fired up Moses and jammed out beyond civilization, beyond paved roads, to the Sanctuary, a place where tigers, lions, bears, and other animals go once they are saved from people like Mike Tyson. It's not designed for the public, it's designed to keep the animals safe. They've built a large viewing balcony, high above the areas that the cats stay, so you can see all of them, but they're not really bothered by the crowds.

It was a little tough for Addie to see the bears and the camel we spotted, since they were far away, but we did get to see some awesome tigers and lions. they were incredible, just the size of the animals is so shocking.






they had all of these dogs roaming around, apparently when the cats are young, they get to interact with the dogs, until they grow too big. it was cool to see some english bulldogs and boxers, addie liked them!

as you can see the area is split up. Out in the far area were the bears, so we could see them but i doubt Addie really knew what they were.








and Addie only made it about 5 minutes into the drive home: