RJ and Logan and the Last Chance Pool Picnic - August 2, 2013

So excited to get in!

August has just started, and so a title of "Last Chance Pool Picnic" might seem a little odd, especially since it's still going to be pool weather through September and maybe into October.  However, we have not yet had a chance to go to the big fun pool at the Livermore Recreation Center, and our good friend was starting full day Kindergarten on August 5 (RJ doesn't start until August 14), so August 2 was literally our last chance to go to the pool with our co-op friends.  In a normal summer, we would have frequented the pool, probably going at least a handful of times, but we just didn't coordinate it this year.  

RJ and Ashlan LOVED posing for underwater pictures together!

And even when we do go, I usually don't photo-document it, but THIS year, we just got our new camera, which is waterproof to 33ft, so I took a TON of pictures!

Logan also frequented the slide!  

Picnicking with Lisa, Austin, & Zach

We didn't just go to the pool, we made a whole day of it.  We arrived for tot time (its a calmer time where they have the pool open for kids under 5.  Yes I realize that RJ is 6, but they seem to overlook that as long as you have a bone fide toddler with you.).  Then when tot time was over, we potluck picnicked on the grounds and then decided that we should go BACK to the pool when they opened for the public swim at 1, where they have all the fun sprayers on for the big kids.

Big Kids Picnic (also testing out how good the zoom was on the new camera)

Little Kids Picnic

Zach controlling the sprayers

There was lots of sunscreen reapplication, but both boys still came home with rosy cheeks and I had an all out sunburn (which is now peeling - eww), thanks to the fact that I completely missed a big section in the middle of my back.  It was worth it though!  

Austin jumping in!  (Logan and Austin took turns for a while!)

Happy Zach

RJ Swimming Underwater

Ashlan Swimming Underwater

Logan landing from the slide.

Sisterly Love

Logan, loving the zero depth pool, where he could touch the bottom with his hands!

More pictures can be found here.

DeLanceys Go to Rock City - April 28, 2013

If you know me at all, you know that I LOVE rock climbing.  So, when Lance mentioned that we should take the kids to Rock City on Mount Diablo to do some rock scrambling and verrrrrry light bouldering, I was all in.  

I've been to Mount Diablo (Boy Scout Rocks, Butt Rock area) for top roping a couple of times back in the summer and fall with my friends Laura and Lydia, but Mount Diablo State Park also has some sandstone rock formations, including some cool wind caves, in Rock City that are easy enough to scramble up without any equipment. I wouldn't really classify it as bouldering (although there are some places were it would be), but it was fun for us as a family.

Logan did really well climbing!
What he lacks in skill, he makes
up with his fearless attitude!

Both RJ and Logan enjoyed
themselves.  I love this picture -
Logan was so excited when he got
to the top of his first little climb that
he gave me a huge bear hug at the top!

Logan and RJ inside a cave, as viewed from atop another
rock formation.

RJ, Logan, and I lounging inside
one of the many wind caves.

Me, on top of that rock formation

RJ and I on top the rock formation.
I went up alone first, then realized
that it was plenty easy for RJ to try.

I'm not sure what we're doing here,
but I SWEAR we are NOT reenacting
Glee's 'Don't Stop Believing' routine.

When RJ got up with no problem, I convinced Lance and
Logan to come up too.  Lance was a ball of nerves with the
kids up there the ENTIRE time, even though they were
not even close to the edge.
He's cute when he's worried about us though. 

RJ is actually getting REALLY good at
climbing.  He practices on the plastic wall
at our playground all the time, and while
the playground is easy, and this climb was
also pretty easy, he is CLEARLY ready
for more challenging routes.  I think it might
be time to purchase a harness and shoes
for him.  He told us several times how much
fun this outing was AND he was super
excited when I told him that he might be
ready to start coming on day trips with me.
If it's okay with Laura, of course.

Boys in a Cave.  RJ's grown quite a bit since the last time he
was in a Rock City Cave.
We brought him here when he was about 8 months old!
It would've been funny if he was in the same cave, but alas,
it is a different cave.  

See, different cave.  

The boys and I also managed to climb up to this connected wind cave, because
the boys were interested in the fact that people defaced the cave with paint and
carvings inside and wanted a closer look (and it was an excuse to climb something else).
Some of it is beautiful, but still really bad because it increases the already fast rate of the sandstone's erosion. 

More pictures from Rock City are here.

DeLanceys Do Sonoma/Logan Breaks His Arm

We've been in California for 6 years and had yet to get ourselves to Sonoma Wine Country.  When we heard that our friends Otte and Eva were going to be there for a wedding, we took the opportunity to try and see them, as well as go to a winery or two.

Otte was free for a little bit, so we met up with him for lunch and walking around downtown Healdsburg.  It was great getting to see him, though we were bummed that we were missing Eva, who was busy with wedding preparations with the bridal party.  The kids loved Otte (because who wouldn't!), and we had a great day so far.

When Otte had to leave, we decided to find a winery.  We decided to try out Bella Vineyards, because they had wine caves, which we thought might be cool for the kids to see (rather than just a regular tasting room).  The winery was beautiful, and they actually had a neat tasting setup where there were food pairings as well.  Some were outside and some were inside.  After hitting the outside stations and letting the kids run around on the grass and play with the provided hula hoops, when we sat on comfy chairs, we headed into the wine caves.  We got our first tastes (maybe our 3rd wine, total) inside and sat down at a table inside the cave.

