Well, now that it's officially Fall, I guess I better hurry up and post our Summer Adventures - Part 2!
1. At the end of July, we made the requisite trip to the California State Fair - complete with rides, junk food, exhibits, and the feeling that you just wasted a enormous amount of money in a very short amount of time.
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| First time down the giant yellow slide. Love Nicolas' freaked-out expression. By the time he got to the bottom, he was jumping up and down with glee asking to go again - of course! |
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| Fearless Riley was a little maniac from the start. |
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| Hands-free Riley on the Dragon roller-coaster. Jonah and Nicolas are in front of him squealing with delight. |
2. On August 2nd, we hosted a National Night Out Block Party. It was a stretch to get it organized this year because of the timing (it was
right after the Bar
and during the crazy-busy last week of GH Day Camp). But, after hearing neighborhood kids talk about our last one, recount all the details, and ask if we we could do it again this year, I realized how important the party was to them. So we whipped up some fliers, applied for a City permit to close our street, rented a bounce house, and did some food assignments. Frankly, there are a few kids on our street that have
very, very little to look forward in their lives when it comes to fun (or anything). So for them it was definitely worth it. Plus, some special new friendships were formed that night - and some terrific memories were made.
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| Some of the girls down the street decorated posters to use where we blocked off the street |
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| Everyone brought yummy food to share including these two lovely ladies |
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| I love this baby |
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| Some of my neighbor friends. A few of them, I met for the first time that night. Others, I've known for several years. |
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| Best babysitter ever - the bounce house |
3. Just before school started, we enjoyed a day of fun at Six Flags with a super fabulous family whose generosity knocked our socks off - and warmed our hearts. The boys had so much fun on all the rides and at the animal shows and Jonah fell in love with Shouka, the Killer Whale.
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| My handsome partner on the kiddie Jeep ride |
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| Mmm...Cotton Candy at the Killer Whale Show |
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Plenty of kiddie rides to keep everyone entertained all day long!
Special mommy-Jonah time on the go-karts |
4. And finally, Steve and I whisked away to "Mexico" for a little birthday dinner with a few GH peeps. Well...not really Mexico. But the ambience at Las Islitas (about a mile from our house on Northgate Blvd) sure makes you feel like you are in Mexico. We ordered a massive platter of shrimp, beans, rice, tortillas, and Cokes in the bottle (the Cokes made in Mexico taste better than the Coke made in the US because they use real sugar!). Then, we washed it all down with some of Emily's amazing pb and c cupcakes! yum!!
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| Great food and people at Las Islitas |
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| "37" cupcakes for Steve and me, "19" for Brayan |
5. And then, alas, first grade began. And Summer Adventures came to a close.
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| Jonah's first day of first grade |
