Our Story...: Crazy Busy July Days

Every year July and December are by far the busiest months for our family. It never fails! We have a TON happening in those two months compared to the rest of the year. This is mostly due to traveling, birthdays and holidays. July tends to be our travel month and of course Pres' birthday. We like to head somewhere cooler than where we are currently. We absolutely LOVE trying out new adventures that are close to home. Recent July's have been spent with family in Utah, but this July we decided to check out California. We were getting a little antsy to see what is around us. We had such a BLAST exploring our new home! A little exhausting at times, yes, but for the most part it was so much stinking fun! We really enjoyed every one of these 31 days! So much so I have had to journal about it in two different segments...haha. Welcome to Part I!

Near the end of June, I had a dentist appointment that resulted in getting Invisalign to help straighten my teeth. There is slight crowding in the front bottom teeth and the dentist wanted to correct it before it got worse. I went in for my first appointment to receive the 1st of 14 trays! Yeesh! I have heard that most patients receive closer to 20, so it was nice to hear I only needed 14. Woohoo! WIN for me! After the dentist I decided to take a little mom break. I hit up a pedicure and then massage which equaled BLISS!

Livin the Dream!

Welcome to the Oakland Zoo!

Beckham boy has been waiting patiently for us to go to the Oakland Zoo. We promised to take him for his birthday, but due to family visits, weather, traveling and timing we weren't able to go until the first weekend in July. He counted down each day until his special day came. He was so excited to see all of the animals and check out a new zoo. We had such a BLAST running around this place.

First stop was a gondola ride up to the top of the park. Everyone enjoyed this part of the day.

Looking for the black bears.

A view from the top of the park.

Oakland Zoo is unique in that it is set up on the side of a mountain. It's very hilly with several inclines that burn the legs, but it also has incredible views of the bay. Pres and I definitely got a workout in.

Lunch break selfie :)

Such cute boys!! Love these three humans!!

Heading back down to the park below with my Quinnie Bear.

Boys and maps equal happiness. These two loved directing us to each exhibit.

Digging for Gators.

Overall we really enjoyed the Oakland Zoo. It was a fun get a way. The kids thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the animals and learning about them.

KangaZoom!

Jump and Slide!

Pres had a late night at work one night so I took the kids to an indoor play place. It was full of blow up bouncy slides and play grounds. The kids were in heaven. We hung out there for a couple hours then headed home for dinner :)

They LOVED this slide. I think we spent the majority of our time here.

Go Beckham Go!

Fearless Quinn! If the boys can do it, so can she. Haha. This other pic was another favorite place to be. The kids loved jumping from the middle platform to the hanging balls around the nets.

I see you Beckham!

Our sweet neighbor Lisa bought the kids a solar system to paint. They were so excited to get going on it. Jack did the bulk of the painting but Beckham and Quinn each got to paint a planet as well. Beckham chose Neptune and Quinn did Mars :)

In his happy place here.

Swimming for Beckham James!

I had heard from several people that I should consider signing Beckham up for swim lessons. He's our busiest little man in the family ;) We figured he could use an outlet to use every muscle in his little body :) I signed him up for a 2 week course. I was so nervous on his first day, haha. He wasn't, but I was, haha. He'd never done anything by himself before. I wasn't sure if he'd love it or absolutely hate it and want to go home. Luckily he ended up LOVING it! I think he really enjoyed having his very own thing. He was so thrilled that we could stay and watch him. We cheered him on during his 30 minute lessons. He loved that! I legit got emotional watching him do it for the first two days. I was so proud of him. He over came a few fears and did something by himself. So dang PROUD of that boy!

The first week was spent in the small pool. Playing games and getting used to no floaties. At the deepest it's like 2 ft.

This cutie earned a slushy after his first day! He was so brave and listened so well to the instructors.

Our cheering section :) Jack was in school half of the time but he cheered with us when he could come. Quinn did puzzles while I watched Beckham boy. Jack would draw and every once in a while look up and yell "Good job Beckham!" It made me smile every single time!!

To the big pool we go! The second week of lessons they introduced the kids to the bigger pool.

Kick, kick, kick Hang on tight Beckham boy!

Every lesson they would do a train from the small pool to the big pool and then back to the small pool where they finished. It was so cute. The lifeguards and teachers would say "choo choo" behind the kids as they walked.

His final report card! Great Job Beckham Boy! Beckham's swim teachers!

Jack's last day of Pre-K

Jack finished his last day of the Pre-K summer program, which focused on reading. He rocked it! He has started to sound out words and has even began reading short stories. A big thank you to Miss Essie and Miss Shirley for such a fun summer! He absolutely LOVED going to school on Tuesday and Thursday mornings these past two months. So proud of you Buddy Bear!

Chabot Space & Science Center

We treated the kids to a special day at the Planetarium one Saturday. They were overwhelmed with joy once they knew we were going. They counted down the days until blast off :) The kiddos have been "All Things Space" for some time now. We weren't sure if it was a phase that would end in a few weeks or a true interest. We realized quickly that they were very much in love with space. They enjoy learning about the sun and entire solar system. Jack and Beckham can spout off several facts about each planet (including Pluto), distances to planets, moons, dwarf planets, black holes and anything else dealing with the Milky Way Galaxy.

Here we go!

First we watched a movie all about the moon. I think the smiles in the pics show their excitement, haha. It was a super cute movie geared toward the younger kids in the crowd. The moon, "Luna", talked with a little girl from Earth. The little girl asked Luna all about her history and what she does for our Earth. The kids really enjoyed it. They talked about it throughout the day referring to the moon as Luna many times ;)

Galaxies

This small chamber has three astronauts in it! What?!

Making a parachute that can bring a ball to a safe landing.

1, 2, 3 here we go. Ours fell rather quickly, haha. I think we need a little more practice :) but, the kids had so much fun doing this with Pres.

Building blocks.

Great tower Quinnie!

The kiddie pool in the back was filled with flour and cinnamon to represent the moons surface. The kids then took a marble and dropped it on the "moon" to create a crater.

Jack tipping his tower over.

Jack got to make his very own rocket. We made a rocket out of paper and then added a small tube with a cap. Once everything was set they opened the container and put dry ice with water in it. Sealed it back up and "Pop"! The rocket took off into the sky.

Waiting for his dry ice and rocket back. I filmed the blast off and forgot to get a pic of him with his rocket...silly me.

We stopped in the discovery room.

The boys found lots of little bugs in dirt under microscopes. Quinnie played with a light fixture.

Let the imaginations fly! Playing with "Moon Sand".

Quinnie watered her vegetables while the boys continued to play in the moon sand. They all LOVED this area. I would say that this planetarium was more like a children's museum with space and science as an emphasis. Everyone had a lot of fun.

A quick stop at the gift shop and off to lunch. The boys have the solar system hanging from their ceiling ;) We read that solar system book lots and Quinn sleeps with her rocket :) I think we may have some astronauts in our future ;)

We stopped for pizza at a tasty place in Walnut Creek. We will be back Tomatina!

Taking random pics while waiting for food.

How cute are they?!

A stop for ice cream on our way home after some shopping was a much needed treat. We loved our time in Walnut Creek. We had a lot of fun spending the day together as a family and doing lots of fun things. However, we quickly learned that grabbing ice cream on our way home may not have been the wisest decision we made that day, haha. Quinn still needs to learn a few things about using a spoon, haha.

Sunday Pics!