Cali-For-Ni-A

James and I had the BEST TIME in California! We arrived to find this fun sculpture in the Sacramento Airport baggage claim. We then picked up our bright blue KIA Rio, and headed to Davis to hang out with our soon-to-be-married friends Carrie and Paul. Friday was spent going over wedding stuff and attending a really fun rehearsal pizza party - everyone was so nice to James and he had a blast.
Saturday was Go Day. We took care of the bride-to-be all morning long. One very fun job that I had was assembling the bouquet. Each guest brought a flower and all were tied together to make Carrie's bouquet. What an honor to be trusted with this task!
The ceremony was casual but very touching and beautiful, under a special tree in the park.
I had to rein James in a few times as he tended to wander away . . .

During the reception he had a total meltdown and I took him back to the hotel for a nap.
Poor little guy woke up with a horrendous fever - can you tell how flushed he is? So I gave him some medicine and put him down for another hour. This time when he woke up he was ready to go, so we headed down to Sacramento to explore.

We found . . . a Jazz Festival! Old Sacramento had bands playing out all over the place. James loved dancing to the music and all the other fun things to see.

Like this guy, who made him a snail balloon animal.
I think it's pretty dang good, actually.
Then we went on a train ride. We got to watch the train couple to the cars and everything. There was even a conductor in full uniform calling out "Tickets! Tickets, please!"
It was a beautiful 40 minute train ride up and down the river.

Afterward we visited a candy store where "if you eat it in the store, it's a free sample." Seriously, if you ate it in the store, it was free. It was like Willy Wonka in there! We left with a bag of salt water taffy and a candy necklace. The place was jumping off so I guess there was some kind of sense to their ad campaign.
We wanted to have dinner on the river, so I read the various menus to James until he found something that sounded good.
For him, grilled cheese. For me, spinach and grilled pear salad with goat cheese and pistachios. Mmmm . . .
By then I was feeling sick, so James and I hit up a WalMart for NyQuil on the way back to the hotel where he watched a movie and I took a shower. Thank goodness for NetFlix on iPad!

The next morning was the post-wedding brunch, which we ditched out on super early as James was weepy and feverish again. After a nap I cajoled him into going to the zoo with my friend Lexi and her son Dane.
The first thing we did was ride the carousel, but James was still feeling icky.
A giant cone of chocolate soft-serve soon got him up and feeling like his chipper self.
Look how cute these boys are!
Across from the zoo was a place with rides, so we set the kids loose on it.
James got to ride some safe, slow rides . . .
. . . as well as take his first roller coaster ride! Lex and I watched his little face go through several waves of terror and joy. I don't think he would have ever done it without his big kid friend Dane.
He rode these jeeps at least five times.
Dane was seriously impressive with how well he related to and took care of James.
When we got back to the hotel we all decided to order pizza and hit the pool. Yes, James put his swimmies on his ankles, but it doesn't matter because it's not like he really gets in the pool. He's more of an "edge-of-the-hot-tub" guy.
Monday morning James and I decided to visit Fairy Tale Town before our flight home.The Little Engine that Could
Cinderella's Carriage
Jack & Jill Hill

The flight back was peaceful and I received so many compliments on James' behavior. We had an early night and the next morning James couldn't wait to show May all his souvenirs.
I would love to go on vacation with this little guy again. He made the good parts great and the best parts even better!