Ashlyn's "Wild" Ride...

Ashlyn LOVES any ride that spins round and round!!
I love seeing her face expressions as she's riding.

Spring Break Event 5 - San Jose Discovery Museum

A while back, Jacob went on a field trip to the San Jose Discovery Museum. He's been talking about it being a fun place for both his sisters. So, over spring break we finally went - Friday, April 8th. It really was a nice museum. It's not too big, but it had plenty for them to do. We were there for almost 4 hours! They got to climb in a fire truck, play in a bubble exhibit, build stuff with foam blocks, play in a water exhibit, did a little art, and more. Before we left we went out back and took the long way back to the car. There's a neat little trail that run next to a little river (creek). I'd like to go back to walk the trail.

Here are some pictures from this adventure (I guess I should say quite a few pictures)...

Getting ready to head in to have some fun!!

They had a lot of fun with the bubbles. Ashlyn was so good to her little sister and let her in on the action too. Lauren enjoyed popping Ashlyn's bubbles. (notice L's pants...I think she's ready for summer, because she keeps pulling her pants up to make them shorts - silly girl).

J and A trying to make BIG bubbles!!

There were bubbles falling from the sky.
Jacob was really good at catching them.

Ash caught some, too!!

I like them play in the water exhibit for a while.
Next time, this will be the last thing we do. Ashlyn was drenched by the time we were done.
Next time, I'll also remember a change of clothes.

L loved playing in the building section.
She had a ball crawling around and pulling up on all these things.

Jacob had fun crawling inside the forts he built.

And so did Ashlyn!!

The kids did some art projects. Jacob build a robot out of packing peanuts.
You just get them wet and they stick together.

This doesn't surprise me...A had a blast getting her hands all dirty!!

There was a little baby area where siblings weren't allowed.
So I had J and A sit outside the door for a few minutes so L can explore in here.
She loved going through the basket of musical instruments.

Sibling LOVE!!

More sibling LOVE!!
This was along the trail. VERY pretty area!!

Spring Break Event 4 - BART Ride/Lunch with Daddy

On Thursday, April 7th, we took BART to the city to meet Mike for lunch. The kids were excited to ride the "train." I told Mike I would not drive to meet him, so I was very happy that the BART station is extremely close to his office. It was a smooth experience, one that I will do again soon. It was nice to see Mike's new office building. They are on the 28th floor and he has a great view of the bay from his desk, but that will soon change when he moves into his office now that he's a VP with Glu. His promotion became official at the beginning of April. We are all proud of him!!

Here's a couple pictures from our adventure on BART to the city...
(picture quality isn't as good - took them with my phone)

They both wanted to sit by the window, so they sat in separate seats.
Ashlyn eventually moved up next to Jacob.
He was such a good big brother - he let her sit by the window.

Getting ready to board BART for our ride home.

Spring Break Event 3 - Chuck E Cheese's with Friends

On Wednesday, April 6th, we met a few friends at Chuck E Cheese's. His friends were from his class and from Boy Scouts. It was actually a little relaxing for me while the kids ran around and played games together.

Here are some pics from Chuck E Cheese's...

Ashlyn attempting to play Guitar Hero (I think Jacob was there in case she needed help).
Looking at this picture I see how she is growing up so much!!

Jacob and one of his friends from school playing a shooting game.
I tried to steer him away from these types of games,
but it seems like he has some kind of magnetic force that brings him back.
I think they might have been fighting aliens or something.

Ashlyn LOVES this ride/game. She gets all giddy while she's riding it.
She usually plays multiple times.

Funny story about this...She rode this before and brought me the picture. The picture wasn't a great one because you couldn't even see her face (she was looking down or something). So, I told her to do it again and look at the camera this time. A few minutes later I looked up and this is what I saw. She was trying hard to get a great picture this time!! I think she just stared the whole time and did not move an inch. At least I know she can follow directions!! Oh, and the picture came out really cute!! :-)

Spring Break Event 2 - SF Zoo

On Monday, the kids wanted to take a break and stay home. So that day we just relaxed and ran a few errands. I guess that was a good thing to do, since the rest of the week we had a lot planned. On Tuesday, April 5th, we met some friends at the SF Zoo. It was a nice day, a little breezy at times, but we all enjoyed it. It was nice being out with friends. It's something we all like to do. We miss our friends from Kansas City and going to the zoo with them. But it is nice to find some new friends here to go to the zoo with, too.

