Everett Turned Three Years Old Today

Going to the Zoo!

Today was a special day in Walnut Creek as our nephew, and the kids cousin, Everett was celebrating his third birthday.  We were lucky that our trip dates in California coincided with this day and we were able to share in it.  We got up and got going early this morning and made it to the 9:00 am mass at St. John de Vincent.  It was a great celebration and David enjoyed the children's liturgy.  The girls decided to stay for the regular mass with Tanya and me.

Looking at the sea otters

After church we visited Radio Shack to get a cell phone for communications over the next few weeks until we get back into Canada.  The cost of using our Canadian phone is incredible and based on some research we were able to find a very inexpensive alternative.  We then met up with Pierre and his family and followed them to the Oakland Zoo where we spent the afternoon.  Paige's stepmother Leslie joined us and we enjoyed seeing the different animals.

Andrea and the alligator

After touring around the zoo and seeing the animals, Natalie, Andrea and I took a ride on the sky lift which is a chair lift that gives you an "air tour" of the zoo.  At the top we were able to see a beautiful view of downtown Oakland and San Francisco which was fully visible with no fog today.  In fact we were probably 25 to 40 km's away and could see the Golden Gate Bridge very clearly whereas yesterday we were on the bridge and could barely see it.

Visiting with the giraffes

California Carons and PEI Carons

After the sky lift, we went to the rides section of the the zoo and went on an Australian Safari train ride and saw some Emus and Wallaroos.  Wallaroos are similar to Kangaroos.  After the train ride the kids did some amusement rides and then we got ready to head home.  The kids were very excited to have seen some elephants,  giraffes, bears and crocodiles.  There were also some really colorful birds that were interesting to look at.

David was happy to finally get a train ride.  

Once we arrived home we spent some time organizing our bags and and totes in preparation for our departure tomorrow.   David wanted to play mini sticks with me, which is something we do often at home and I think he misses it a bit, so he had his new Sidney Crosby stick and I used a old plastic baseball bat.  It was a great game and he was saying how sweaty he was when we were done.  While we were playing Natalie and Andrea were busy commentating and cheerleading.

Natalie was happy to get Cotton Candy!

Everett gives his present two thumbs up!

We then had some pizza, cake and ice cream for supper to celebrate Everett's birthday.  Later in the evening he opened his gifts which include a new slider bike (a bike with no pedals) from his parents and he got a few books and a Toy Story blanket from us.  During the evening he and his brother Vander played with the blanket and had lots of fun with it.  They would roll on the floor and see if they could wrap themselves up with it.


Tomorrow we hit the open road again after a lovely visit with my brother and his family.  We really enjoyed our time together and loved getting to spend some time with their children since we hadn't seen them up to now.  They were very good to us and our kids, and we certainly felt like we were at home while visiting.  The kids certainly enjoyed playing with the cousins.


In the morning we plan to leave California and head to Nevada and stay somewhere along highway 80 tomorrow night.  The van will be a little heavier leaving as we did manage to find a bit of time to do some shopping while here.  Thanks to Pierre, Paige, Everett and Vander for opening their home to us while here in Walnut Creek.


Francois