Our Wonderful Week in Sonoma

Mike found a magnificent house a couple blocks off of the town square for us to stay in while visiting Shirley (bka, "Gram").  It had a pool and a hot tub and a lovely back yard.  We could have stayed there the whole time, but we ventured out a bit.  Here we are at Gen. Vallejo's house.

At at the mission...

   

Here are the kids hanging out in the backyard with Gram...

Jason and his family also came to visit.  The kids stayed with their grandmothers and us parents went off to taste some wine and enjoy Sonoma.  Everyone was happy.

A friend of Shirley's who was the first person she and Keith hired at the Kitchen (their restaurant) dropped by for a visit.  And she gave Ellis and Anders these beautiful crocheted hats.  Ellis wore it all evening.

Playing with Jason.

Being read to by Carol, or as Jason's kids call her, JoJo.

We took a trip up to Davis to see my cousin David and meet his wife Laurie and daughter Silvan.  Ellis spent most of her time in a swing that was particularly comfortable.

David and Anders.  David reminds me so much of my Uncle Jerry, his dad, through his cadence of speech and sense of humor.  What was amazing is how natural it felt to be around him again.  It was like we had been spending summers and holidays together for the last 15 years just like when we were kids.  We have not.  But I hope we do in the future.

Laurie and Sylvan are wonderful.  Laurie has got Sylvan practically potty trained at 6 months, which is breath-taking. And Sylvan is sweet and lovely.

Back in Sonoma, we went to Train Town, an amusement park for little kids.  AA rested in Gram's lap.

Ellis went on every ride they would let her on, including a roller coaster.

But she was unhappy that some rides required her to be just a little bit bigger.

Our week ended too quickly.  I kept asking how we could earn a living out there.  One day I will figure it out. 

I will post the rest of the pictures in a slideshow.  It was an amazing vacation.  And when I asked Ellis what her favorite part was, she said, "Seeing Gram."  I agree.