Harvest Festival Fun!

October 25th, 2013 was the harvest festival at Jaxen's elementary school. It's generally the largest event held at the school each year. The money that is raised then goes to help keep their library open. I really love being able to support our school. The first stop that Jaxen had to make was to say hi to his teacher, Mrs. Greenbaum. He's always loved his teachers. Even on his rough days. Mrs. Greenbaum has been really helpful and understanding toward his needs. She's a fantastic teacher!

Next, Jaxen decided to try out some of the games that were set up. He came close to winning in musical chairs but didn't quite make it. He was disappointed at first but was able to move on to other things like balloon animals and Taekwondo.

 

And of course, being able to smash a pie into a teachers face! This brought lots of laughter and smiles. I would say it was a pretty successful night. We had a really great time. Jaden went dressed in his monster costume but he mainly stayed in the stroller the whole time. Maybe next time he'll be up to joining in the fun and playing some of the games. It was such a fun family night. 

Ghirardelli Square!

So after a fun and busy filled day in Chinatown, we decided that we'd end the day at one of our favorite places to stop in San Fransisco. Ghirardelli square! It was nice to be in an area that didn't seem to constantly be on the go. Chinatown was fun, don't get me wrong, but after awhile the busy crowds became to much for us and we needed a change of scenery.

Ghirardelli Square is always a fun little place. It was evening and nearly closing time which meant that the square was cleared out enough for us to feel like we could sit down, breathe, relax, get some wiggles out and enjoy our chocolate for a minute. Which is always a great way to end the day.

Chinatown, San Fransisco!

 Chinatown in San Fransisco is the largest Chinatown on the west coast and is one of the biggest tourist attractions in the area. There is a lot of history here.

We have lived where we are for several years now and still hadn't made our way to see the town. Ron and I drove through it during our 5th anniversary trip, but we never parked and got out of the car. On October 13th, 2013 we decided that it was time to go and at least say we've been there once. We mainly stayed on Grant Ave. and paraded up and down the street to see the different buildings and shops. It was the year of the snake and we saw many things pertaining to that. We loved the lanterns that were hanging from the buildings above the streets. We met a few friendly people but mostly everyone seemed to hustle and bustle on their way by. We were grateful to the gentleman who showed us where the open restrooms were. I thought the community park area was charming. Sometimes I wish our own neighborhood parks would be more like that. We were enjoying our day and for a brief moment felt like we were in a different world. But after a while we felt it was time to go. It was very busy and we decided that we wanted to end the day somewhere where it was less crowded. So we found our magnet and a few other souvenirs and said good bye to Chinatown. I love being able to share some of the diversities of other cultures with my family.  Some day we may visit again but for now we're just happy to say that we went.  Until then, see you next time Chinatown!

Giant Pumpkin Festival!

(October 6th, 2013) Every year during the first weekend of October our city hosts The Giant Pumpkin Festival. It's become our biggest festival of the year and one of our favorites to go to as a family. Each year they have a different theme for the festival. This year the theme was based off the movie The Wizard of Oz. Kaeryn loves the Halloween season and decided to dress up.

 The festival began in 1994 as a small harvest celebration.

Some of California's heftiest pumpkins weigh off at the festival. In fact, it is the current World Record holder of the average Top 10 Giant Pumpkins. The pumpkins are huge! It never ceases to amaze me how giant these pumpkins really are. Every year I can't help but look at them in awe.

There's something for everyone at the festival. Carnival games, yummy food(especially pumpkin flavored things like shakes, smoothies, cookies and various pies), entertainment, and a derby in the pond. They also have a scarecrow decorating contest. One of these days I'm going to have to remember to enter that. I think it would be fun. Maybe next year! Happy Harvest!

Blanket Forts!

 Blanket forts are one of the secrets of life. They solve everything! One of my favorite things to do when I was little was to make blanket forts and sleep in them. Sometimes leaving them up for a few days. A lot of imagination and a lot of pretending happened in those forts. It makes my heart happy to see our kids enjoy it the same. Happy camping boys!

Camping at Half Moon Bay!

 September 26th 2013 Ron and I and the boys were able to go on a quick little family trip. It has been a couple years since we were able to go on a family vacation. But this weekend we decided that it was time. Kaeryn and Tristan were in school and were unable to come but Jaxen was off track from school so it was the perfect time for him.

We decided to go down to Half Moon Bay. We were lucky enough that there was still a camping spot available. This was our first time camping next to the beach and ocean. We were so excited, especially Jaxen. He loves to go camping!

