We had a super busy 4-day weekend! On Saturday, we drove down to the Bay Area to visit Alice for her 29th birthday. We walked around downtown and had dim sum.
Then we went (organic) berry picking … and bought 9 cartons full! For dinner, we picked up some sashimi at a local Japanese grocery store. And for dessert – you guessed it – we had berries. So yummy with whipped cream and ice cream! And of course, no visit would be complete without playing games (Munchkins and Settlers) at night.
On Sunday morning, we had plans to meet up with our Folsom friends (also in the Bay Area!) at Happy Hallow in San Jose. There was a park and a zoo section, but we only had time/energy to do the park side. At first, Zachary was terrified of the rides, but at the end, he actually chanted “go, go, go!” on the merry-go-round.
We had lunch at the park while watching a puppet show – very cute. Next up, was Auggie’s 3rd birthday party BBQ. James’ parents were there too! It was a pirate themed party, so we got the birthday boy some fish related gifts … 2 shark books and a fishing game. Happy 3rd Birthday Auggie!
Zachary had not napped all day and was being pretty stubborn and naughty – luckily, cousin Auggie was well behaved, so the two only butted heads once. Zach did not want Auggie in the playhouse so I had to drag Zach (crying and kicking) out of it for not sharing nicely. Another party guest asked,”Only child?” 
With a belly full of burgers, cake, and chips, we drove back home … with Zachary napping most of the way.
On Monday, I took Zachary to Color Me Mine to paint pottery. He painted a plate. After that, I took him to a free trial class at My Gym - he loved it! Unfortunately, they don’t hold classes on weekends (those days are reserved for birthday parties.)
That evening, we went to John and Kathy’s July 3rd BBQ (they were going to be out of town on the 4th.) Great ribs … and I heard the chicken was excellent too (I was too full on ribs to try it!) They built a really big deck, with a fire pit. Now I’m motivated to landscape our backyard … although we don’t quite have the land/view to work with!
On Tuesday, we met up with our friends at Fairytale town in Sacramento. We spent the whole morning there, just hanging out, talking, watching the kids play. It’s great to have friends (with kids Zach’s age) that are just as active as we are!
In the afternoon, our neighbors invited everyone on the street over for a BBQ swim party. They are huge Disney fans and their new in ground pool definitely has a Disney feel to it. It even has a slide and 2 hidden Mickeys! Zach was tentative at first, but ended up loving the pool – he had a great time watching the big kids jump from the cliff and go down the slide. And there was a shallow area in the pool for him to wade in. After eating and swimming, we went home to shower, then came back for dessert and fireworks. We were so tired, we couldn’t stay up until the end. Zachary actually started laughing with relief when we carried him to his crib.
And Wednesday … it was back to work. Whew!… I was pretty exhausted. All I can say is … hats off to stay-at-home parents! Hope everyone had a great July 4th!
