Simpson Family Reunion

Ben's family had a reunion (his mom's side) that started the night of my birthday in Pleasanton. We had a fun and busy week with everyone. His parents did a great job at planning it and keeping everyone busy! Here's what was on the agenda:

Tuesday- Alactraz, San Francisco, and swimming at the hotel:

Everyone met up in San Francisco to go over to Alcatraz. I had never been before. It was a fun thing to do, although with two kids I didn't get to enjoy it as much as I would have liked to.

Family picure (minus Payton who was in our new double stroller) with a view of the bay.

We did an audio tour of the building. For some reason we didn't get Baylee her own headset, so she got a little bored.

Our nephews, Nathan and Owen, and niece, Jessica, with a guy that I think was a guard there? I didn't quite catch it all between the crowd and Payton deciding he was hungry.

After dealing with a bored Baylee, I finally gave in and let her have my headphones. I wasn't registering what was going on very well anyways, and it ended up being the end of the tour.

After the tour, we ventured on our own and only made it to getting lunch and one of my favorite loaves of bread (chocolate chip raisin) from the Boudin Bread Factory. We also made a pit stop on the way nack in Emeryville to get my absolute favorite cupcakes from the Teacake Bake Shop. They are the best, and I crave them all the time. Dinner that night was back at the hotel, with swimming too.

Wednesday: Santa Cruz beach and Picnic in the Park:

The plan for everyone was to go to the beach in Santa Cruz. Ben and I wanted an easier day where we didn't have to spend a long time in the car. Ben also didn't feel like getting burnt, and we thought maybe the beach wasn't the best for a five week old baby, so we opted to do our own thing. Kathy was so nice to want to take Baylee with her, so Baylee went with Grandma Hall to the beach.

Apparently Baylee had a blast at the beach, and had worn herself out so much she fell asleep on the way home.

While Baylee was enjoying the beach, the three of us went to The Great Mall for some shopping. Popular theme of sleeping, I guess.


For dinner that night everyone met up at a park. I actually played at this park as a kid. Whenever we would visit my grandparents when they lived in Pleasanton, my aunt would take us to all the different parks. I think this one is the one I threw up at from playing on the tire swing so much....


The park has a giant cement slide, and all the kids (and Ben) had a blast on it.


The ice cream man went by, so Ben of course had to get some. Baylee and Ben shared their Dora ice cream with cousin Mea.


Thursday: Amazing Race, Cabana Club, and A's game:

Thursday started out with an Amazing Race competition.
To start out, two people from every team had to hike to the top of the ridge. Ben got this picture from the top. Him and his cousin Jared did awesome! They came and got us wives and kids after (I think his aunt Janice was at the ridge too?), and then we did a scavenger hunt downtown where we had to answer questions about different buildings. It really paid off having Ben on our team-he knew Pleasanton well! After that we had to find a house where we picked up a box. Inside was materials to make a blanket for The Children's Hospital. We borrowed scissors from neighbors and tied it on someones lawn. We were so fast and ended up finishing and getting first place!


That afternoon we had a late lunch and swimming at the Cabana Club.

Bsylee had a lot of fun in the pool with her daddy!

Payton was so good even though it was so hot! This is him with Ben's brother, Ryan.

Can you guess where we went that night? The A's game!!!!!!!!!

We love the A's, and were excited to go! Some of our group even got onto the Jumbo-tron!


Friday: San Francisco and Farewell dinner:

Friday everyone hit San Francisco again. We stayed behind, once again and just had a low key day. 'i really can't remember what we did. But, that night we had a farewell dinner and said goodbye to everyone.

Baylee had a lot of fun with all her cousins. This is her with Garrett. We miss living by him and his family!

Saturday: Trip back home with a stop at Simply Fondue for Missy's bday and also Jenny and Andre's for the night:



Saturday we headed back home. We once again made a pit stop at Ben's sister's for the night, but made a pit stop on the way to her house also. It was Ben's other sister's birthday, so we had to join in the celebration at Simply Fondue for chocolate!

Ben's brother, Mike, even made an appearance! I guess this is what happens when you study for The Bar too much!

Me, Wendy, Payton, and Missy (the birthday girl), before we got in the car for another hour. They had done a mud run that day. Thanks for inviting us for dessert, Missy!


We had a great time with everyone! Thanks for a great vacation!