Ice Cream...and New Friends!

In the past 6 weeks I have joined two local "Mom's groups".

A good thing indeed. We've had some fun outings and have met some great kids and Moms.

These pictures are from an ice cream social.

Ice cream, new friends, beautiful park, sunny day...

what could be better?

Hopefully soon, I can add some pictures of our new friends

(haven't asked permission yet, so these photos will have to do for now).

Oh yes, I must not forget our new family friend.

MC the Hammerhead Shark must go with us wherever we go.

Boy does he get the comments.

I am so happy to have found some active groups that schedule really fun, creative

outings for these little guys.

Its so nice to have some friends that we see on a regular basis and we really do thrive on more of a routine (all three of us).

I hope to post more about these outings and friends soon!

Thistle Be Fun!

Well, well I have a lot of catching up to do.

We start with the weekend of May 15/16th.

We spent a day at the Castroville Artichoke Festival.

Castroville is just northwest of here and is considered the "Artichoke Center of the World".

So, we thought we better go check it out.

This is a post heavy with pictures, but I always post with the boys' grandparents in mind.

Plus, there was so much to do!

First, the parade!

Fabulous dancers in fabulous dress.

Kingsley's little bit 'o' heaven.

Lots of cars, lots of them.

I am beginning to realize that no festival around here is complete

without cowboys.

Dancing horses!

You should have seen some of these performers, so incredible!

Festival fun is never complete without jumpy houses.

Different jumpy houses for different ages and likes.

Mini-train ride.

A big hit.

Even though we are active members of the Children's Museum in Monterey,

the boys loved checking out their booth and activities. Some cool stuff!

Rides!

Of course.

Festival music and dancing in the straw.

All done.

Kingsley's favorite car of the parade.

I did not take pictures of any artichokes!

In addition, I did not snap any pictures of the varied and creative (not to mention delicious)

ways in which artichokes were served and available for purchase.

We sampled deep-fried artichokes and an artichoke burrito which were heavenly.

We purchased 5 artichokes for $1 and sauteed some up for dinner.

A fun, and filling, day.

Oh yes, a word about the post title.

"Thistle be fun!" is the motto of the Artichoke Festival.

Artichokes are thistles, don't you know?

(I didn't.)

All Aboard!

Hop on board as I play catch up this week.

Our first stop: National Train Day in Salinas.

Though it didn't look exactly like the picture-perfect postcard above,

it was a fun side-trip in addition to our usual Saturday activities (library, farmer's market, park).

It is fair to say that Kingsley had a ball.

He was in train heaven when the gentleman let him operate the switches for the model rail road.

The boys were happy to see that Thomas and Percy made an appearance.

Kingsley wore this hat for five days in a row. My little Junior Conductor.

A fun day indeed.

Do You Know The Way to San Jose?

Well, now we do!

We visited Happy Hollow Park and Zoo this past weekend.

What a fun place for little guys.

The park just re-opened after being closed for a couple of years due to extensive renovation.

We approve.

We enjoyed a gorgeous day, sunny and warm.

We visited some of the animals.

The boys enjoyed the many play structures.

A favorite park feature for the parents: The Jail, where parents could drop off

their children for up to 30 minutes---just enough time to enjoy a cup of coffee sans kids.

OK, just kidding (a girl can dream).

Riding the carousel.

The Crooked House.

Kingsley's favorite and a first:

The roller-coaster ride.

More fun rides.

Charlie just made the height requirement for The Frog Hopper.

They both loved it.

Following Danny the Dragon's sparkly green footsteps.

Someone didn't want to leave.

But, then the boys found sticks and all was well again.

This was truly a "Happy" place and we plan to return.

Next time we will fit in a puppet show and see some more of the animals.

And, hopefully the Danny the Dragon ride will be up and running again.

It is so good to be back...

living by the ocean again! This past weekend we headed to Monastery Beach (monastery pictured above), which is part of Carmel River State Beach. It is beautiful.

There were several pretty paths winding down around the shore and cliffs.

The boys are thoroughly enjoying Papa time on the weekends. Jeremy is home so much more and we have time for fun outings such as this.

The flowers gave the ocean a bit of competition on this hike. Truly a pretty time of year here.

Charlie being goofy. Oh how he loves Dora. So much so, she needed to be in the picture too.

All of her.

We are having a blast exploring our new home and surroundings. Come join us any time!