Clare, MI: Celebrating and Remembering Great Grandpa Knapp

After a few days in Chicago, we drove to Clare, Michigan to meet up with the rest of our family for a memorial for Austin Knapp, Ava's great grandpa, and to spend time at the log cabin that was the home of Austin's mother Kate Bell. In addition to the memorial service, we spent time hanging out with family, visiting the Amish neighbors down the road, and (when it wasn't raining) roasting marshmallows.

Chicago: That Toddlin' Town

What better way for a toddler to start a vacation than with a couple days in Chicago, the place Fred Fisher calls "that toddlin' town." Despite a delayed flight and just a short time in the city, Ava managed to enjoy many of the sights and sounds that Chicago is known for including . . .

Pizza at Gino's East . . .

A visit to the Field Museum . . .

Playing at the Art Institute's fountains . . .

A cruise down the river . . .

Family fun at Navy Pier . . .



Breakfast at the American Girl Cafe . . .

A carousel ride at the Lincoln Park Zoo . . .

Views of the city from the Willis (Sears) Tower . . .

And cheering for the Sox as they took on the Cubs.

Riding the Surfliner

Ava recently took her first train ride on Amtrak's California Surfliner from Irvine to San Diego where we spent the night before heading back home on the train.

Ava had fun on the train reading books and looking out onto the ocean.

Once in San Diego we took the trolley to Seaport Village where Ava got to explore, play on the carousel, and eat lunch.

After nap time, we walked to The Gaslamp Quarter where we met up with our friends Jen, Brian, and AC to watch a pitching duel between the hometown Padres and the Nationals, and we got to see Anthony Rizzo hit his first career home run.

The next morning, we ate a yummy breakfast and headed back home on the train. All in all, it was a very successful trip and Ava will surely have many train trips in her future.

Family Time

Ava been very fortunate to have plenty of time to visit with her cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and even her great-grandma. Between holidays, visits to the park, and even a trip to Tanaka Farms for strawberry picking there has been no shortage of family time.

Ava's Big Girl Room

After several months of discussion and trips to furniture stores, we redecorated Ava's room and purchased big girl furniture that hopefully will last until she leaves for college. As you might expect, Ava's favorite color is pink, so we painted her room pink.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Ava's first nap in her big girl bed.

Flower Power

With spring comes flowers, lots of flowers. Ava and her friends made the journey down to Carlsbad to visit The FlowerFields where they filled up their stamp passports by finding all the different flowers, traipsing through the sweet pea maze, and discovering gems in the sluice mining attraction.

Going inZane!

At 3 1/2 years old, we decided that it was time for Ava to take in her very first concert at one of Southern California's finest venues, UCLA's Royce Hall. Along with Mommy, Daddy, Grammy, and Poppy, Ava enjoyed running around the UCLA campus and then listening to the sweet sounds of Dan Zanes & Friends.

After the concert, we all went to the world famous Diddy Riese where we waited in the requisite line to get delicious cookies.