Oakland

Last weekend, we went to Oakland to visit Jeff's brother, Chris, who is in the process of becoming a Dominican Friar.  His birthday is today!  Happy Birthday Chis!  =)  We also visited my cousin, Jill, who just graduated from Berkeley, and my cousin Karen and her family.  Unfortunately, we didn't get any pics with my cousins.  =(  How did we forget that?!?  Next time ladies...next time.

We stayed with Chris at St. Albert's and it is beautiful!  I've never really explored Oakland before...mostly because of the stigma that it isn't safe.  But let me tell you my friends, Oakland is beautiful!  The grounds at St. Albert's are amazing.  We had a blast!

We drove up Grizzly's Peak, which overlooks the bay.  If you look through the smog, you can see water!

S & E

E had on his "E" shirt, but it got dirty.  =(

S & E with Grandpa, Uncle Brother Chris, and Grandma

Sam is so expressive!

The Priory has a lemon tree.  They liked playing with and eating their "ball".

All the family photos were taken in the "backyard" of the priory.  It's like a forest back there!

The Brannan men

This is how we ate our meals.  We pushed the chairs together, and Jeff and I blocked them in with our bodies.  

The koi pond was a HUGE hit!  Along with the two tortoises that roamed the courtyard.