Family Vacation-San Francisco

By the time we made it to San Francisco both Gianna and Violetta had gotten sick. We spent a day in Sonoma at a pediatrician's office with a screaming child and at a Longs Drugs trying to get rid of Gianna's ear ache and then Violetta ran a temp most of the day in San Francisco. Definitely made our trip that much more interesting. I'm just glad it was nothing too serious and I thank my lucky stars for Tylenol.

Family Vacation-Monterey

We had a wonderful day in Monterey. Gianna and Violetta both loved the Aquarium. Violetta was in love with the penguins and Gianna loved the otters and the two story fish tanks. But from the look on her face I do think overall Gianna's favorite was the Ghirardelli chocolate ice cream witht the chocolate sprinkles ofcourse.

Family Vacation-Solvang

Sunday we drove to Morro Bay with a stop in Solvang. We thought Gianna would like all the windmills. It's a cute little town and we did find a playground just outside of town where we had a fun little picnic and Violetta had her first ride in a swing by herself. Gianna just surprised us with all her new skills, climbing, jumping and balancing. It was wonderful to see the girls enjoy themselves and to spend an afternoon together.

Family Vacation-Santa Barbara

Well we survived our family vacation driving up the coast to San Francisco. We had a great time and the girls were such troopers considering we spent a lot of time in the car driving from one place to the next. We left here on Saturday and drove up to Santa Barbara where we made a stop at the Santa Barbara Zoo. One of our friends recommended it and Gianna just loved it. It's actually a very nice zoo with great views of the ocean, not too big but big enough to have an elephant, lions, giraffes, gorillas and penguins. There is a little train that takes you around the zoo and a little kids play area with an "ant hill" that kids like to slide down on. Gianna couldn't get enough.

Saturday at the USC Game

I've been waiting for this day to come for some time now -- Violetta's first USC game!

I've been spoiled for the past several years as Gianna has really taken to these outings -- in fact, I was able to use it as one of those "Christmas Threats" (you know, "hey, if you don't shape up then there's no SC game for you on Saturday"). Never thought that I'd have a daughter that would fear missing out on the game more than taking a favorite doll away... I was really hoping that Violetta would enjoy it as well and share in the great times that we've been having the past few years.

We suited Violetta up and headed up early to enjoy a picnic on campus, followed by the typical traditions that we've followed for each home game. Gianna was a great big sister and showed her the ropes, and Violetta took it all in stride. She absolutely loved the band and all the attention from SC fans throughout campus -- more than a few wanted to get their pictures taken of the future Song Girl (class of 2029). She even tried her hand at the Victory sign -- still needs a little bit of work, but she was proudly going along with everyone.

Great game -- USC started a bit slow, but ended up playing well. Gianna watched the entire game and learned a few new things along the way. Violetta took in the crowd and the experience, and abolutely loved it. She lasted through the first half, but all the excitement got the better of her and she nodded off at halftime.

A dad couldn't ask for more...