California visit Monday

After we surprised Jackie at her birthday party Saturday we got to have lunch with her on Monday. We did miss her husband who was working and her kids that were at school, but we did see them on Saturday night. We really enjoyed our lunch and visit with Jackie. Again we sure wish we lived closer.

After lunch and a brief stop at Grandpas to get dinner in the oven we headed over to Vasona Lake Park. I have been going here since I was a little girl and really wanted Baron and the boys to see it. Some things have changed but it sure is a beautiful park. There was lots of geese around which the boys really wanted to chase around. Baron got to do some GeoCaching at the park. We also walked to the neighboring park called Oak Meadow which has a real plane to play on. I loved sharing some of my childhood with my family.


Since this was our last day here I got the boys to sit for a photo with Grandpa.

California visit Sunday

One of the big reasons for this trip was my friend Jackie's birthday party on Saturday night. Auntie Nicole and Auntie Kim babysat so that Baron and I both could attend the party. Jackie's husband had planned quite a event. He set up the party at a private room in a nearby bowling alley called "The Back 9". This included 9 bowling lanes with sofas and nice chairs at them, it was catered with a great fajita bar, a private bar, and pool. They also had casino style bowling going on where if you got a colored head pin and got eight pins down or more you could get a prize. Let me add that Baron got the colored head pin three times! We really enjoyed ourselves at the party. I did not take any pictures though! Here are some snap shots I had with the cousins. They boys really loved hanging out with them. Sure wish we lived closer.

Taylor and Seth above. Kate, Jillian, Seth and Taylor below
On Sunday we went and played some mini golf since it wasn't raining. We did not keep score and had a really good time playing.
Seth really enjoyed hanging out in his stroller and getting some fresh air.

California Visit Friday

We had a quick extend weekend get away to visit family and friends in California. The first day we were there we went to Visitors day at Kate's school to see all about Kate's class. An added bonus to this was that Nicole (Kate's mom and Heidi's sister was working at this school today, She is the counselor here and at another elementary school) was there too. This was a neat opportunity for the boys to see where their cousin goes to school. Kate was so excited and ready for us to visit. She had her agenda all ready. First there was a tour of the room, then a craft, then she read us a book, and then free play. Our whole really enjoyed our visit with Kate!

After our visit with Kate we headed over for a drive around Stanford University since we were close by and Baron had not been there before. We could have gotten out of the car and did walking tour of the campus but did not want to search for parking so we just took a couple of photos of special spots. We drove the campus loop around.
Above is the Hoover Tower which you can go up in and get a 360 degree view of the area.

Below is a view looking down to the Memorial quad that leads to the Main quad in front of the Memorial Church. Will have to come back sometime and do a tour.
Next we headed over to the Hiller Aviation Museum. This was also nearby. Not a whole lot of hands on stuff for the boys but we still enjoyed ourselves.

Skiing

Baron, Andrew, and Joshua headed up to the snow this past weekend. It was Military Appreciation Weekend at The Summit at Snoqualmie so we took advantage of the special rates. Andrew and Joshua took their first ski lesson in the morning while Baron enjoyed the slopes on his own. The boys loved the skiing and both got the hang of most of the skills they were taught. Joshua struggled a bit more than Andrew but still really enjoyed himself. Baron had been skiing before but it had been a really long time, but he thought he did not need a class. Baron got on a chair lift that he thought ended where he could see it from the bottom, well it did not end there and kept going higher up!!! He made it down the hill but on his butt a few times. Baron also ended up with needing a helping hand from other skiers including a young girl!!! Over all they all really enjoyed the skiing. After a sack lunch at the car they headed over to the snow tubing area. The boys and Baron really enjoyed this area the last time we all went here so we thought it would be a good way to end the day. The did have a good time but were super tired out from the morning so they did not last the two hours. They left early and headed home. What a fun day for the two big boys to spend with their Dad.

On a side note I took Noah bowling and had a really great time. Seth got to tag along and watch. I had a nice day hanging out with my two little boys.

The boys ready for some skiing
Andrew with his skis on
Here is Joshua ready to go
Joshua on the moving magic carpet
Andrew is standing in the middle and Joshua is down on his butt next to him
Learning together is more fun.
Andrew making a snow ball
Joshua is down again. Oh well
Joshua up the magic carpet
Here goes Joshua again

JUMP!

We have found a new place to get some energy out. Noah, Seth, and I had been here a few times during the week, but this was the first time the whole family went. The place is called JUMP! They have four inflatable jump houses. One is just a basic jumping area, two are obstacle courses and one is a giant slide. It is nice they also have a small soft area for little guys like Seth to use. They have two hour sessions for drop in play. We went to the morning one since we were going to hit Costco afterward. All the boys had a great time!
That is Andrew coming down the big slide

Homemade playpen

Seth is really getting too big to sit in the bouncy chair and so ends up in the high chair while I am cooking dinner. The high chair is great but toys fall off and I am not always able to get them quickly enough. The other night I had the idea to make a mini playpen out of the laundry basket. I used a blanket to make it softer and then put his toys in there. I then could bring him in the kitchen while I cooked! He loved it.