July 4th Weekend in Livermore - Sunday

Alex slept over in Livermore Saturday night after the fireworks. Sunday morning we held a mini photo session with him and Vivian. They were cooperative as we seated them side by side on the couch but frankly this photo reminds me a bit of American Gothic. Maybe not. Vivian had an enigmatic expression like Mona Lisa. Then again... blue couch... blue shirt... How about Alex as The Blue Boy?

What do you think? American Gothic or Mona Lisa and The Blue Boy?

I like this photo better. Vivian is a bit curious as Alex leans in to give her a hug.

Before Dan took off to drive back to Southern California we snapped a picture of him sandwiched between his brother and his daughter. He took with him the wooden blocks and the Brio wooden train set for Vivian. He also took the Red Flyer wagon with tall wooden slat sides that Vivian enjoyed being pulled around in and the big Amazon box that she enjoyed pushing around so much.

Frank and I were bemused that Dan also took his skateboard that I had outside the front door for decoration. This is the very same skateboard that Frank fell off in Christmas of 1995. My brother, my sister, and her three sons wrote a poem to Frank, commemorating the incident. I plan to type that poem and put it in my next blog post. This is the only picture I have of the infamous skateboard. Perhaps Dan will take a better one and send it to me... hint, hint!

Dan and Snoopy left a bit after 9:00 am to get a jump on the Los Angeles holiday traffic. Frank took Alex bowling at our local lanes and Carrie and I came a bit later to watch. Vivian liked all the many colored bowling balls.

After bowling we stopped off at Lizzie's Fountain, near the flagpole in central downtown Livermore. Vivian was a bit intimidated by the jets but she had fun playing with a few plastic containers at the perimeter of the fountain.

Carrie sure had her well protected from the sun!

Alex on the other hand really, really enjoyed the fountain. First there was gleeful clapping.

Then there was slapping at the streams of water...

... followed by full facial insertion!

Carrie's flight back home was reported to be late by a couple hours. The delay was not good for her and Vivian, but since we were watching the flight status on the internet they did not have to waste time withering at the airport. We had a few bonus hours with Vivian. Vivian loves to be outdoors and she idled the extra hours away wandering in our backyard out by our spaboose and railroad signage.

By Dan leaving as early as he did and the flight being delayed there was a generous time margin for Dan to pick up Carrie and Vivian at the airport. Unfortunately they returned home to a house full of ants, typical of being in a new construction area. Other than that tiny bit of a downer, we all sure had a fun weekend!