And that is when Logan got fidgety and as we were telling him to sit on his bottom, instead of kneeling backwards on the chair, he tipped it and landed on the concrete on his arms.  Luckily, he didn't hit his head at all, but he was NOT calming down, which is very unlike Logan, who is normally our tough kid, who calms down quickly.  He was even reacting worse than RJ, who is known for histrionics over the slightest injury sometimes, so we knew something was wrong.  And he wouldn't let go of his left arm.

So yeah, we drove him to a hospital.

Thank goodness for PBS Kids on the TV in the ER rooms!
Great Distraction.

We probably could have taken him to a closer hospital, as I'm sure there are hospitals in Sonoma, but we made the decision to take him to Children's Hospital in Oakland, because we knew that was a good hospital and would handle his case well given that they specialize in pediatrics and he was still only 2.5.  And upon getting him in the car, he was reasonably calm, although obviously still hurting a lot (I seem to remember giving him Advil to help with that - I figured that by the time we got there and got seen and they figured out what was wrong that it would be out of his system anyway).

Broken Elbow

We got to the hospital and they took x-rays.  The first person said it wasn't broken, just very swollen and sprained badly.  Then the second person came in and said that there was a small fracture, but that it was of a type that usually healed very quickly and sometimes didn't even need a cast (but given his age, it made sense to put a cast on and prevent further injury.  It was non-displaced, so they were going to be able to wrap it quickly with him awake (as opposed to needing to sedate him and set it with surgery).  So the orthopedic resident wrapped him up in a cast and we were sent on our merry way home.

Luckily, Logan is pretty resilient and was his happy self again the next day.  And less than 48 hours after the incident, had managed to tackle RJ to the ground one armed.














More pictures of our Adventures in Sonoma/Oakland Children's Hospital are here.

Cheryl & Lance Drink Wine: The Livermore Wine Festival 2012

Lance and I like to drink wine.  We like to go and taste different wines because it's yummy (and doesn't make Lance sick like beer and mixed drinks) and usually leads to some pretty interesting conversations with people.  

In the barrel room - where we
managed to snag a free barrel
tasting (they were charging extra
for that) because I think we
looked confused to whether
we should do it or not.  The guy
at the door took us over to one
of the pouring stations like we
were old friends and we got
 hooked up!

It was my job this year to plan something for us to do for our anniversary.  So when I learned that the Livermore Harvest Wine Festival was over Labor Day weekend, and that our friends could watch our kids during it, I decided that we would just celebrate our 9th wedding anniversary a couple of weeks late.  

Livermore is about 20 minutes away from Tracy, where we live and it's home to about 50 different wineries. It's not nearly as large as Napa or Sonoma, but 50 wineries is a lot to taste our way through without having to drive an hour and a half to get to the more well known areas - and the wines are good, so I don't feel that we're suffering on quality by not making the trek North.

The Harvest Wine Festival is a two-day event, where tickets include tasting at about 40 participating wineries, access to the shuttle bus taking you to the wineries, commemorative glasses, and discounts, etc.  Some of the smaller wineries actually bring their tastings to booths set up at the larger wineries, so if you hit the larger wineries, you can taste from many wineries selections. The larger wineries also hosted more food options from local restaurants, as well as craft booths (Lance bought me a wine glass holder necklace from one!), and live music.  

Yeah, I was tipsy

It was a nice relaxing event for us and while we were planning on splurging and taking a cab all the way home (with plans to retrieve the car the next day), the cabs were so busy with the event that by the time one came for us, Lance was actually sober, so we just had the cab take us from the winery to our car (we had missed the final shuttle, opting to stay longer at the winery rather than take the shuttle and take the cab from the parking lot) to head back to Tracy.  I, being a complete lightweight, was still a bit tipsy when we arrived at our friend's bbq, where our children were busy playing with their friends.

The second day of the Wine Festival is typically a little calmer, they don't run the shuttles, and some of the

Dancing!

 smaller wineries pour at their own facilities. Since tickets were good for both days, we thought we might find a winery in the program that would be okay to take the kids to.  Fenestra Winery fit the bill with live music and a lawn, and also happened to offer a port (which I LOVE) for tasting.  This was also tons of fun because the live band was incredible, playing lots of Classic Rock, with a hilarious drummer. The kids enjoyed dancing around and were good for us, making it a nice afternoon.

 

Listening to the band

Logan rolling to the music

RJ snuggling Daddy

RJ Goes Rock Climbing - August 11, 2012

With my newly found climbing opportunities, I did a little research into finding a place to get the kids to climb.  There is a place called City Beach, not too far away that has a "Family Fun Night", where for $15/kid, there is climbing and a couple of bounce houses, space to run around, hula hoops, etc.  We figured Logan might be a little small to climb, but this was a good place to go because if nothing else, he could bounce, and RJ would definitely be able to climb.

Turns out, Logan was just barely big enough to try it (but not even close to mature enough to do any climbing - he just bounced on the self-belay line), so we just got them both geared up and gave it a shot.

Look how cute his little belly is
sticking out of his harness.  His
biggest fascination was the lock
on the sport bolt.  

Okay mom, you've proven your
point, I'm on a rock wall.  But I'm
2.5 years old.  This is all your
getting.  Next!

Logan might have been a little
young, but RJ took right to it.
Here he is getting started.

While RJ climbed, Logan found hula hoops.

Going up...

and up...

...and over the slight outcropping.
This is definitely one of my
favorite moments of being a
parent.  Right up there with him
being born, saying he loves me,
singing songs from glee,
and he first time he stole my sushi.

Pretty good form there, RJ

Meanwhile, Logan enjoyed the
bounce house slide.

Yay!  He likes it!!  RJ and I will definitely have to go back here sometime to get him fully hooked.  Logan is still a little young to justify the cost, but it's a perfect Mommy-RJ date!  

More pictures here.