MLK Weekend in Gualala with Friends

This past weekend we invited two families up to Gualala with us.  We all stayed at the Coast House and had a great time.  It was especially nice for us parents since the three kids played well together (for the most part) and left us alone to chat.

As usual, Eddie and I left Davis just after his gymnastics class.  We stopped in Vacaville to buy loads of stuff at Costco so we didn't arrive at the Coast House until 3 pm.  After unloading alllllllllllllll the stuff in the van Dave arrived.  (Seriously so much stuff: luggage with clothes, a laundry basket full of pantry items, a cooler full of stuff from our house and more stuff from Costco, Eddie's bike, Taters' crate, Eddie's train set and a backpack full of books, my school bag...gosh, it really adds up!)


The Trunnelle family arrived on Saturday morning so we got to go out for pizza and to the toy shop.  

It was a relaxing weekend with the doggies to help the dads nap.

Jeff and Kirby snoozing.

Saturday afternoon the Ye/Zeng family arrived so we went to the park to let the kids play.

The swings and the slides were the most popular.  Not to mention the gathering of loooooooooong sticks by the boys. 

When it started getting dark we drove down the road to where Papa John has his most recent burn piles where we made s'mores.  Mmmm.

It was a little nuts with the three marshmallow-stealing dogs, overtired kids, and a big fire.  But we made it work.

Jane, Liyang, and Rongzhong.

 We headed back to the house to prepare a surf-and-turf feast.  It was really yummy and allowed for leftovers the next night.

Renee was so cute with her babies--she asked me for a cup and spoon so she could feed them in the kitchen while we made dinner.

Surf and turf dinner: tri tip, crab, sweet roasted butternut squash, salad, and creamy pesto gnocchi.  We need to get rid of these leather office chairs in favor of benches so we can fit more people around the table!  It gets crowded fast.

The kiddos brushing their teeth.  Eddie and Renee slept in the same room that night.  "My Nee gets to sleep with me!" chirped Eddie.  They are quickly becoming besties.

Sunday morning Rongzhong's family departed--he's a postdoc in my lab and he had to get back to monitor an experiment.  We were sad to see them go, but they'll be coming back again soon I think. 

Kelly and Jeff figured they'd leave soon after...but they kept delaying their departure.  Eventually they asked if they could just stay an extra night.  Of course!  It was nice to have extra time to just hang out and chat.  We walked downtown for gelato but were bummed because Trink's was closed earlier than I expected.  So we settled for popscicles from the market instead.

The next day most of us packed up the house and departed--everyone except Dave and Taters.  After years of being fine in the car, Taters suddenly got nervous or carsick or something whenever we drive up the coast.  I know the roads are super windy so I go really, really slow around the turns so everyone stays comfortable.  About a year ago I had to banish him to the crate, lest he crawl under the pedals while I'm driving.  Eeeeeeeeek!  It's still pretty stressful for us because he slams his head into the crate and now even tries to paw his way out of the crate during a particular 30 minute stretch of the road.  All that's to say that I made Dave deal with bringing Taters back to Davis.  I might try giving him some Benadryl before the drive next time to see if that helps (we used to do that for Emmy before she'd fly).  Don't worry, Taters, you only have to make that drive like 4-5 more times ever!

Eddie and I went down to Palo Alto for Batiste and Dyani's birthday party.  There was a pinata, cupcakes, and lots of her friends and colleagues to chat with.  Brice and Edward had gone shopping for a new bike for Dyani for her 30th birthday.  For his second birthday, Batiste got the same balance bike that Eddie had. 

Dyani threatened to ride Eddie's bike around the park when he wouldn't surrender Batiste's new bike (granted, he was probably confused because it is the exact bike he used to have).  See her bump?  There's a baby girl in there!

Happy birthday, Batiste!  You're the cutest little Frenchman I know.

Even the adults got a turn at the pinata.  Donovan did pretty well!

After the party, Edward and I decided to go to Fleet Feet together to get fitted for running shoes.  The shopping trip was fine until the very end (like, the part where I have to pay) when Eddie suddenly became feverish and SUPER cranky.  I was worried he was barfy and would puke all over the store so I hurried him to the car and left Edward to pay for all our stuff.  Luckily, a dose of fever reducer solved the problem.  So we spent the night at Edward's apartment rather than deal with driving back while he wasn't feeling good.  Ruby wasn't supposed to be there, but she was a good girl and kept her presence mostly unknown.  =)  When they moved in, Edward asked if animals were allowed and was told that the complex is "pet friendly" as long as they don't make a lot of noise--I guess that means animals can visit but not reside there.

Eddie was still feverish the next morning so we stayed yet another night since he couldn't go to daycare anyway until he would be fever-free for 24 hours.  Why go all the way home to an empty house when we could stay with people we love to hang out with?  He never had any other symptoms than a fever so I'm not sure what his ailment actually was. Perhaps being overtired and only eating crap granola bars and candy all day Monday?

Waiting for the fever reducers to kick in...poor kid only stays put when he's sick.

Eddie got upset that I cleaned the kitchen. "But there aren't any dishes for ME TO WASH NOW!"  What a weirdo.

After nearly a full day in the apartment, we were getting cabin fever so my my mom came over for lunch on Tuesday afternoon just for fun. It's nice being so close that she can hang out on a moment's notice like that. 

Jennifer recommended that we eat at Rose International Market in Saratoga.  We did and it was amazing. Next time I go back I'm going to ask if I can have a few sampler plates with a little bit of everything; it all looks and smelled soooooo good.

So what was supposed to be a normal Gualala weekend turned into a solid 5 days away from our house.  It's weird.  And now everyone in my lab is giddy with it's-finally-Friday joy and I'm feeling like it's only Tuesday.