4 Decades of Awesome

Daddy-o finally joined me on the other side of the hill! We decided we needed all weekend to celebrate the achievement. The kids and I made plans to honor each decade of Daddy-o's life, in some small way, as a family.

First up--childhood, which meant playtime at Lost Worlds Adventures, an indoor fun center, where we played laser tag and black light mini golf. It was a great way to kick off the weekend (and possibly the most fun, as far as lack of whining, fighting, or crying goes, of any family excursion we've taken to date--I have real hope for the future as our kids get older!)

Then, after a good night of sleep, we honored Daddy-o's teenage years with a big box of donuts. He did a lot of other things besides eat during that decade, but we thought it was fitting, and more fun than making him dig ditches or go to a college class. ;)

Next up--his 20's. This was one we debated for a long time because we had a big chunk of Saturday to use for this part, but we finally decided that going for a hike at Mt. Diablo would be the perfect outing. Daddy-o loves to hike, and did a big backpacking trip just after I met him.

The weather cooperated and we had sunshine all day, but the kids were really happy that we also found the remnants of snow up on the north side of the mountain. Crazy California weather this winter.

We're at the top of the mountain, literally, and figuratively.

On the way home from the hike, we grabbed some fish tacos, which were a staple from our 20's in San Diego. And then, it was time for the 30's. The kids and I had debated for hours about what we should do for this final decade. We had some time constraints, and knew that everyone would be tired from hiking, so in the end, we grabbed a movie from Redbox and had a family movie "night" (it was the middle of the afternoon.) We've watched a lot of movies this last 10 years, both with the kids, and without, because it's one of the cheapest, laziest things we can do with little kids in the house ;) And we do really like movies.

When the movie was over, we had one last surprise for Daddy-o. We had been blindfolding him between each event, so we pulled out the blindfold one more time and drove to his brother's house in Brentwood where his parents and two brothers and their families were waiting for the surprise party we'd planned. It's great to have family around to celebrate with when we hit these milestones. And I really wish I had taken a few pictures while we were there, but I completely forgot to even pull out my phone.

The fun didn't end there. Sunday was Daddy-o's actual birthday, so his parents stayed with us Saturday night and we had a big birthday breakfast, went to church, and then came home to eat some more :) Why are birthdays all about eating?

We had one more surprise for Daddy-o that evening. When I was trying to come up with something special to get him as a gift, I came across an idea to give him 40 gifts for 40 years, and since quantity took some pressure off quality, which I needed this year, we went for it. I think this may have been the biggest surprise of all. He told me that after all the fun things we'd done this weekend, he wasn't even expecting gifts, so when we brought out a laundry basket of envelopes and small packages, it was a real surprise. They were mostly small things--gift cards to favorite fast food places, coupons for family hikes and bike rides, massages from the kids, and breakfast in bed--but they should keep Daddy-o celebrating until the next birthday.

We're so glad that we have this amazing man in our life. He is such a fun, intelligent, hard-working, spriritual person who isn't afraid to do the dirty work of parenting and adulting, but also knows how to let loose and we're so lucky to be with him for this crazy adventure called life.

The Hills Are Alive

All the rain we've had in CA has turned the hills green and after a couple clear days, they were dry enough for us to venture out for a little hiking. We went to Sunol Regional Wilderness about 30 minutes from where we live, and it was absolutely gorgeous!

 

And hiking is always more fun with friends. We were grateful for the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday so we could have fellow adventurers along. Their mom and I used to play by (much smaller) creeks when we were kids.

The creek was really full, which didn't stop these two from wanting to climb out as far as they could on the rocks.

At least this one will stay back with me.

The explorers! 

We took a pretty flat, gravel trail to get to the waterfalls, but then headed back up the hills to get home which made for muddier, more difficult hiking, but beautiful views.

Love these hills.

And the kids climbed every rock they could.

While this one alternated between piggyback rides from me, and doing saucy poses whenever we stopped to wait for the other kids. He makes hiking a different experience, for sure. I've never had sore arms at the end of a hike before.

Glad we had a break in the storms so we could get out and enjoy a little nature.

Hangin' at the Zoo

Finally! A Saturday without rain!

