DeLanceys Go to Gilroy Gardens

I've wanted to take the kids to Gilroy Gardens, which is a horticulturally themed amusement park targeting younger children, for a while now.  Even before Logan was born, I wanted to take RJ.  Over Independence Day weekend, we finally sucked up the expensive admission fee and went.  I think it was worth the money, especially since RJ and I got passes so we can go anytime during the season.

Perhaps I should review it on yelp.com too, but I thought this place was awesome.  We started in the temporary dinosaur exhibit, which had animatronic dinosaurs as well as bones and an excavation area.  RJ was a little fearful of the animatronic dinosaurs, but really liked the bones.

RJ insisted on riding the duck/swan paddle boats first despite the loooooong line.  I think we waited for close to an hour (or at least it seemed like it), and while I'll admit that there was some whining, he made a choice to stick it out to get to ride in a "Mr. Mallard" boat, which really impressed me.  We got through the line with periodic counting of all the people in front of us (the line was a big curve around the edge of the pond, which lent itself REALLY well to counting all the people in front of us) and playing I Spy, which was fun because a topiary surrounded the pond where we were waiting.  Then we finally got on our boat and RJ enjoyed being chauffeured around the pond since he could not reach the peddles (It was a good leg work out for me!).


We chose to partake in the Independence Day BBQ picnic instead of eating at the normal park vendors, and it was a good choice - BBQ chicken, hot dogs, potato salad, watermelon, rolls, ice cream, all you can eat.  After lunch we cooled off in the spray area, but Logan lured us away from the refreshing spray (it was a hot day) because he wanted to ride the race cars and the firetrucks.  He is starting to have his own preferences for activities, which is a sign that he is really no longer a baby!  Then we rode the train around the park when we realized that Logan needed a nap!

RJ and I rode the roller coaster through the redwood grove twice (with no lines!) while Lance walked Logan around in the stroller in an attempt for a nap.  The nap worked until RJ woke him up after the roller coasters.  Clearly he didn't want Logan to miss out on walking through the waterfalls or the pinnacles maze or the water spray area, or any of the other rides!

Logan was a trooper though and despite his short nap, rallied for the rest of the day, enjoying the rest of the rides like the round boats, classic cars, and the apple & worm.  I wish we had gotten to visit more of the gardens while there, but I will definitely take the kids back one of our free Fridays.  I can't wait to go during the week when the lines might be a little shorter!  More pictures here.

Independence Day 2011

On the 4th of July, we decided to head to Lake Del Valle, in neighboring Livermore for some fun in the sun.  Apparently, we were not the only ones to have this fabulous idea, as we sat in traffic on the way into the regional park.  The parking lots were full, but we were able to park along the road.  We were lucky, because as we were leaving, people were still coming into the park, but they were carrying their stuff in from 2 miles away in 100 degree heat because the rangers were turning all cars away and the closest parking was two miles away on the twisty road in the hills.  Seriously.  And by "stuff", lets be clear that we saw someone carrying a grill, another with a full sized cooler, and at least 20+ people trudging in with chairs, umbrellas, etc.  We expected the place to be a little crowded, but were a bit shocked that people were THAT dedicated to BBQing at the lake.  It seemed that there were lots of extended families that set up tents and basically camped at the Lake all day long.

We only stayed for a couple of hours so that the kids could get in the water, play in the pebbles, and eat a little snack before heading out for lunch at the Sansar Indian buffet.  It was not a very 4th of July-esque lunch, but it was very yummy and exactly what we wanted.  You might say we were declaring our independence from grilled meat, replacing it with marinated tandoori baked meat.

We did make some burgers on the grill at home for a later dinner though.

And then we bathed the kids (they needed to get the lake water, sunscreen, & pebble dust combo washed away) and headed to a downtown Tracy parking lot to watch the fireworks.

More Independence Day pictures are here.

June Update

We have largely hit the highlights of June, namely Sully's Visit and RJ's Birthday, but I've left some threads hanging from our May update.  I mentioned that May sucked for our health.  June was better for the kids and I, but Lance STILL wasn't better.  The short version of the story is that he was sick again during Sully's visit, got better again, but then got the spiking fevers again just before RJ's Birthday.  He luckily was better enough for RJ's birthday, but still having episodes.  He saw the doctor again, and also shared what was going on with his chiropractor.  The chiropractor talked to some colleagues, adjusted him a different way and since then, no more fevers.


After Lance was all adjusted and feeling better, we laid low for a little while, making sure that we didn't over-exert him and land him back on his ass.  So far, so good.

RJ changed classes at gymnastics.  He is now with a new coach in an all-boys class.  He will be in that class through the end of September at least, at which point we'll see if he wants to stay with it or try something new.  He had a rough time adjusting to the new coach, but seems to like the class now.

He's also been working on other physical skills like his training roller-blades and his new Skuut bike, where he  started holding his feet up the second time we had it out!

Logan is clearly a handful.  Some of the issue is that he imitates everything, without totally understanding it, so that leads to things like toys being thrown in the recycling bin and throwing things down the stairs (which is what I do with the laundry on laundry day).  He has also been enjoying art as of late, but clearly his aesthetic does not quite match mine yet as his choice of medium is not always appropriate.

At the end of the month we took the boys to a get together at the Reichgut's (a family that we're friends with and do our co-op with).  Logan met a girl there and is absolutely in love.  Clearly he has a thing for older women.

We celebrated our own Father's Day a week late since RJ's Birthday was on Father's Day.  RJ decided that we should buy daddy a new car, but his second choice was buying daddy the Move for his Playstation3, which was a lot more reasonable.  Note that when asked, he wanted to buy me snakes and worms for mother's day, but daddy should get a car.  Clearly Daddy gets the love here!
We made Daddy "dippy eggs" and bacon for breakfast (scrambled for the rest of us), basically let him relax the rest of the day and then went out to dinner for Italian food that evening in town.  My restaurant choice kind of sucked - the food was bland and chicken over-cooked.  I guess I should have listened to the two negative reviews on Yelp, rather than the group of positive reviews, as the negative ones were most accurate.
Despite the poor restaurant choice, it was still a very nice Father's Day for Lance, who is a spectacular father for RJ and Logan!  Very low-key, but just like Daddy wanted it.

July looks like it's shaping up to be better in terms of health and fun activities!

Click here for all the June Pictures