The Leash...

Yes, we are "those parents" now.

We put a leash on out 2 1/2 year old.

We were spending the day at the zoo and fairytale town.

He's a runner.

It was on clearance at Walmart.

We couldn't resist.

Owen actually likes his "backpack" and didn't seem to mind the leash part at all. He rather enjoyed pulling daddy along all day, to be honest. It also helped that it's something that he gets & brother doesn't have one. The soft, cuddly monkey doesn't hurt either. I only wish I had this last year when I flew to Ohio by myself, or last weekend at the Monterey Bay Aquarium!

Father's Day at Sacramento Zoo & Fairytale Town

This past Sunday, Jason decided he wanted to spend his Father's Day by taking the boys to the zoo and Fairytale Town! We packed the kids up in the car and took off to Sacramento for the day. They are really the perfect age for this kind of trip, everything is so amazing and fun to them and they do really great on car trips now. We took lots of pictures (naturally) and enjoyed the day completely!

James & Owen on the throne in King Arthur's Castle.

The boys and Jason in the teepee
The boys and I at Fairytale Town.
The boys on Robin Hood & Little John's chairs in Sherwood Forest.

James as the Scarecrow.

Owen as the Cowardly Lion.

IThis one's for you, Todd & Kelly!

The boys on Mother Goose's lap. Turtle-back riding.

We loved running along the Crooked Mile!

We walked into the zoo right as the wildlife show was starting. It was one of our favorite parts of the day. The zookeepers taught us how they train the animals and let us see a few up-close.

This hawk free-flew right over our heads to land on the stage!

The giraffe exhibit is getting a major over-haul, I can't wait to see it when it's all done! The pink flamingos are always fun to watch.

The giraffes are so amazing & beautiful!

Of course, the primates were a favorite too.

This orangutan was really checking us out.

Thursday Dollar Movies

Tinsletown in Chico has a Summer Movie Clubhouse with previously released movies playing for just a dollar. We bought the season pass of 10 movies for $5, making it even less expensive! We usually meet up with Kristin, Brian and Charli. The kids have really enjoyed the thrill of going to the movies every week. So far we've seen "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium" and "Star Wars: Clone Wars." This week we'll see "Daddy Day Care" and grandma is joining us for this one!

What a treat!

Last Kung Fu Class

James and Renton finished their last kung fu class last week. They loved taking the class with Master Vince, we're hoping to put them in the class again in a few months.

Summertime Tots and Gardening Class

This summer the boys are taking a 6-week long preschool class through Paradise Parks and Recreation District called "Summertime Tots." It is being held at Bille Park because the Terry Ashe Center where it's usually held is being remodeled. In this class the kids play, do crafts, hear stories, and learn lots of great things. They also take a gardening class on Monday afternoons and a sports class on Wednesday afternoons.

This is a very sentimental class for me because it's James' third and final summer in Teacher Lori's preschool. This is also Owen's very first time in Teacher Lori's preschool! The class is supposed to be for 3-5 year olds, but I called Lori and got special permission to have Owen in the class. She says he is doing great at listening, participating, and using the potty when he needs to go. I feel so lucky to live in a community with so many fun activities available for my kids to participate in! James will miss taking these classes, but he'll still be able to see Teacher Lori in the future when we pick Owen up from her classes to come!

My boys with Teacher Lori.James and Teacher Thomas.

James made this super-cool Spiderman to share

when it was his turn for snack and sharing time.Yesterday in class the kids had a visitor- Jennifer Arbuckle from Northern Waste & Recycling came and taught the kids about worms, composting and the importance of recycling. It was funny when I pulled up and saw Jennifer there. She helped Evergreen 6 get our grant that allowed us to start our worm farm and recycling programs. The worms she brought for the kids to touch & feel were from Evergreen's worm farm- these were my school worms!! Teacher Lori investigates the piles of dirt with the kids.

James and his friend check out their pile of worms.
Owen, Brian, Wyatt & Emma listen and learn about worm composting.

Brain & Owen checking out their worms.

Charli sat very still while getting her face

painted with a recycling symbol and a worm.

Owen was very interested in the coloring book about recycling.

Monterey Trip- June 12-14, 2009

This past weekend the boys and I took a little road trip to Monterey! My dad was in a golf tournement with The Divots at Poppy Hills, and we haven't been to the beach in so long, so I though, "What the heck, why not?" It was a long drive, but the boys were prefect in the car both ways and the trip was so worth it! We really fit a whole vacation into the two days we were there. This is a very picture-heavy post, but the pictures really do tell the story of our trip.

At the hotel we stayed at, Cypress Gardens, there was a large hot tub that the boys really enjoyed swimming in. Diane, Dan, Aaron, Johnna and Alexis were all staying at the same hotel and we had a blast hanging out by the pool with them too.

On our first night there, we went to Fisherman's Wharf

for dinner and my dad treated the boys to an

ice cream cone afterwards- what a nice grandpa!!

First thing in the morning we headed out to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We beat the crowds and spent about three hours enjoying the awesome aquarium exhibits. They have a large seahorse exhibit right now, which was really neat to see.

The big tanks were so amazing for the boys-
they loved watching all of the fish and sharks swim by so closely!

The hammerhead shark was, of course, one of the boys' favorites.

This river otter was laying right by the window and posed so perfectly for my picture!

It looked so soft, I wanted to pet it!!

Our little scientist...

Right now James tells us he wants to be a

science teacher when he grows up. These pictures are my favorites from the trip.

This scuba diver was cleaning the glass and stopped

for a minute to communicate with the boys through the window.

It was so neat!

The touching pools

A decorator crab

The jellies are always my favorite to see-

So beautiful and peaceful to watch!

This huge fish can grow to be over 150 years old!

After the aquarium, lunch and a rest, we headed out to Dennis the Menace park in Monterey. This is, by far, the best park we've ever been to. Of course, the boys were "best friends" all day long too, it was the cutest thing ever.

Of course, we spent some time at the beach as well. On the first day we drove out to Seaside to the big sandy beach there, but I forgot my camera in the car and it was too windy. On the second day, we decided to try one of the beaches right in Monterey near Fisherman's Wharf. This beach was really nice- much smaller waves and hardly any wind. We hung out and played for a long time and the boys loved every minute of it!