End of Summer August Fun!

Dear Logan,

Summer has come to an end, and we had a busy, fun-filled August to end Aidan's summer vacation.  Early this month, we had a playdate with Uncle Eugene, Auntie Vonnie and your cousins Quincy and Ruby.  Though they live in the Bay Area, we don't see each other often enough.  It's nice to have a get-together to have the kids play together.  They seemed to get along really well, as they're about the same age.  We went to Gilroy Gardens, our first time this season.  It was a warm day, but if we compared it to regular Gilroy summer temperature, it was a cool day.  We went on our usual rides, but tried out new ones.  A couple rides Aidan had been on before, but this time around he didn't want to do it again.  He's hard to please!

Towards the end of the month, we had another playdate with Auntie Leonor, Uncle Kyle and Melanie at the San Jose Giants game.  This is our second and last game of the season, and the first one for them.  Since I purchased a package deal on Groupon before, I was able to get us 6 good seats and a kid's membership for Aidan to play more games.  We were lucky and picked the perfect game.  For most of the match, where there wasn't too much action, the kids were outside playing the games.  Then towards the end, everyone got back to their seats and witnessed an exciting game where the San Jose Giants came back from behind and won!  Aidan, as usual, was cheering loudly.  That definitely got Melanie in the right spirit to chant "Let's Go Giants" with everyone.  At first, I worried the baseball game would be too boring for her, and I wouldn't want to give her a bad first impression.  But everything worked out perfectly and it was a very fun playdate.

Aidan's preschool had the last field trip of the summer at Lakewood Park for BBQ/Picnic.  I volunteered to chaperone that day and took a day off from work.  It was fun to see Aidan getting more comfortable playing in the water park.  He had a little boo boo on his knees, but aside from that, he showed me how much he has matured: from making his bed at school, reading a book while waiting, drying himself off and changing his clothes.  He sure has grown up a lot this past year.

Last but not the least, we went to the Happy Kids Day celebration in Cupertino.  We wanted to show Aidan the Taiwanese culture, as they had many cultural dances and performances.  But he wasn't interested in most of them.  It was difficult for us to force him to sit down and watch, as the sun was shining brightly above our heads, and there was no shade or tent above the seating area to watch the performances. We ended up eating and playing with different games.  Now that we've been here for the first time, next year I know what to expect and will prepare our trip a little better.

That wraps up our summer fun.  We will be heading to Disneyland for a few days during Labor Day Weekend before Aidan starts Kindergarten.  I know it's going to be hot and crowded, but nothing beats the fun at Disneyland!

Love,

Mommy

I'm going to miss all the mommies!

Dear Logan,

As I recall the conversation I had this afternoon with a fellow mommy at Aidan's school, it dawned on me that the last two years (at CCLC and Monticello), I have met some wonderful parents.  Though I wouldn't call them my friends, everyone has been nice and cordial.  Most of these conversations happened during birthday parties, or the occasional afternoon chats after we pick up our kids. Our kids are old enough to enjoy a jungle gym or bouncy house without us fussing all over them.  So what do parents do then?  We talk.  Our conversations always revolve our kids, the school, their behavior, eating habits, tantrums, etc.  Recently, it's been all about Kindergarten.

Most of Aidan's old friends have started Kindergarten and at different schools.  He will start his Kindergarten on September 6.  It always amazes me that us parents put so much thought into preschools and Kindergarten.  Looking back, I went crazy touring different schools last year, plus researching online, getting feedback from fellow mommies and daddies, and all just for preschools and Kindergarten.  Am I going to go nuts when we start looking for high schools, and god forbid, colleges??  I know some parents are still looking to switch schools after Kindergarten, for various reasons.

Aidan is very excited about Kindergarten, as he is a big boy and going to a big boy school now.  I am not too concerned about him transitioning to a new school again (he's been going to a new school almost every year).  A few of his friends at preschool will be going to the same school and in the same class.  At least I know I will be seeing a couple familiar faces at future birthday parties.

Miss you,
Mommy

Recap of the Summer - June & July 2011

Dear Logan,

Oh My!  I haven't written to you in two months!  I can't believe I've been putting this off for so long.  I am so sorry.  I don't even remember what I've done the last two months.  I need to take a look at the pictures that I've taken and then give you a run down.

June 19 - Father's Day!  Mommy and Aidan took Daddy to a nice fancy lunch at Parcel 104.  We had a BBQ lunch.  The food tasted OK, though not worth the price.  I figured, this might be a good excuse to visit a fancy restaurant without paying for the full price.

June 23 - We went to our first San Jose Giants game of the season.  Yahoo! was a sponsor for the evening, so they were giving out free tickets to their employees.  Since I purchased a kid membership through Groupon, your brother was able to play the games unlimited times.  He was in the batting cage, and the very nice staff pitched to him instead of using the machine (too fast for him).  We cheered for the Giants, but didn't stay till the end since it's a school night.  We'll be back again in August for another game.

June 26 - We had a playdate with Melanie, Uncle Kyle and Auntie Leonor.  They had free tickets to the San Francisco Zoo and we spent the afternoon there.  I never realized the zoo was so big until you're hanging out with two little kids.  We probably only checked out 1/4 of the zoo, and mainly in the children and petting zoo.

July 2 - We headed to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk for this super busy July 4th weekend.  It was beautiful and hot!  We spent some time at the beach first, and getting your brother comfortable in walking & playing in the sand.  When we came here two years ago, he wasn't very keen on getting sand in his feet.  After the beach, we were playing games on the boardwalk.  This time around, he was older and was able to get a lot more out of the fun rides and food there.  There were rides he could go by himself, and some that Daddy and Mommy took turns going on with him.  Aidan didn't want to leave at the end of the day.  He said he wanted to come back again.  I bet we'll be back again before the season ends.

July 22 - We headed to Yahoo! Family Fun Day.  They have it every year and we weren't there early enough to take full advantage of the event.  By the time we finished eating, the lines to all games were so long.  Aidan played some games, but wasn't patient enough to wait in line for other more popular attractions.  He did enjoy  free popsicles and ice-creams.

Now that I listed everything down, wow, we had a very busy summer.  Summer is not over yet and we have many more fun things to do.  I hope to go back to Santa Cruz before the season ends, and maybe another SF Giants game, but I doubt it.  I'll keep you posted!

Love you,

Mommy