Arcade Fire Revisited

So, Chris and I totally got to go see Arcade Fire again last night! Chris entered a drawing to see them at Austin City Limits and his name was drawn! We had a blast! Now when PBS airs the show next year we'll be looking for ourselves on TV!

Getting Better

Before Kaylee was well enough to go out, my dad took Ainsley and Landon to Coyote Hills. They had a great time hiking and viewing the marsh land in that area. 

Once Kaylee began recovering from her sickness we started taking a few day trips. At first we only kept her out for a couple of hours at a time. We went to Coyote Point Museum, Fairyland, Chabot Space and Science Center, and the Lawrence Hall of Science. 

Ainsley was a little too old for Fairyland this year. I made sure to let her know that I was getting my just deserts. I remember making a trip to the Monterey Bay Aquarium miserable for my family when I was about her age. Now, I would love to go to that aquarium any day. Funny what the tween years can do to a kid. 

The pirate ship at Fairyland was around when I was little. I was terrified to climb it. Landon on the other hand, scaled the net like a pro.

We were totally excited when we heard the Lawrence Hall of Science was featuring its dinosaur exhibit. I remember visiting the exhibit as a kid. Unfortunately it's not quite as fabulous as it used to be. Fortunately, we still had a great time

I don't know what it is about being with my family, but we always manage to think up things that we think are hilariously funny. Like this picture of my dad's head looking quite detached from his body.

We also made sure to take breaks for down time too. We played with Lego a lot. My parents still have all of my brother's old Lego sets at their house. We built every set which covered the majority of my parents' living room in the end. There was some video game playing too. Landon eventually had to go on video game restriction because that was all he wanted to do. He literally went through withdrawals. Honestly is was sad to watch, but after that initial withdrawal period he's done pretty well with his newly enforced gaming rules. We've implemented a video game playing day. He still tries to negotiate extra playing days, but overall he's handled it pretty well.

When we decided Kaylee was well enough for a full day of fun, we made our annual trip to Gilroy Gardens (or as we still lovingly call it, Bonfante Gardens). Landon is a roller coaster fiend. He loves going fast and spent much of our theme park trip riding the roller coasters. Kaylee lasted the whole day and we all had a great time!

Just the Girls

Our California trip this year was a little different than usual because Kaylee and I both came down with pneumonia while we were there. The girls flew out a week before Landon and I. Kaylee got sick almost immediately. Since she has asthma my mom was pretty worried about her. I was thinking it might just be her allergies. Man was I wrong. By the time Landon and I arrived, Kaylee was a mess. The day after I got there we ended up in the ER because she was so sick (and she'd passed out). They did a chest x-ray, determined it was pneumonia, and we stayed for a good four to five hours while they decided if she needed to be hospitalized. Fortunately they let her come home. Once we started her on an antibiotic and her inhaler she began getting better, but things were pretty scary for awhile.

Even though Kaylee was feeling rotten it sounds like she was a trooper. The girls were able to get out with our CA family and have some fun before we realized just how sick Kaylee actually was.

Preschool

Landon attended his first two days of preschool last week.  His friend Shane is in his class, so we're happy about that.  After the first day Landon's teacher informed me that, "He's a talker."  Yeah, we already knew that.  He's gone in happy and come out happy both days.  I do miss having my little friend with me, but I think this will be good for both of us.  He's gaining some independence away from me, and I'm being eased into the idea that all of my kiddos will be attending full day school next year.  It's finally hit me that I'm not one of the young moms anymore.  Weird.