Chargers 5K

Saturday, July 21st was my fourth 5K of the year, The Bolt to the Q.  We were really excited to run with the Chargers, finish on the 50 yard line, meet some Chargers, and get some cool Chargers swag. The course was very difficult for me, but we made it in one hour and 3 minutes.  With the "after race" fun totally crazy and not enough finisher rewards, the day was a disappointment and the event was very poorly organized (we will opt to do the Phillip Rivers 5K next year instead of this one).  Our pictures will just cover the cool part :)

 at the starting line

 Almost at the finish line (can you tell that I am in major pain?!) when I thought my hip was going to simply detach itself and walk away

 walking into the tunnel onto the field

 on the field before we finished, we are on the jumbo screen!

 playing on the field

 melissa running for the touchdown

 playing catch with Andrew

 ready, set, hike!

 escapee!!

 The Charger Girls were so nice! 

Andrew loved them, Melissa got to shake a pompom and Andrew scored several autographs.

We also got Ryan Matthews' autograph on Andrew's football, but the whole situation was so frustrating, I don't really care.  He didn't make eye contact, say hello, or anything to show that he cared thousands of people just participated in him 5K to raise money for HIS charity; the 5 year old next to me gushed about how "you're my favorite player ever" and Matthews didn't respond, just signed and moved onto another person... seriously, Matthews has just gone on to my Chargers I don't like list.

Safari Park

 Our summer adventures continued at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park (aka The Wild Animal Park) on Saturday (6/30).  Melissa was given three tickets from her hospital, so we got to go for free!

 We started by watching the Frequent Flyers Bird Show.  Andrew was super excited about it even before it started thanks to the jumbo screen introduction the birds.  He was dancing, singing, and pointing like crazy.

 I decided to make some collages for the trip--each one is what he saw and his reaction!

After the bird show, we decided to make our way towards the tram ride.  Along the way, we met some animals!

First up, the gorillas!

 We had perfect timing for the gorillas.  The mommy and baby came out right as we got up to the viewing area and shortly afterwards the daddy and another female came up to play.  We watched for a few minutes and then we went inside their cave for shade (it was hot... really, really hot).

 Andrew enjoyed making the gorilla noises and pushing the buttons.

 We all know Andrew loves water, so the misters that were everywhere at the part were a hit over and over again.  Above is Aunt Melissa and Andrew "touching" the water.

 To get from the top of the part to the bottom (safari part), you either climb down several flights of stairs or take the elevator, but at the top of the elevator you have a beautiful view of the safari land.  Even Andrew enjoyed the view!

 Down in the safari land lives the lions.  Usually they are far away from the viewing area and you can hardly see them, but again, we had perfect timing.  Three of the five lions decided to take a nap right next the viewing window.  Obviously, you can't miss the male, but their is a female to the right and another one inside the white jeep. 

 After the lions, we got in line for the African tram.  Our monkey thought it was great to swing on the bars of the cue and try to escape.

 Our 30 minute tour took up all through the safari and we were able to see some animals close up that aren't normally close, like the giraffe below. 

 To say that Andrew enjoyed himself is an understatement!

 After the tram ride, we ate lunch

 and headed to the parakeet landing!

 $3 of nectar guaranteed that you'd have some close up contact!

 Dave won without his running start.

 being silly

 We rode the carousel and Andrew actually enjoyed it.

 we shopped a little

and headed home while we were still happy!

Lakeside Trip

This past weekend we made a trip to Lakeside to visit Grandpa and Grandma Pfeffer's house.  Andrew showed off his new skills of babbling, standing, crawling, and engaging in tons of eye contact.

Practicing crawling with grandma

 On Saturday afternoon we hung out with the Gregorys.  Devin and Andrew has a few years more before they can play together (and by that time Devin might be so over Andrew), but it was pretty cute to hear Devin ask fifty times if Andrew could eat pizza, what he eats, and why he wasn't eating lunch with us.  He also talked to Andrew and got a few really good giggles.

After lunch and shopping at the Outlets, we stopped by Cassuandra and Jeremy Olson's and hung out with them and Jersey.  Andrew was pretty enralled with the great dane, but didn't quite know what to do with her.  When Jersey licked him it completely covered his face and he just stared.

 Back at Grandpa and Grandpa Pfeffer's house, Dave's cousin Mike and daughter stopped by for some play time.

 Of course, Andrew took many naps because he was so tired for all the excitement.

Andrew stared at Grandma's big dogs too!