A Day at the Gardens

The other day we had friends in town and they wanted to do something fun with the kids. None of us had been to Gilroy Gardens so we looked it up, got a coupon and headed down the hill to Gilroy. It was actually a blast! Most of the rides were appropriate for Nora so she really had fun! It wore her out! As soon as we got in the car to go home her head went back and she was asleep! I don't think she has ever had that much fun!

Here are some pictures.

Here are our friends (Justin, Kristen, Gianna & Naomi) going up, up, up in the hot air balloon!

Kristen & Gianna riding the cars.

Taking a ride on the ferris wheel.
Nora wasn't afraid of anything. She kept this mild smile on her face during all the rides and was always excited to go on the next one!

The view from the top!

By the end of the day I think Nora was more ready to be the passenger on the car ride than the driver!

Our take on Gilroy Gardens...fun for families with young kids. Way too expensive if you don't have a coupon and go on a weekday, if you can, because there were no lines for any of the rides!
All-in-all, a great day!

Fun on the 4th

Nora is still too young to stay up for fireworks, so we have created some new traditions and had a lot of fun celebrating the 4th of July, our Independence Day, without the fun of big fireworks!

The table was set.

Paul was hard at work at the grill.

The kids played contentedly (most of the time).

Dinner was a collaborative effort and it turned out so well!

Poppers were our fireworks. This year they didn't make Nora cry!
She's getting older.
Check out her reaction from last year.

Running around with the kids.

Who says girls can't play with the boys...Nora does a pretty
good job of holding her own!

Sparklers and a patriotic movie rounded out our Independence Day. Maybe next year we will see some big fireworks but in the meantime these at home celebrations are pretty fun!

Happy 4th of July!

Jammers

This summer Michaela and I decided to tackle canning jam. Neither of us had done it, let alone on our own! But with confidence, a recipe and ripe strawberries we soldiered into unknown territory!

Nora snuck a little pre-jam strawberry on the ride over to
Michaela & Liam's house.

Big helpers!

Liam snuck a little mid-jam strawberry!

The results you ask...looks beautiful,
taste ??? we'll have to wait for the first rain.