A Diamond Celebration! - Aug 21

Disneyland! Generally, the "Happiest Place On Earth" however on this particular occasion it could just as well have been "The hottest place on Earth."

This will likely be our last year to renew our annual passes being that Chloe starts "real school" soon and picking up and going to Disneyland a few times a year will be less and less possible. We generally like to take a trip around March or April (around my birthday) and through some scheduling issues we were not able to make it. Then, we had our trip to Oregon and before we knew it the summer was drawing to a close. Heather had some earmarked time off because of all things she was called for jury duty which after reporting they informed her she could potentially be placed on a trial that could last weeks or even months. With all of our fingers crossed they ended up releasing Heather and we were able to squeeze in a last minute trip to Disneyland just before Chloe starts her school next week. It turned out to be a great time to go as (in my opinion) it was not nearly as crowded as I heard it has been and all I can figure is a lot of schools started back this last week and we just happened to fall into that perfect window of opportunity. Of course, as I mentioned, the exact days that we would be there the temperature spiked and we walked 900 miles around the parks sweating buckets for a couple days. Basically, if you play your cards right with some strategically placed fast passes and go on the certain rides/attractions with great air conditioning, it's quite manageable. LOL.

So Chloe got to do many of the things we know by now that she loves to do, and added a few new things to the rotation as she finds herself taller, older, and generally more adventurous than ever. She was finally tall enough to ride "Indiana Jones" (which we did twice) and she was able to drive/steer the Autopia cars which she really loved.

We rode the Pirates of the Caribbean and within about 30 seconds of take off the building lost power and the emergency lights came on so we got to experience the inside of the Pirates ride in a weird new way. We saw the new "Paint the Night" electrical parade and the new fireworks show in Disneyland and two days in a row we ended up seeing this "Inside Out" Pre-parade float thing they ran in the California park. Both parks had lots of little plaque and signs everywhere reminding you it was their 60th anniversary "Diamond Celebration" but if I'm being honest in general it didn't seem all that different to me. Everything was running and many of the rides have been refurbished or whatever but for the most part it was business as usual for Chloe. We did get to see Anna & Elsa only this time Chloe was not dressed as Elsa because at this point her dress is quite small on her. We also just randomly got to meet Mickey AND Minnie mouse as they seemingly popped out of nowhere and we just happened to be right there. SWEET!

To end the trip, Heather really wanted to take Chloe to the beach...so that's what we did! We spent about an hour at the beach and Chloe absolutely loved it. As usual, here are some random photos from the trip. Have a great weekend~~

-B

Fridays! - Aug 14

I hate to say this but, I don't get Chloe's obsession with this "Inside Out" (movie). It wasn't my favorite movie and I surely figured it was to complex for Chloe to understand. During the entire movie I don't think Chloe laughed once out loud. Still, somehow she has taken a liking to it. I'm guess you could say I'm trying actively not to fill our house with yet another pile of toys and stuffed things from this movie. LOL. Chloe's Grandma came through with a great shirt that Chloe will probably want to wear every day. Great find, Glenda! =) Have a great weekend, folks.

-B

Roller Dirby! - Aug 7

A while back after trying (but never successfully making it) to ice skating rink with Chloe we had a free afternoon and compromised: roller skating! Chloe, had never roller skated before (and probably had never even seen anyone doing it either) but she's willing to try anything and she was as excited as I've ever seen her. We headed over to what I can call "my old stomping grounds" (and if your from the area you will know about) "The Golden Skate" which at this point has to be one of San Ramon's oldest businesses. When I was 16 I used to work as a youth hockey coach for the City of San Ramon and the league took place at the Golden Skate. Aside from that, I used to go there with my friends on a semi-regular basis to skate and not hold hands with girls during couples skate lol sadface.

ANYWAY.

Chloe...LOVED IT. Loved it. All she could talk about was when the next time she could go roller skating would be. She actually did surprisingly well with help from the wall and us holding her up..towards the end she was kind of moving along slowly by herself. She asked me every day if she could go skating again. Long story long, I figured she would worth learning with her own skates and ended up finding a really inexpensive pair of roller skates on Amazon(less than $20 when every store was like $40-$65) and some safety pads. Chloe suddenly had a new thing for her to "earn". She was so excited and after a few weeks, she finally earned enough "stones" via her good behavior to receive them. The rest, as they say, is history. =)

Have a great weekend, folks~

-B

Welcome Home, Mommy! - Jul 31

How the heck is July almost over!? I don't get it. I remember as a kid feeling like summer vacation lasted forever. Now, well let's be honest I don't even know what summer vacation means but as Chloe has been going to school it has taken on new meaning. What seemed like a long break now is giving us a few weeks warning to get everything in order to start school again. Chloe will be starting Kindergarten but I have been asked no less than 5 times if she is starting 1st grade. She's certainly big enough and possibly smart enough(haha parents always think their kids are geniuses) but Kindergarten it is.

