Camping!

This weekend we headed up to Calaveras Big Trees State Park to check out the giant sequoias, splash in the frigid waters of the Stanislaus River (it didn't bother me a bit, but you will notice that my mama is nowhere near the water) and generally commune with nature. One morning, Zoe, Delaney and I were in charge of breakfast so we served freeze dried strawberries - delicious.Hey, I think I see a bear!

All in all, though maybe our parents (and neighboring campers) got a little less sleep than they wanted, it was a fun trip with plenty of time to explore and to kick back and relax.

My Trip to Denver

I had a great trip to Denver to see Omma and Pop.

Omma read me books, took me to the pool

and made bubbles in the bath
while Pop showed me his garden, fed me homegrown tomatoes and raspberries,

and whooped up on some youngsters in a local triathlon.

National Grandparents Day

Apparently it's National Grandparents Day today, which is convenient because I just returned from Denver where I brought Omma and Pop a special message:

I love you Omma and Pop!

Big Week

This was a big week for the country and for our family. On Thursday I got all dressed up with my Obama ribbons to watch his historic acceptance speech (it was late so I got to bring my Binkie and bunny Pedro). Then my mom and dad went to take pictures of my new sibling. Turns out I am going to have a little sister! Here she is waving to me. This weekend, we had lots of family in town for my second cousin Sam's Bar Mitzvah. I was particularly excited to welcome regular blog reader cousin "Wabby" to our house. But the most exciting of all was my Great-Grandma Sue!

Ding Dong, it's Dingle

Mom's buddy Caroline was in town this week from England and we went to the park. She's almost finished with her PhD in ornithology so I guess you could say she's officially cuckoo at this point.

Bike Against the Odds

This morning Dad rode 55 miles with our neighbors Dipak and Esperanza in the Bike Against the Odds, a fundraiser for a local nonprofit fighting the environmental causes of breast cancer.He wore a picture of Omma on the back of his jersey along with the names of those breast cancer victims and patients honored by his supporters and enjoyed a warm welcome from the staff and volunteers for being the #4 fundraiser out of 376 riders.

Bethany Fun

We are back from the beach and enjoying the memories of all of our beach traditions like:

walking on the boardwalk, playing cards, boogie boarding, getting buried in the sand, hanging out with the girls, celebrating family milestones (Duncan and Vanessa got engaged - I am toasting them with my bunny!), destroying sheds with crowbars,

and of course eating ice cream on our last night at the beach.

Back from the Beach

All this fun and excitement with 18 Brown family relatives really worked up an appetite.

Ball Roll 2008

Mama took me to an early ultrasound many weeks ago and I got my first look at my soon-to-be little brother or sister.  It didn't look much like a baby so I asked Mama, "crocodile?"

  thereby inspiring this years' ball roll creation.

 It's tough work carrying all that sand and water.

Fortunately, we could jump into the ocean for a cool dip.

...at the Beach...

talking on my "shell" phone,

 looking cool in my new shades,

 and hanging out with my cousins on the beach.

Dada's in CO, While I'm...

Dada stopped in Denver on his way to the beach and he and Aunt Julie took Pop go-kart racing for his 64th birthday and they all hung out at the pool

and drank chocolate malts while I...

Alphabet Train Set

Dada got me a new wooden train set and my E-L-I-Z-A set from Omma and Pop fits on the tracks which is great 'cuz I can drive the E and the L and say,"Watch out A. Watch out I."