My Dad finally left us last week, 10 days ago to be exact...but, whose counting. ;)
After our exhausting camping/road trip, we decided to just hang around our house.
The one thing Dad really was craving was making some homemade pasta! When Bristol heard that Papa wanted to put her to work, she let her feelings be known. Needless to say, the women folk (Bristol and me) were kicked out of the kitchen while the men cooked! Just like it should be! Ahhh.
Joey nibbled on an apple and read the recipe to Papa.
However, Papa was flat out ignoring what Joey was reading, so Joey jumped in to help.
Then, they really got down to business and Joey put some real elbow grease into that pasta. It turned out wonderfully!
We did get a little stir crazy hanging out at the house every day, so we headed up north (just a few miles) to check out the Santa Ana Zoo.
This zoo is much much smaller than the San Diego Zoo, but much cheaper and closer!
The exhibits are also mainly made up of primates. The man that opened this zoo was a lover of primates, so he insisted that the zoo always maintain at least a population of 50 primates. This is pretty cool since the primates are usually the ones that attract big audiences at some zoos.
This zoo is also the perfect size for toddlers. Not too big so they can do most of the walking and don't get too cranky before you've been through the whole zoo, and not too small where you feel like you just wasted $10/person.
Papa and Joey also took a train ride while we were in the zoo. Choo, choo!
Bristol slept in the carrier for our entire time at the zoo. Yay for babywearing!
We were even able to have a fire (in our backyard) right before my dad left. We put Bristol to bed, in the house, and Dad, Joey, and I made s'mores and enjoyed our fire. Of course, Joey talked nonstop. Oh well, you can't win them all.
It was a really great visit, and summer, with my Dad. He is one of my best friends, so it was great to spend every day with him. It was also nice to see him and Joey form such a good bond. Hopefully, we will be able to move closer to him, and all of our families, soon. It is really hard to be away from close friends and family. This summer, and everything we've gone through, has really opened my eyes to how important having family nearby is. Until the day we're closer, we will just have to enjoy these short visits.
