Gobble Gobble-Part 4: The Conclusion

On Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend, I convinced Brad and Brandon to head up to Sacramento for a trip to the California Railroad Museum. They decorate everything in festive holiday cheer AND you get to ride a train that happens to be visited by Santa Claus. My plan was genius because
(a) Sam and Isabella would nap in the car
(b) We would get to enjoy a train ride with Santa and
(c) We'd get to enjoy an easy car drive together

Well, part C took forever since Brad started the trip off right by getting a speeding ticket as we embarked on our travels. You'll notice that both the officer and Brad are smiling about said ticket...


Since speed racer got a ticket, our drive took way longer than it normally would have. Hence, the attitudes of the gentlemen below:

Things got significantly better once we were out of the car and in the museum. Below are some of the spectacular trains they maintain:




Once we were done with the museum, we had some time to kill before we boarded our train with St. Nick. We had some truly horrible food for lunch and then we felt much better upon discovering the candy story below...There is nothing like barrels and barrels full of candy to liven the spirits:

The train ride was a lot of fun. There were lots of laughs and smiles, Isabella being the most willing participant.



Once the train ride arrived to its midway point, it was time for Santa Claus. Isabella was not a fan of the jolly man but Sam was in awe. Note the jaw-dropped and eyes-wide facial expression below....

Things got pretty boring after Santa left. His elves, meaning, the little old lady who volunteer for this kinda stuff, gave Sam and Isabella a finger puppet. As a result, a finger puppet battle ensued:

After the finger puppet wars, it was time for Sam and Tio B to practice their finger puppet suctioning abilities:



And we will close with Little Miss Laughter and the crew:

Gobble Gobble-Part 3: Tio Brandon's Many Faces

On Saturday morning, the family headed out to the California Train Museum in Sacramento for a special train ride with Santa(will blog about that later). Tio Brandon came with us. This is what Tio B looked like as the trip began....

And this is what he looked like after it ended:

Below are all the "in-between" facial expressions which I will label appropriately for your/my enjoyment. Let's begin...

Pensive Tio:


Smiling Tio:


Sleepy Tio:


Bored Tio:


People-Watcher Tio:


Facebook Profile Picture Tio:


Get-Me-Outta-Here Tio:


Reindeer Forehead Tio:


Identation on Forehead Tio (click on the picture for full effect):


Disgusted Tio:


Six hours and one seriously bad lunch later, this is what he looked like:



We love you, Tio B. Thanks for coming with us :)

Gobble Gobble-Part 2: Cabin Fever and the City of Sharks

Since we were all trapped in the house on Thanksgiving, the crew had a serious case of cabin fever. In addition, Sam was talking and running around so much that all of the adults in the room were getting fiesty. So we headed out to the City of Sharks (aka: Tiburon). There we had some hot chocolate, took a stroll along the boardwalk, and chased one another to burn off some energy.

Here is the princess herself, laughing away the day as she nibbles on her ritz cracker:

Uncle Wes kindly gave Sam a "lift":

The "Cool Cats" strolling on the boardwalk....

Sam lead us over to a bridge that ended with this rock...We have no idea what its significance is but, apparently, Sam is one good rock-climber. He conquered that thing in no time....

Tha Happy Couple (very happy to be out of the house):

Upon returning home, Isabella nestled herself into Uncle Wes' arm and made herself comfortable. She lives a good life indeed.

Gobble Gobble-Part 1: The Feast

Brad and I hosted Thanksgiving at our place this year and we had some great company. Tio Brandon flew down from Seattle and Uncle Wes drove over from Modesto. We ate a lot....too much, actually, but it was worth it. As usual, Sam helped me out in the kitchen. First, he stole some "croutons" from the stuffing mix:

He then added some celery and onions to the pot and was no longer allowed to steal any "croutons":

While I stuffed the bird, some serious laughter ensued. Sam decided to assume the voice of the turkey as I "stuffed" him and Brad sewed him up. Here's the one-sided voice-over from the turkey:

Sam as "The Turkey": Oh, why are you putting stuffing in my butt? That hurts.
Me: Sam, honestly, dude.
Sam as "The Turkey": I have stuffing in my butt...Oh, no, I mean my head...It's in my head! Get it out of there!
Me: Sam!!!!!!!!!!
Sam as "The Turkey": Aaahhhhhhhhhh! Stuffing in my head! (Brad begins sewing) Ouch, that hurts. You're pinching me. That's hurting me. OWWWWW! You are not a nice person for pinching me like that.

We laughed until Brad was done sewing but Sam had plenty more to say. I'm guessing he's going to start talking about farting any day now....


After his voice-over role was over, Sam contributed this wonderful centerpiece:

Soon after, Tio Brandon and Uncle Wes arrived. Sam was beyond happy. Izzy B also received lots of love from each of them:


The [hungry] Boys

Jenga! Jenga!

Sam's latest obsession is the game Jenga. He thoroughly enjoys pulling out the most precarious pieces in hopes of either
(a)watching it completely collapse or
(b)perform some sort of miracle
Below is an example of a miracle play...He picked the side piece from the very bottom and, miraculously, the thing didn't fall apart.

Surprisingly, it didn't fall for a long time. Here are a few of Sam's "concentration" shots. He likes to let Brad and I know that he is "concentrating" on his next move. He's so funny.