To the Village

Two weeks ago, we went to pick up Andy from school. And as we always do, we asked how he was today. His teacher replied, "Great, you never have to worry about him, he is such a good kid!"

Wow, that was nice!

This morning, when I dropped Julie off at school I was confronted by her teachers. Have to admit, I was a little nervous about what they were going to say.

But Mrs Noelle, the head teacher, started out with, "I can't tell you how wonderful Julie is in class every day!" Then she proceeded to go on and on about what a genuinely caring person she is. How she always wants to help everyone. How she is bubbly and happy all the time. And most of all, she gets along great with all of her classmates.

The whole time she was talking to me, the other teacher was nodding in agreement.

Yup, it felt great. Made my day.

All day I have been thinking about these nice complements and what truly amazing children we have. And especially, how they are becoming that way because of the amazing people they have behind them.

Its true, it takes a village to raise a child. And my kids have an awesome village.

Thank you village.

Summer

Apparently we have been having a super busy summer. So busy, that I can not remember what we have been doing!!

I know last weekend, we went to warm the Cisneros house as the threw their first (of many!!) party in their new house!

We hit the beach last Sunday. Had a blast, just the 4 of us. Well, ok, 5.

One night last week, after we had put Andy to bed, this is where we found him.
The kids got to spend the day at Beth's house, which they think is the coolest thing ever. And this is what happened when we got home....
This week included Soccer practice for Julie and both kids starting the "school year" in their new classes. Another night, this is how we found Andy.
I guarantee, they are asleep in all 3 pictures. And, they are all different nights, even though Andy is wearing the same Jammies. They are some of his favorites. They get worn often.

So we have been having fun. So much fun, the kids can't even drag themselves to bed!

Gilroy Gardens

Yesterday we had the most awesome day at Gilroy Gardens!! We had never been there before and didn't really know what to expect. We were so happy about everything we found!! We are definitely getting season passes next year! The whole park is geared towards smaller kids. Like 8 and under. I could have taken a thousand pictures, but I refrained.

We started out getting the kids face painted. Which ended up being not the best idea because there was water involved later on, but the were super happy about it.
Flying goldfish!!!!


Andy was so serious. He loved all the cars. I didn't get a shot of them on the fire engines, or the soaring strawberries.
The whole gang! We loved having Memere there with us! Everything is more fun with Memere!!
Yeah, the balloons were that fun!
On a lot of the rides, the kids got their own buggies, so they didn't have to compromise on the color. Obviously Julie picked purple! She is my daughter!
I was surprised that Andy wasn't that into the driving. But he enjoyed the ride.
Artichoke Dips!!
She wasn't scared to drive!!
It was a bit of a bummer I couldn't go on more rides. I did enjoy the monorail and the train was great!! But I really can't complain when this was the view I enjoyed while they were on all the rides!! This was the most beautiful park ever! All theme parks should also be botanical gardens!
It was such a great day! We were all exhausted! But there were no fits, no tantrums, no time outs. The kids ate their lunches without prompting and walked the entire time. We didn't even bring a stroller!!