 After we set up camp we had to spend some time and play on the beach. The beach is another one of our favorite places to be. There is just an amazing feeling that comes from the beach.

 The water was too cold to swim in but that doesn't stop Jaxen from at least putting his feet in. It's tradition that whenever you are at the beach you at least have to put your feet in the water.

 Dancing and racing the waves is so much fun. You can never get enough of that. It's one of Jaxen's favorite places to be.

 When we weren't playing in the water we were walking along and exploring the beach. Jaden seemed to enjoy having a little freedom and following along with his big brother.

He wasn't interested in going in the water but he did seem to enjoy looking at the waves. 

 Once we were done with our exploring it was time to do one thing that our boys do best and that is play in the dirt. Jaxen has never had any issues with getting dirt all over him. He loves to bury himself in the sand.

 Jaden doesn't like the sand sticking to him but he does seem to enjoy playing in it. I was glad that I remembered to pack some of our sand toys right before we left.

 I knew the boys would want to play with them once we got there.

 Especially Jaden. I think it helped to give him a direction of what to do while there and distracted him from the sand sticking to his legs.

 He was also in little scientist mode. He loved scooping up the sand, examining it, and then watching it fall out of the shovel. He did that over and over. Then he was able to do the same with the trucks.

 It was such an enjoyable and relaxing time. We were loving it there so much.

 We were also lucky enough that the beach was fairly empty and open while we were there. It was so nice to not have to be overwhelmed by crowds of people. There were a few people there but there was plenty of space in between.

Which made the evening perfect!

We had almost no worries in the world then. It's such a blissful feeling.

 

 We could have stayed there forever. But eventually it was time to go back to camp.

We were not able to get a hold of the guy who runs the kennel that we usually drop Kati off when we go places. So Kati came with us this time. Ron stayed at camp with her while the boys and I enjoyed the beach. It was nice having Kati with us but she wasn't allowed on the beach. She was a little anxious as usual but I think she was happy to be with us.

Playing at the beach is a lot of fun but we were starting to get hungry.  Ron started to get some food out and ready for dinner but since it was a lot cooler than we anticipated he decided to go into town to get us some warm drinks.

He knows how much I love the beach and what it means to me to be able to just sit and watch and listen to the ocean. He took the boys with him to get some hot cocoa so I could go and watch the sunset. It was a beautiful and serene moment. I've seen many beautiful sunset in my lifetime but some of my favorites will always be the ones over the ocean.

After the sun went down I came back to camp to enjoy roasting hotdogs and marshmallows with the family. Such a fun and tasty tradition.

Jaxen loved being able to do his own. He was a little nervous but he wanted to do it. I wasn't sure how Jaden would do around the fire since we haven't gone camping with him yet. But he did pretty well.

He stayed by the table with his cars or trains. I think he had a peanut butter sandwich  instead. Plus some chips and graham crackers . He still doesn't like to eat most foods. But he definitely likes the chocolate in s'mores!

After we were finished eating we stayed out as long as we could. Just enjoying the stars and the peace and quiet. It did get pretty cold though. We weren't completely prepared for that but we did have blankets to bundle up in.

It was a bit of a rough night though. We did bring our 3DS's to play mario cart for Jaden so he would have something familiar to his usual bedtime routine.

He had fun during the day but the night time and sleeping in a tent proved to be hard on him. Needless to say that me or Jaden didn't get any sleep that night. He wasn't crying or fussy, he just wouldn't close his eyes to sleep. He laid in between Daddy and I with wide eyes all night.

   

The morning was just beautiful! I wish I had gotten a photo of it. The sun warmed the tent right up. We had a yummy breakfast of doughnuts. Apparently some large bees or wasps thought so too because they came into our camp and wouldn't leave Jaden alone.

We couldn't shew them away so we decided that maybe I should take the boys back to the beach to play for a bit before we left for home. Ron stayed back to start packing up the car. But the bees followed us there. For some reason they would just not leave Jaden alone.

I got really anxious so we went back up to the car. By this time Ron had everything ready to go. We still really wanted to enjoy some beach time so we drove a ways to the other side of the state park.

 

  But they found us there so we got back in the car and drove a couple miles until we found and area on the side of the rode we could go to.

 

 It was perfect! The bees no longer bothered us and we could play in the sand before we made the trip back home. It was the best way to end our little vacation. It wasn't a very long trip but it was well worth it. The memories we made will last a lifetime! I think we will definitely be back for some more camping! Hopefully sooner rather than later.