I’ve been spending way too much time rehashing this vacation, but I feel like I have to document it because it’s the last time we’ll see our family and friends in California until the baby. Trust me…I’ll get back on topic soon.
Home, Sweet Home
My Mom’s house is the house I grew up in since I was 10 years old, and consider it my childhood home. So when I come back to it, I automatically feel comforted and secure. My inner child loves that!
We didn’t get to my Mom’s until very late as we were having too much fun in Sacramento, but we still got up early on Monday to go to an amusement park with my cousin, Keri, and her son, Wyatt.
Gilroy Gardens
If you have children under the age of 8, and are in the San Francisco Bay Area, I highly recommend checking out Gilroy Gardens. It’s an amusement park for younger kids and every time we go Devin has the best time. The rides are the perfect size for him, the landscaping is phenomenally gorgeous, and the park is NEVER crowded. We like it better than Disneyland because of the lack of crowds and kid specific rides. Plus, they also have a great water play area. Here is Devin on one of his first rides all by himself. I was so nervous he was going to cry on the ride…but nope…he cried when I took him off the ride.
It’s a great place for kids and was actually more of a break than I expected as Devin was enjoying himself so much. And there are plenty of rides adults can ride with the kids, so it’s fun for the whole family. And don’t miss your chance to eat some deep-fried artichokes. SOOOO bad, but SOOOO good!
Dinner with Friends
The minute we got back from Gilroy Gardens, we picked up my husband and were off to visit some friends for dinner. Which was a lot of fun, and great to see our friends, but after the dinner I was cursing myself for planning so many things on this trip. Being almost in the 3rd trimester at this point, I was feeling it.
Birthday Dinner
The next day we decided to relax at my Mom’s house – yay! After Devin’s nap we took him to the park and then met my brother at Sinaloa’s in downtown Morgan Hill for some awesome Mexican food for my Birthday dinner. My birthday is actually my sister’s birthday, too, because we’re twins, and luckily we both agreed on the dinner spot because Sinaloa’s is my absolute favorite place to eat in the world. It’s been around forever, and reminds me of my youth, and so I definitely consider it my comfort food.
Coffee with Kathy
After dinner I was able to meet up with my best friend in the world, Kathy, because I know I probably won’t be seeing her for at least another year. She’s been my friend since junior high so we reminisced about how we used to torture some of our teachers (we love you Papa Smurf! aka Mr. Renouf), and about our crazy prom dates (um…we don’t love them so much). It was too short, but lots of fun, and I know she’s only a call away. Now I just have to get her on Facebook!
