Weekend in Chico - Part Two

Our first morning in Chico we woke up and headed straight to campus.  Much to our surprise there was a huge festival on campus to welcome the incoming Freshman.  Two separate DJ's, lots of games, food, booths from all the various student organizations, etc.  It was awesome people watching and made it all so much more lively.  

This is a picture of the bookstore/BMU building where I worked 3 of my 4 years at Chico.  So many fond memories were made there...

And the first big poster we saw when we walked in was for Up 'Til Dawn.  I was a founding board member on the organization that raises money for St. Jude's Childrens Research Hospital.  It is a program that is only run on college campuses and it was awesome to be a part of the founding team.  Chico has done really well raising money since 2004 - looks like they have been National Champions since 2006.  Awesome!

It was a weekend of self-time pics...I had to get in the picture somehow :)

My two girls...

The campus is simply gorgeous.  It s a great mix of old historical buildings and new modern buildings.  Plus, the trees are just amazing as well.

The biggest change to the campus was the new residence halls and dining halls.  They have constructed a little residence hall city and it looks great.  It is hard to imagine what it used to look like before all the buildings were constructed.  

This was the only tall dorm and there was just a wide space to the right of it when I went to school there.

They have also added skateboard racks...

But the bikes are still in full force though...

All of these buildings are new (Whitney hall - the tall building a few pictures up - is to the left and this all used to be open space.)

Of course, I needed a picture in front of Glenn Hall where I spent all of my time.  It is the ugliest building on campus...and it taught me so much.

After our long walk around the campus, we headed to La Hacienda for lunch.  Another favorite eating establishment.  They have a 'special sauce' that they bring in big squeeze containers and it is so good on their taco salads/tostadas.  Apparently it is quite a favorite since the recipe hasn't been changed since 1948.

After eating a great meal we drove past the two apartments where Damon lived in school.  He lived farther out than La Hacienda restaurant on roads that I had never driven on below.  It always cracks me up how different our college experiences were from one another - but we both look back on Chico with the fondest memories.

Weekend in Chico - Part One

 A few months ago Damon and I looked at our calendars and noticed that we were busy every single weekend over the summer.  Except for one.  So we booked a weekend away to Chico.  We haven't visited since Cambrie was born and we both love the town.  We started talking about Chico a few weeks before we left and C was telling everyone that we saw that she was going to Chico.  I started worrying that she wasn't going to have too much fun since we played it up so much.

Thankfully she is having a complete and utter blast.

We left around 2 on Friday and got settled into our room before heading out.

 Such a happy traveler!

And a goofy girl too...

We went to Hulas for dinner...a make your own mongolian BBQ place.  It was a huge standard of my college dining experience and I was sure that Cambrie would like it as well.  I was right :)

 

She also immediately poured the red sweet and sour sauce onto her rice...just like her momma.  Although she did it before I did.  It is funny when I see my own quirks and traits coming through to Cambrie.  She also likes to bite her straws when drinking like I do and scratches her back by rubbing against door frames like her father.

My little girl with her takeout containers...

We decided to take advantage of her late afternoon nap and enjoy a later bedtime after an evening swim.  Cambrie loved swimming with the 'dark sky' and the lights in the pool.  

More adventures from Chico soon!

C's First Movie

We talked about it for weeks and the three of us were all excited that the day was finally there.  Our first family movie theatre event - Disney's Planes movie.  To our surprise C did a great job and loved every minute of it, especially the popcorn.

At one point in the beginning of the movie, she looked up to Damon and told him 'this is a lot of fun Dad, I would like to do it again.'  It was so sweet.  She was so happy.

Disney had a display in Target about one month prior to the release of the movie so we were able to read books about the movie and her Grammie even got her a Planes t-shirt.  It was awesome that she knew about the characters and was really excited to see the books come to life.  I think it was good to have her familiar with the characters and storyline - it really upped her excitement and her attention span.  

She talks about Dusty the Cropduster often and requests for us to drive by the movie theatre whenever we are in the shopping center.  

Our standard family self-timer photo...

What a memorable day for our little family :)

Trip to the Oakland Zoo

I am a big fan of groupons, living social deals, etc.  It is a great way to explore new places to explore or eat or enjoy with a little bit of a cheaper price tag.  One recent groupon was to the Oakland Zoo.  It was C's first experience and it was a nice family day.  I just wish that it was closer!

We got to see the monkeys right away and that made her day.  She loved them!

Haha - the color of our hair difference is too funny!

She was too excited to watch the monkeys than to take a picture with her momma.

It was a pretty warm day and this turtle had the right idea..

It amazed me what they were able to create in such a relatively small space in the Oakland hills.  I was impressed with the layout and space conservation of the zoo.

Do you see the little baby towards the left of the log?  He was so funny to watch run around!

Self timer family photo with a photo bomb by another little guy :)

We tried to make it on the train, but it was too busy and too late to wait.  So, we distracted C with a carousel ride instead.  She was still happy :)

Love this picture!!!!

It has been nice setting aside some family days with our busy schedule.  Plus, Cambrie enjoys her time with undivided attention from her parents.  When we are home it is always hard to focus on her 100% with various household duties, work stuff, etc.  We just love sharing the world with her and exploring new things together - and Damon and I feel lucky that we are able to provide these things for her.