A Memorial Day Weekend to Remember

We had an eventful Memorial Day weekend, with activities on each day getting us out of the house. On Saturday, Jenny and I attended her cousin Darrell's wedding in San Mateo, while the kids stayed at home with a babysitter. Our 4-plus hours at the wedding was the longest time we've spent alone in the past year. I felt somewhat strange to be free to talk and mingle with people without having to look over my shoulder constantly. Still, we had a good time although we cut the evening short in order to get home by 9PM.

Jenny's sister Wendy invited us for dinner and swimming at their pool on Sunday. Both Punky and Russell were afraid of the water, so only I got to take a dip in the pool for any length of time. The Brewster Boys did get to see their Grandmother and a pair of Aunts/Uncles/cousins, and they clearly enjoyed watching the teenagers splash around in the pool. As Jenny mentioned to her sisters, it was good to be able to eat dinner without having to worry about cooking, washing dishes or cleaning up the kitchen.

We saved the best for last with Monday's visit to the Oakland Zoo. It's a small zoo, but just right for kids Russell and Punky's age. All of the major African animals were there, as well as a smattering of farm animals. There was even a little amusement park on the side with a merry-go-round and other rides for the little ones. It took only 2 hours for us to see most of the zoo, and the Brewster Boys enjoyed every minute of it. We'll be back in a few months, I'm sure of it!


This was the first time that Russell had seen a live elephant


Russell's closest encounter with the lions was with this one at the entrance to the Oakland Zoo


Punky surveys the duck pond at the edge of the giraffe habitat


Jenny (in the stylish sun hat) wheeled Punky around in the stroller at the kid-friendly Oakland Zoo


Juice in hand, Russell checks out the macaw habitat at the Oakland Zoo


Russell notices that Oakland's ladybugs are much larger than those in the backyard