This last week was one of those weeks that happens every once in a while when Heather has to travel out of town for work. Being on 24 hour daddy duty(and puppy patrol) is...exhausting to say the least. LOL. I know, I know, poor me, right? No, I get it. Still, it was a super busy week and it's nice to have Mommy home again. =)
Didn't have much time this week to take photos but I tried to keep Chloe busy and entertained as much as I could..so I grabbed a few photos of her once Heather came home and there we are. Have a great weekend, folks.

-B

Inside Out! - Jul 24

If you know me at all you probably will know that I am a HUGE Pixar fan. Pixar being the most notable animated movie franchise which then teamed up with Disney to create all the movies that many of us love. I think at this point I have seen almost all of the Pixar films in the theater and generally they are movies worth going to the theater for so when I saw this new movie had come out of course I wanted to go. Chloe, didn't really know this movie existed except that we kept seeing toys and dolls in the stores. She asks me and I tell her they are from a new movie coming out called "Inside Out". ANYWAY. Last weekend we finally were able to drop a couple free hours and see it! Hmm. If you haven't seen it I don't want to ruin anything for you but I'll just say, I think the movie was a BRILLIANT idea but executed in a way that could only be what I would describe as "a little to complicated for most kids to understand." Most Pixar movies are loved by adults or at least have humor implanted that adults can appreciate but kids still can find humor or interesting things within the movie. Anyway, thankfully the Chloe took away a fascination with the main character, "Joy" and has been asking for a "Joy" doll almost as soon as the movie ended. I imagine of all the characters in the movie(Joy, Anger, Disgust, Fear, Sadness), this is the best one for her to be infatuated with. =)

As luck would have it, Chloe was able to convince her Grandma Pardi to get her such a doll and now all is right with the world again. I think about 4 years ago we made a rule that we wouldn't get/have any more stuffed things for Chloe. Since then we have quadrupled the amount of stuffed things we have. Such is life.

Have a great weekend, folks!

-B

Hot Danville Nights! - Jul 17

It's been a little while apparently since we have gone to the "Hot Danville Nights" downtown car show but this year we made our return. Chloe, believe it or not, knows kind of a lot about cars for a 5 year old girl and she's quite interested in seeing cool cars so of course I'm happy about that. LOL. If you recall my dad has a couple old cars one of which is fully restored and show worthy and he will occasionally bring it out to these events. The weather was super nice so we headed out after dinner and walked around for a while. Chloe got her traditional photo with Grandpa's car and then of all things got her face painted at an insurance booth. Yep, Frozen "princess Elsa crown" or whatever. =)

Just a few photos, have a great weekend, folks.

-B

The Fair(th) of July v4.0 - Jul 10

This year Chloe actually got to go to the fair TWICE! She knows about the fair and she asks about it as we get into summer because let's face it, this kid likes rides and she knows the fair has rides. The first trip I actually didn't go but the 2nd time we went the day before the 4th of July and ended up meeting our friends and their kids there. Chloe is younger than Hailey but older than Taylor but that didn't stop them from becoming the three amigos. I was discussing with Shannon(Hailey & Taylor's mom) how funny it was that there was this point where their ages seemed so far apart but now they are all able to play together and Chloe especially is trying her hardest to do everything Hailey(the older one) can do. We saw very similar behavior when we were in Oregon and actually the other day we went to the park and she was supposed to be playing with kids her age that will be going to her school next year and instead she found an 8 year old (older sister) and played with her. LOL.

We spent most of the day at the fair and decided that we would get together for some swimming on the 4th of July since neither of us really had any plans. The kids then spent most of the next day together swimming all day (thanks Mom & Dad for letting us use the pool). I imagine they would have slept in the pool and done it again the next day if we would let them. =)

Have a great weekend, folks~

-B

High Fashion - Jul 3

Welcome to Summer! More than once this week the temperature broke 100 degrees. More than once this week our power went out. LOL.

The summer clothes make their way out of the drawers and as such we learn quickly that Chloe has grown so darn much that she might get a few wears out of some outfits and then POOF, to small. This is one of Heather's favorites and it won't last long I'm sure. Chloe not only seems to have sprouted upward but also has already acquired kind of a ridiculous tan already. My super white feet(sock tan) are mega jealous. =)

Have a great weekend and a safe and happy 4th of July!

B