Gilroy Gardens

We went to the beautiful Gilroy Gardens and amusement park over Labor Day weekend this year. The park is so great for small kids like ours since all of the rides are pretty cute and mostly slow pace. On this sunny day, Eric and Carson paddled around Coyote Lake in the a swan paddle boat.

Holly and I paddled around the lake also. Holly did a great job staying in her seat, much to my relief, because I was worried she might try to bail out and we would both end up wet.


We went to the Gardens with another family who have become very good friends of ours. My friend Kate was kind enough to take Tate out with her in the duck paddle boat. They were team "Tate and Kate".

It was such a pretty little lake to enjoy on such a beautiful day! The paddle boats are swans, yellow ducks, and mallard ducks and were made in Switzerland.

Carson wanted his own turn on the "barrel ride" which was a similar spinning ride like Disneyland's teacups.

Tate was the only kid in our group who was tall enough to go on the swings. Sometimes there are perks to being the " big kid".

Of course we had to go to the Holly Garden while at the park. This garden has over 20 different types of Holly shrub, tree, and topiary.....who knew there were so many different kinds!

We went on the spinning "Artichoke Dip" ride....Holly loved it.

Tate and his friend Wilson also got into the gigantic artichoke for a spin.

Yes again, another spinning ride. This time a giant garlic clove to get everyone dizzy. Beautiful olive trees surround this ride which are 100 years old.

Part of our park entrance fee included a special Labor Day "all you can eat" BBQ lunch. Everyone had chicken, hot dogs, watermelon and salad. It was a good chance to rest a bit before braving more spinning rides.

Holly loved her push-pop for dessert after the BBQ lunch. We stripped her of her shirt since she only had one clean shirt to wear for the day, and we didn't want it covered in sticky push-pop for the rest of the afternoon.

Every kid loves a carousel!

All good things must come to an end and Carson and Holly had as much fun as they could handle!

The Karate Kid

Perhaps Carson has watched too much KungFu Panda, but he has been wanting to take karate classes. So, we decided that now was a good time to give it a try. They claim to teach qualities such as respect, focus, and discipline, (in addition to self defense and fun). So, how could we say "no" to to all that!!!

Today was Carson's first class, so the first thing he learned was how to bow to his teacher and to "stand like a black belt" (which means to stand with legs together and arms tightly at his side).



Our karate kid!!!! After just one class, he already thinks he is an official Ninja!

Summer swimming

We have spent a lot of time this summer at the gym, California Family Fitness. It has been such a great place to spend our afternoons cooling off in the pool. Holly likes to play in the pool with our diving rings. The pink one in her hand in this photo is her favorite.

They really do more splashing around then actual swimming, but they have tons of fun.

Holly loves the water and can splash and play just as much as her brothers!

Tate has really gotten to be a good swimmer this summer. He is much more confident and is so proud of his improvements.

At the end of the afternoon, its time to dry off and head home for dinner. Before leaving though, the kids usually talk me into getting them each a Popsicle at the pool's snack window.

First day of school

Tate's new kindergarten teacher, Ms. Hellen, packaged up a packet for each of the parents which included a keenex, a bag of tea, a cotton ball, and a note which read the following.

Welcome to kindergarten...

Thank you for entrusting your child to me,

I promise to do my best everyday

to be your child's companion in learning.

This morning, after you have wiped your tears,

make yourself a nice cup of tea, and relax.

Then, hold the cotton ball in your hand.

The softness will help you recall the gentle spirit of your child.

I will work alongside you this year to help your child grow.

Tate with his kindergarten teacher Ms. Hellen

Tate is ready outside his classroom for is first day. All of the kids who will be in his class are listed in each of the circles posted in the window behind Tate.


Ms. Hellen blew her whistle and welcomed all of the kindergartners on the playground to their first day of school. After lining up, she had all the kids blow their parents a kiss goodbye, along with a wave, and they were on their way into the classroom.

Then, we were on our way to Carson's first day at his new preschool. He started at the City of Rocklin preschool, his new "big boy" preschool, bright and early also at 8:30am. He will go three days a week here which is located at Ruhkala elementary. Ruhkala is only about one mile from our house and will be a great place to spend the next school year!

Carson's 4th birthday

This year Carson asked to have a camping birthday party. So, we reserved 4 campsites at French Meadows campground and invited some friends to celebrate Carson's day.

Carson wanted a Spider man themed party, so all his friends joined him in wearing Spider man masks. He had a great time with his pals.


Our 4 year old boy!

Carson was so excited to open his presents from his friends. (From left to right) Wilson, Collin, Carson, Tim, Justin, Tate, and Holly.

The one low point of our trip was when Carson had a touch of the stomach flu. He missed most of the fun at the lake on Saturday because he was was feeling so crummy. He slept for hours under the easy-up tent on his Buzz Lightyear sleeping bag.

The boys found that the bear food storage locker could be useful for storing kids also.

I caught Holly sitting on top of our picnic table eating forkful after of forkful of guacamole. She loved it!

Holly and I walked with our group down to the lake each evening at sunset.

Tate is a great big brother. He is always so kind to her and he did a great job keeping an eye on her at the waters edge.

Wilson and Tate went out on the fishing boat and helped catch a few fish. They had a great time and thought that the trout were very cool. Eric cooked the fish up for breakfast the next morning.

Our friend Brian brought his fishing boat this weekend and was kind enough to take each of the boys out for an evening boat ride. Carson and Russell got their turn, which just so happened to be Russell's first time ever on a boat.

" I eat everything"

Holly often goes with me to California Family Fitness Gym and plays in the child care area while I work out. She used to have to wear a sticker that read " I eat crayons". However, because of a few incidences involving bark, art supplies and Floam, she now has to wear a sticker that reads " I eat everything". I decided to take a photo of her with her sticker because this is one of those things that someday we will get an extra chuckle about when she is an adult.

Happy 4th of July

We watched Sun City's fireworks presentation last night, so we were lucky enough to just spend a relaxing evening at home before doing our own fireworks outside with our neighbors.

Our "All American" kids!





The kids will only humor me for so long with nice picture poses before things start to go downhill!

Carson

Tate

I was so excited to have this cute fireworks shirt and headband for Holly! We searched high and low for this headband which had been missing all day. Finally....Tate confessed that he had accidentally broken it earlier. He said that he didn't want me to be mad or Holly to be sad, so he figured that if he put it under the couch then we might just forget about it. After a long talk about honesty and some quick work with the glue gun, Holly was ready to look cute in her festive headband again.

Patriotic baby

Carson loved the sparklers

Eric and I had decided that the kids would just play outside with the neighbor kids and we would not spend any money on fireworks this year. Well, at about 8 o'clock, just as the sun was starting to go down, Eric started to second guess that decision. So at the very last minute, I drove over to a fireworks stand just down the street and picked up a few fireworks for us after all. We were so glad that I did because the kids really liked them and we all had a really fun evening!