Beach Boy Birthday

For those that pay attention or have followed along, you know that Drew has a September birthday and that rather than give him presents, we prefer to give him memories and do something fun for his birthday.  Last year we let him pick where he wanted to go for the first time, and our little beach boy said Santa Cruz (we had just gone for Dave's birthday and he had a blast).  So when we asked where he wanted to go or what he wanted to do he first said "Go go Embassy Suites" but then relented and said he wanted to go to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

The weather was a little cooler than we would've liked - even overcast for the first part of the day.

But Drew tried to brave the chilly water anyway.  He got a few toes in but that's about it.  He preferred to play frisbee in teh sand and eat the picnic we brought.  After a bit we talked him into doing some rides.  We bought 2 wrist bands from Costco.

I did the rides with him this year because Dave hurt his knee in softball and he wasn't sure how well his knee would hold up all day riding rides.

First up, the Ferris Wheel.

A view of Dave from the Ferris Wheel line

The view of the Boardwalk from the top of the Ferris Wheel...

The beach from the top of the Ferris Wheel...

... and the other side of the boardwalk.  Thankfully the sun started to come out while we were waiting in line.


Drew on the Cave Adventure ride.


Here we are ready to go in...

 

Dave did get a chance to ride a few rides... I don't do spinny.

 

 

Drew and I on the "kiddie" freefall ride.

 

And then Drew and I took a spin on the carousal... Dave waited for the next round.  He wanted to shoot the rings at the clown and those spots were already taken.


Mommy got to take a turn on the Giant Dipper for the first time in years.  Possibly since I was a Senior in High School.


While I was on the Giant Dipper the boys were playing mini-golf.


And we had a great day at the Boardwalk and caught the shuttle back to our car. Not before being blessed with a beautiful view overlooking the boardwalk.


Once we got to our car we headed off to our traditional pizza dinner at Woodstock Pizza.

And the traditional post dinner snooze from the soon-to-be birthday boy.

We just love our Santa Cruz adventures.  It would be great if we could squeeze in one more day at the beach.
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Drive-in Shenannigans

Earlier this month when Planes came out (the new Pixar movie) we were invited by Drew's old day care provider to join them and about 6 other families at the Drive-in.  This was Drew's first time there. 

We brought dinner - a free Rocco's pizza and the kids played on the playground before it got dark.

Here are some of the Moms watching the kids at the playground - the Dad's are "helping" by keeping an eye on the cards (and the beers/alcohol I'm sure).
L-R: Me, Amber, Stephanie, Michele, Heather

Notice Drew's face near his right eye... that was courtesy of a child at the preschool/daycare where we had him this summer.  He has scarred, but we're still hoping it'll fade some...

Drew & Troy enjoying smurf cupcakes.  They were made by the same person who made the Minion cupcakes I shared on Facebook a couple of weeks ago.


L-R: Andrew, Drew, Zionna

It's hard to get a picture of the  entire group, but I believe there was something like 7-8 families with their kids.

It got cool quick, and Amber and Greg were kind enough to let Drew crash in their pad with the other Drew and his brother Evan.

The boys are showing off their halos...
I love Evan trying to get in with his pretend glow-stick.

Drew passed out in the car within about 20 minutes.  Poor kid never did see the movie.  Dave and I did, and Dave even stayed awake for the second feature, Despicable Me 2.  Drew and I saw that one at the theatre, so I joined Drew in the nap department.
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Baseball Birthday Wishes

The older you get, the harder it is to decide what you want to do for your birthday.  The same was true for Dave's birthday this year.  At the last minute we decided to head to an A's game for some tailgating and baseball.

"Dad do you wanna have a catch?"

After a bit I decided to go back to the car and have a little peace and quiet...


Then the boys returned for a beverage break...

They went back out for another round of catch before getting ready to head into the game.

A new meaning to tailgating...

And then we made it inside the game.  The A's were playing the Texas Rangers and Dave had to get a picture of Nelson Cruz who was making one of his last appearances before receiving his 50 game suspension in the performance enhancing drug scandal.

Drew loves to eat at baseball games... chicken and french fries.  He's not a hot dog eating kid.


The boys doing their shadow boxing in between one of the innings (I think that's what it was)

Happy Birthday Daddy!

After the game we did some post game tailgating to try and wait out traffic.

And while I had dinner ready to go at home, Dave decided he preferred to eat out.. so we went to Outback.
Not bad for Daddy's last year in his 30's...

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Guy's Weekend

It's a big year for my parents, my Dad especially - in June he retired and then a couple weeks later it was Father's Day (he's also coming upon his 60th birthday and 40th Wedding Anniversary).  So for his retirement/Father's Day gift, we gave him his dream trip to Dodger Stadium.

Not long after meeting Dave about 14 years ago, and learning he was a Dodger Fan, my Dad has wanted to visit Dodger Stadium.  He'd never been.  So that's what he did with Dave and my brother in tow.  They met up with Dave's Dad as well for a true guy's weekend.

Well it was quite the party... Dave and my Dad drove down on Friday and checked into the Embassy Suites just in time for the free "happy hour".  Then David (aka Tata) met up with the boys.  The reports of what happened next are a little "fuzzy" so I take it it was one of those nights where boys will be boys.

The next morning Dave and my Dad awoke and met my brother Matt at the airport (he had a wedding the night before) and then they set out for the ball game.  They decided to play it smart and take cabs everywhere they went - aka a paid DD.

I think this has to be the "happiest place on earth" for Dave.  So I'm posting pictures found on the camera - because girls weren't invited, but I get to post the blog, I am taking some liberties at posting...

Found a picture of Andre Ethier... a former Sun Devil....

The view from their seats...

My Dad was in 7th heaven.  He's still talking about the trip a month and a half later.  And it was also obvious how much fun he was having with all the texts he was sending to me and probably half the people in his contact list.   The whole family was "lectured' by Grammy about how GrampC went over his text minutes so texting was off limits for a few weeks...

Happy GrampC and Uncle Matt

Two of the 3 "its"... GrampC and Tata (the 3rd "it"is Grandpa who was in New York)

I received a crapload of texts from everyone with pictures, but I apparently deleted them all - but here is GrampC on the drive back home at Tommy's.  It's a chili burger fast food restaurant that is Dave's "staple" when visiting LA.  Dave had to take GrampC to his first Tommy's experience.  Let's just say I am happy I wasn't in the car for the remainder of that trip...

 

While the boys were away, Drew and I enjoyed some time "house sitting" at  Grammy and GrampC's house.  Grammy was back in Minnesota for a family reunion.  It is really tough house sitting at Camp Grammy's....

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