We tried to go to the Oakland Zoo the weekend before, but because of the predicted heavy rains (which hadn't really happened yet), the zoo was closed, so we were pretty excited to have a clear forecast for a weekend.

It had probably been 25 years since I'd been to this zoo, and i think it's changed quite a bit in that time. We had fun, and it will be a good workout anytime we go--very hilly, and Peanut still begs to be carried any chance he gets.

Lots of fun animals,

lots of fun kids. :)

Glad we have a pass so we can come back often. It'll make for a great field trip spot all spring.

And we got a bonus animal sighting in the parking lot on the way out. We've see quite a few deer on the hills while driving since we got here and the kids love it.

Walk Through the Past

My past, that is. Our field trip plans for last week fell through at the last minute and I decided that it was time to go visit Hayward for a few hours. I grew up just 30 minutes from where we now live, and have been wanting to go by my old house to show the kids. We couldn't actually see much of the house (and I'm just not brave enough to knock on the door and ask to come in--my brother has been back, though, and said it is pretty different inside these days.) But there are still a lot of things that are the same--plants that my dad put in decades ago that are still growing strong. It brings back so many great memories--I really loved growing up here. I promised the kids we'd come back one day when it wasn't so muddy and I'd take them into the canyon that ran behind our house so they could see where I used to play.

We also drove by my grandparents house and my old elementary school (which has completely changed!) and high school,

 and stopped at the cemetery where my grandparents are buried. It was a fun little family history lesson.

Then, we went to the Hayward Shoreline, which oddly enough, I don't remember ever going to before. Maybe when I was little, but I don't think we came down here, which is too bad. It's a really great place for a walk or bike ride.

Lots of birds,

nice, big trail, 

windmills,

and a fantastic view.

We even found some of these--not sure what the official name is, we always called it sour grass. It grew all around us and we loved eating the sour stems growing up.

It was breezy and chilly, which made the walk a little less than ideal, but overall, I think the kids enjoyed it. Homeschooling has not been perfect, but I'm trying to enjoy this year that I get with my kids. Maybe not enjoying every moment, but at least recognizing that these days are precious, and flying by.

This picture is funny to me because three of us wear about the same size shoe now. Bean's are actually bigger than mine, I'm wearing Bug's Converse that he decided he hates. They are all growing up way too fast.

No Man is a Failure Who Has Friends

   This week has been spent with friends, new and old. Bean is so happy to have one of her good friends from Charlotte here in the Bay Area. Her family came for dinner Monday night and then stayed to see the lights over at Deacon Dave's.

These three kids braved the cold and the line to go in where they could play these "games"

and see the different displays up close. 

We're so glad to have friends from NC out here! A stayed over night so she and Bean could spend more time together. Wish there wasn't so much traffic separating us so they could see each other more often!

We spent another afternoon exploring Sycamore Grove with this new-to-the-kids friend, who is the daughter of one of my old friends :) It is so fun to be able to get together with people I've known since I was Bug and Bean's ages and let our kids get to know each other. The weather was pretty good--sunny and almost warm enough for my winter-hating self.

Thursday brought cousins to visit for the afternoon, and another trip to Deacon Dave's (I think that made somewhere between 5 and 7 times actually walking through for the various members of our household.) The kids had so much fun and we're glad we got the trampoline set up that morning, giving them somewhere OUTSIDE to make all the noise they made :).

Friday was another afternoon of hanging out with one of my childhood friends, and her three kids. We're lucky enough to live just a few minutes from them, and it's so fun watching this second generation of kids have fun together.

And Saturday, we finished out the old year with new friends. First, a birthday party for the 9 year old neighbor boy who shares a love of Harry Potter that my kids can identify with. And then, we (minus Daddy-o who was pretty beat down by a cold all weekend) headed to a East Coast New Year's party with friends from church. We got to celebrate with our old NC state, with our new CA friends. (And since it was done at 9, the kids actually got to bed at a decent hour.)

Looking back at this week, I feel pretty lucky. This move, while incredibly difficult, has been made just a little easier by being able to spend time with old friends and family, and by the welcoming people we've met in our short time here.