Zoe says "waffle" and runs for candy

I don't know why the quality on these isn't so great, but hopefully they're still enjoyable. =)

Our trip to SF Bay Aquarium

One of my birthday gifts was tickets to the San Francisco Bay Aquarium and we had an awesome little family day trip there.  The weather could not have been more perfect.  Neither Ryan nor Zoe had ever been to an aquarium so this was indeed a special day for us.

 Having a little lunch at the park before hitting the pier.

 I hate it when you spill fake wine on yourself!

 At the docks with a sleeping, hunched over little girl.

 Zoe loved seeing all the colorful fish.

 Both Ryan and myself got to touch a shark for the first time.

 Our lil' toaster loved playing in the touching pools too.

The Birthday Blog

Here is #3 of 3 blog posting that I've been wanting to blog about: my 31st birthday.  My birthday actually fell on a Sunday this year, and while there was familial celebrating on my special day, Ryan and I spent the day before celebrating.  It was a day not to be forgotten.  My mom took Zoe for the weekend so we were able to spend all day away from home without having to worry about naps (ok, only naps for us!) and diaper changes.  That in itself was a bit of a gift.  Ryan had things planned for us to do that day. And awaaaaaay we go!

 We began the day with breakfast at Pancake Circus, which is like one of the oldest and most original restaurants in Sacramento.  Seriously, the decor in the place hasn't changed in at least 30 years.  The parking lot is always packed though so we knew it would be good.  Indeed it was.

 I tried to tell Ryan he had an elephant dancing on his head.  He didn't seem interested.

 Yummy!

 It's virtually impossible for us to get a picture of us both smiling as we try to take pictures in a moving car.  After breakfast, we hit some yard sales on the way home and, despite the rain, found some pretty good stuff.  Yay!  We had a bit of a lazy morning and I think we even went back to bed after breakfast and the yard sales.  We had plans for bowling in the afternoon, but those were changed.  It was Saturday and the rain was coming down harder and harder throughout the day.  Little did we know that everyone and their dog would be at the bowling alley!  Add to that about 12 "Dora" themed birthday parties and we were looking at a 45 minute wait just to bowl.  Blast!  We'd invited my brother to come with us and when he heard that it was going to be awhile, he headed out.  I can't say that I blame him.  We decided to play a bit in the arcade instead.  Skee ball is where it's at.  We played a couple games there and then two workers came up, and in loud voices said that there was going to be a little competition at the skee ball area.  When asked if we'd like to participate, we said, "Sure!" So, it was blind folded skee ball!  Fun!  There were 4 people participating and whoever got the highest score, would win 1000 tickets.  Now, keep in mind that 1000 tickets can buy you a gawdy fuzzy hat and maybe a pencil topper.  It sounds like a lot, but in reality, isn't much.  So, we began and would you guess who won?  Mr. Ryan Nickel!  Yay!  I don't know what my score was (in the double digits, I'm sure), but I was so proud of Ryan for winning!  What a birthday treat!  There's a picture further down of what we cashed our tickets in for.  Zoe was the ultimate winner as she got the prizes we brought home.

 Our "official" skee ball blindfolds.

 So, after the arcade, we went shopping over at Bed Bath & Beyond.  My in-laws were generous in a gift card they'd given me and it was burning a hole in my wallet.  After shopping, we went to eat at Chili's and soon after that went and saw, "The Adjustment Bureau."  It was a good movie and I'd definitely recommend it.  After the movie, we went to the mall and walked around a little bit.  Ryan fell into someone's power bracelet kiosk trap.  This was him about to knock the girl in her head with his crane technique.  The aftermath was ugly.  It's probably a good thing I didn't get any pictures.  Just kidding!  He put the bracelet on and felt a surge of power/balance, yada yada yada.  Needless to say, we did not walk away with one of those things.  Let someone else fall for your claims!  We did have fun walking around the mall and afterwards got a piece of cheesecake (to go!) from The Cheesecake Factory.  It was crazy there on a Saturday night and no way were we going to wait around!  We came home and watched yet another movie and ate our cheesecake.  Ah, a great day.

 Oh yeah!  We tried on hats at the mall.  I liked this one.

 And after watching "The Adjustment Bureau" Ryan was really interested in getting a hat too.  Isn't he cute?

 I love Badtz Maru and my sweet sister-in-law made this card for me!

 The prizes from the arcade.  We got Zoe a big blue bouncy ball and some candy for us.  She loves that ball!

My loot from BB&B.  It's nearly impossible for me to go into that store and not walk out without buying something.

I had a terrific birthday thanks so much to my husband Ryan.  He is so sweet and indulges me in whatever I want to do.  

Down on the farm

My best friend's dad is a farmer and Zoe and I recently got to spend some time on their farm.  Zoe loved the machines and climbed onto anything she could.  She especially enjoyed the tractor.

 Zoe with my friend Alicia.

 The tractor, definitely her favorite.

 We walked around out in the almond orchard.

 Zoe was trying to figure out how to get to that horse.  If you can see those mountains in the background, those are The Sutter Buttes (our claim to fame: the world's smallest mountain range).

 Alicia got her closer to the horse than she would have been able to on her own.

 Back on the tractor.  Once we showed her where the horn was, that's all she wanted to push.

 Maybe she'll get to go on a ride on it next time.

I think this is my favorite picture of her.  You can see her little cheeks puffed out because she is making a tractor noise (ok, all her car/truck/tractor noises are the same).  But still, it's cute.