So aside from the time I drove seven hours home the first weekend after I had moved away, only to be there for what was probably less than two days, and then turn around and drive seven hours back, this had to be the shortest trip up north I have ever made. My dad offered to fly Keith and I up for a visit, and we have never once turned down free airfare. We left Monday night and stayed at my dad’s house until Thursday afternoon. The trip was fun and very relaxed. We got to spend time with my grandparents as well, who I don’t get to see very often. While we were there Ellie helped my dad bake a birthday cake for me because dear God, 30 is coming like a speeding freight train. We also got to drive around Berkeley, and lust over some of the houses we would want to live in if we ever moved up there. Ellie did really well on the plane ride there because we brought along her portable DVD player and let her watch movies. The only problem was that the flight was only about an hour and since she couldn’t have the player on during take off or landing, she only got to watch about 30 minutes worth of Nemo. My dad’s house has more bedrooms in it than he even knows what to do with, and an entire upstairs that is pretty much left empty. Despite all the space I decided that it would be best if Ellie stayed in the same bed as Keith and I because the beds at my dad’s house are easily as tall as she is and I knew she would fall out of it if she slept in one by herself. You would think that sharing a bed with a 30 lb., 3 foot tall , two year old wouldn’t be a big deal, except for the fact that in the middle of the night Ellie likes to sleep across the whole bed, leaving Keith and I clinging to the edges at 2 am. When we got to the airport to fly home Keith and I decided to relive our glory days by dining at the lovely Oakland International Airport Chili’s Too. We ordered Ellie the super nutritious Kids Chicken Crispers, which she took one bite of and decided she didn’t like, I don’t blame her. At this point it was a couple hours away from bed time and she had had no nap. She started crying that all she wanted was fruit snacks, so after some useless bargaining Keith went to one of the airport shops and bought Ellie a bag of gummy bears which made up her dinner. We don’t normally let our child eat gummy bears, and never only gummy bears for dinner, although I seem to say that about a lot of things lately, so maybe we really do let our child eat crap on a regular basis. But she’s smart and her poop looks normal so we can’t be doing her too much harm, right? Besides, any of you who have ever parented a two year old know that when they are tired, and you are tired, and you are in a public place, you will pretty much give them anything short of a live grenade if it will keep them happy. Here are some pictures from our trip…enjoy.