Pics from a day at the SF Zoo...

I forgot to change my camera settings back to normal.
Oh well, it made a neat picture.

The gorillas were putting on such a show for all to see.
This little baby gorilla kept playing with the kids in the window.
Makes you wonder - who is in the cage?!?!?!?

2 of my little animals!! I think the 3rd one was napping.

Jacob and I love the meerkats! They were also entertaining to watch.

Spring Break Event 1 - California Great America

We decided to get season passes for California Great America. We felt this was a great deal - to give us something to do all year. The passes we got include CGA, Boomerang Bay (water park) and Gilroy Gardens (a family theme park - lots of kid rides).

On Sunday, April 3rd, we went to CGA. :-) We all had a really good time. We stayed for about 4-5 hours, and the kids rode a lot of rides. We didn't get to everything, but we know we'll be back. With our passes, we got game vouchers. Each of the kids (including Lauren) did the guessing game. We had them guess each child's birth month, which they have to get it within 2 months. They were wrong with all 3, so each one got a stuffed animal. They were all happy!! Lauren had a good time riding some of the rides too. I'm excited to see her grow up and experience more at the parks. :-)

Here are some pics from the park...

One of the first rides we all rode was the carousal.
This was the smaller one, they also have a HUGE 2-story one near the front.

There were plenty of kids rides.
We didn't get to all of them, but we are planning to go back real soon.

The kids LOVED the swings. They also had a bigger one of these, but they really liked this one. Maybe next time, they'll ride the bigger one. This was their favorite ride. It was such a joy seeing their face expressions as they rode - you can really see the excitement!! It made my day!!

Lauren rode a few rides too. Here she is on the carousal.

Getting ready to leave for the day. You can see the 2-story carousal behind us.
It was such a gorgeous day!!

It's been awhile...

I know I said I was going to try to keep this going (especially for you, Mom)...so hopefully this
will be a new start! I'm just going to do a quick update of the last (almost) 2 months then I'll let you all know about our exciting spring break!! (in a separate post)

1st off, Jacob started Little League. He is on a great team with a really great coach. His team name is the Giants. He's happy to be playing for his new home town team. The coach is encouraging and teaches the kids at their level. Jacob has improved over the last several weeks. He's only played a couple games (because of rain), but now that it is nicer out we should be playing more.

Both kids started swim lessons at the end of March. They are now in their 2nd session. I am really happy we started early this year (especially since we didn't get a chance last summer). In the 1st 3 weeks they BOTH are swimming by themselves. They still have a lot to learn, but they have improved greatly since last summer. They will be so ready for the warm weather and swim time this summer!!

Grandma came to visit for her spring break!! The kids did not know about this surprise visit, and they were so excited to see her and show her their new town!! We couldn't get out as much as I hoped, because it rained nearly every day (heck, we even had a tsunami warning and a tornado warning during her visit). We got out to see Alcatraz on Jacob's 1/2 day of school, and that day was actually a very beautiful day. It was just nice to spend time with her. We are all looking forward to this summer, the kids have a list of activities they want to do with her.

And Jacob turned 7 YEARS OLD!! We celebrated his birthday early with Grandma, then we had a party with his classmates and friends at BounceU (inflatable bouncing play place). He had a great time. This will be a birthday he'll remember. His big gift from us was a Nintendo 3DS. He was beyond thrilled when he opened that!! :-) He is a growing boy. He weighs just about 59 pounds and is just about 49 inches tall!!

All my kids make me happy!! :-)

Here are some pictures...

Jacob showing his baseball skills. He really enjoys playing!!

Grandma surprised Ashlyn first -
then we went to Jacob's baseball practice for his surprise.

Took Grandma and the kids to Pier 39.
We walked around, saw the sea lions and had dinner at Bubba Gumps. It was fun!!

On our way to Alcatraz!!

At the airport before Grandma left to go home. :-(

My 2 swimmers at swim lessons!!

Jacob getting sung to at Red Robin for his birthday dinner.
He wanted to have it done, then he got a little shy.

Some of Jacob's friends at his birthday party.

It was a lot of fun, I think all the kids had a great time!!

My birthday boy!! Happy 7th Birthday, Jacob!!