Jonathan's Fourth Birthday

Happy 4th Birthday Jonathan!

Matt and both sets of grandparents joined us in celebrating Jonathan's birthday this year. He wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese's again, so we had a small family party there on Saturday. We opened presents there after we had played games and ate some food.

Afterwards we came back to our house and unveiled Jonathan's (and partly Julia's) big present.  We really hadn't given the kids a large gift like this before, so it was just as much fun for us and it was for the kids. They were very excited and drove the car around until it ran out of batteries.  My parents included a hilarious driving hat for him to wear while driving.

The kids are actually pretty good drivers. It was really cute and fun to see them zipping around the neighborhood in their new convertible sports car, especially now that we've discovered how to put it in "fast mode"!

Cute Video of Jonathan at the Park

Last Day of Kindergarten Performance

Here's the video from Julia's last day of school.  She's towards the right side of the stage in the second row, right behind the girls in the pink and black/white striped dresses.

Last Day of Kindergarten

Today was Julia's last day of kindergarten.  We can't believe that her first year of school is already over.  She's officially a first grader now. We looked at the pictures of both of them from the first day of school, and it was amazing to see how much each of the kids have grown. They look a lot more like little kids nine months ago.

Julia had a great first year.  She really liked her class, school, and teacher Mrs. Miller (picture below). Obviously, she learned a lot but also grew more independent than before.  Next year she begins full day class, so it will be interesting to see what she thinks about that.  It will be a big change for all of us having her out of the house until 3:45 each day.

The last day of school consisted of all the kindergarten classes performing some songs, an ice cream party, and then a pool party with some of her classmates.  After school the kids were playing around in the front of the school, picking wildflowers. Jonathan picked two flowers.  He gave one to his sister and then decided to sprint 50 yards over to Mrs. Miller who was talking to a couple of other teachers.  He ran right up to her and handed her a flower.  The teachers thought it was so cute and hilarious.

She has about two and half months until school starts, so we have only a little time to fit in everything this summer!

What a Cat

The other day I was doing some work in the backyard and cracked up when I looked inside and saw Stacey trying to work.  The kids were napping but then kid number three showed up.  She first sat in between Stacey and her monitor, then decided to lay down on Stacey's arm and take a nap.  A little while later I came back inside and she transitioned to my lap. What a cuddle bug.

Gas, Coffee, and Bunnies

Before the Air Force Academy flyover, Jonathan helped me fill up my tank and then skimmed a little off the top from Mom's coffee.  A few days later, Julia and Jonathan enjoyed snack (and giggle) time while watching a baby bunny in the back yard. We have a few bunnies that like to munch on the grass and leaves.

Sweet Girl

Julia is pretty sweet, in case you didn't know.  

I took her and Jonathan to the barbeque at work on Wednesday.  Every year we have a barbeque, pull up chairs, and watch the Thunderbirds perform for graduation just across the interstate.  The kids had a great time.  At one point I was trying to explain to Julia that the pilots were "the best of the best".  After a few moments Julia looked at me and said, "Dad, if you were selected to be a Thunderbird pilot, I bet you'd be the best in the group".  And then she wanted to make sure I didn't tell anyone she said that because it was "embarrassing".

The other cute thing Julia does right now involves "B" and "Ni-nights".  They are still key members of her bedtime routine.  Several times in the past couple of months I've come back to her room after we have put her to bed.  When I get outside her room I hear talking, but she's the only one in the room. She's having a conversation with "B" sometimes, yes, but other times, she's telling her blanket all about her day or some other subject.  I didn't know little girls like to bear their souls to their "perfect corner".  What a riot.

Memorial Day 2014

This year we went to the Memorial Day BBQ at the community center.  This was our first event in the new neighborhood, and one of the main reasons we chose the neighborhood. Although the pool was open, the weather wasn't that warm yet.  That didn't stop the kids. We ate some food and then played around in the water for a little bit until they got too cold. Jonathan liked the water cannons and kept trying to shoot his sister.

They had a lot of fun even though it didn't last long. There will be plenty of opportunities this summer though!

Some Fun Pictures

Here are some fun pictures of the kids at Chick-Fil-A with Emma, Evie, and Colton, the kids having lunch one day while Stacey "works", and two peas in a pod watching the iPad on our bed while I was getting ready for the day.

AT&T Park

On the last night here I decided to check out the ballpark.  I've seen Giants games on television in the past, and, because of its location, wanted to see it first hand.

After class (located in the Marriott Marquis), I went up to the top of the hotel to check out the view from the restaurant. It provided a great view, almost 360 degrees, of the the city.  The sun position didn't make for a lot of good pictures, but the view was pretty neat.

Later that night I walked the 1.5 miles from my hotel to the baseball game.  There wasn't much between the two worth talking about.  However, the views from the park were probably the best I've ever seen from any stadium I've been to.  It was pretty neat to see the bay from my seat. On the big monitor throughout the game a camera crew provided live shots of the city when the sun was going down, ships crossing on the water, and great shots of the outside of the stadium.  On the other side of the stadium the Bay Bridge was visible.  I just happened to make my way over to that side when the sun was going down.  It was pretty cool to see the bridge at dusk.

Because of the view I didn't end up watching much of the game.  There was too much to see.  I didn't want to miss the sun going down on the city and the bridge, as it was too impressive and a fitting end to my time.