Gilroy Gardens

Ter Bear, my niece, my sister and I have journeyed to the happiest place on earth each of the past three years. We love Disneyland ... the rides, the characters, the entertainment, the corn dogs! What we don't love are the lines and the crowds and definitely not the ticket prices or the drive down to Anaheim.
And that is exactly why we loved our trip to Gilroy Gardens this weekend. If you buy your ticket online it's less than $30.00. The lines are short. The rides are unlimited and absolutely perfect for both a 2-1/2 year old and an 8 year old. The park is super shady and very beautiful.

When we arrive my niece bought a souvenir drink cup at the front of the park. My sister and I both gave her a hard time for spending the $10.00 on an empty cup that came with an armband that gave her unlimited fill-ups. We weren't laughing later when we realized what a bargain it was since a drink was a typical amusement park price and they only sold the cups/refill deal at the beginning of the day in the front of the park!

There are several water features, including Splash Garden. This was a great location mid afternoon when the sun was at it's warmest. It's a semi enclosed area with lots of tables for parents to sit at but I saw a lot of parents enjoying the spray coming off of the Tree Top Spray Around. I fell victim to one of the geysers that sprays up from the ground which provided no end of comic relief to my sister and niece.

Another cool water feature was the waterfall walk. It was really neat to wind through the beautiful waterfall formations. But be forewarned. . . the walk leads you to the very wet back side of a waterfall. I had to pick Andrew up and carry him through that particular spot.

There is a petting zoo that is an additional cost of $5.00. You get a hand stamp and can come in and out as many times as you want. Adults don't have to pay to get in (another family friendly feature!) Ter passed on it but Andrew loved the animals. He brushed every single goat, chased all the chickens and thought the duck with the funny white feathers on top of it's head was hilarious.
Ter was too tall for a few rides and Andrew too short for a couple but there was plenty for both of them to enjoy. Two roller coasters and one of those swing rides were major hits for Ter and the flying goldfish and fire engine were Andrew's favorites. One of our favorite Disneyland rides is the Autopia cars and we found its equal in the antique car ride where both boys got to drive. There was also a train ride that went all the way around the park that the boys loved.

This park is definitely for families with young children. There really isn't anything that would appeal to a preteen or teenager. But that made it perfect for us. Even the arcade games were easy to win and both boys got a pretty good sized stuffed dog.

Among the rides we missed were the swan paddle boats and the Rainbow Garden boats. We also missed walking through the two gardens (Claudia's and the Holly garden). We were all exhausted and ready to go home. But that just means we will be going back again soon. . . maybe for their Harvest Fest or the Holiday Lights Days.

Our family definitely gives Gilroy Gardens a thumbs up!

Christmas 2009 is now Christmas Past

We had a wonderful Christmas. As we celebrated the Saviour's birth we held that which is dearest to us close... our family and friends and lots of love. Here are some of my favorite images from the Christmas of 2009.

Happy Halloween

I love Halloween! It is my absolute favorite holiday. I love all of the traditions of all of the holidays and each one is special to me in its own way but Halloween is my favorite. I remember the excitement as a child of getting to dress up and go out after dark door to door with my my sisters and get candy. Then we would come home and pour it all out in a pile and trade for favorites!!!! My dad always did a great job decorating the outside of the house and my mom would decorate the inside. My mom would keep a tally of how many kids came by trick or treating.

That was back when your costume included one of those plastic masks with the rubber band holding it on your head. There would be two tiny slits to see through, holes so you could breath and this little bit opening in the mouth area. The costume came in a box and no one was worried about how safe it was.

When the big boys were little we would have to drive around to take them trick or treating. We don't live in a "neighborhood" so we would pile in the car and go to our friends. We would end up at Nana and Nanoo's house where Matthew would get a chance to hand out treats to the kids who trick or treated there.

I love decorating for Halloween and these days put most of my decorating efforts into the library. This year I had scary window coverings (a skeleton on one and a yellow eyed cat on the other). I built a castle wall with a big black crow, lighted cobweb and skeleton. There were eerie lights, scarecrows, jack-o-lanterns, skulls and bats throughout the library. And all of my leopards wore masks (the leopard is our school mascot and I have about 20 of them in the library). Scary music played in the background and I had the lights turned down. It was great!

Each year our staff tries to come up with a theme for our costumes as a surprise to the kids on Halloween. There is a school parade (imagine 710 students marching around the playground, through the district office next door and back) that parents all come to watch. This year we had the best theme ever. Someone suggested that we be candy. We had a whole bag of M&Ms (I was a yellow peanut M&Ms). There were also boxes of SweetHearts, Reeses Cups, a Kiss, several Tooth Fairies, a Pez Dispenser, Tootsie Roll, a Hershey Bar and Cotton Candy. Not everyone does the theme but everyone gets in the spirit. There were leopards, pirates, and even a "surfer dude". Our yard duty aides always come up with something unique. This year they dressed as Santa and his reindeer. It's a great day.

For the past few years we have celebrated Halloween night with Georgia & Robert. They do over the top decorations and we have a great time. Last year they designed the "Tunnel of Terror" on the walkway leading up to their door. All of our grown kids come and Laurie takes Terry out trick or treating in their neighborhood.

This year Terry has chosen to be a pirate. I think he makes the cutest pirate ever.

I hope your Halloween is Spooktacular and you get lots of treats!

Grandparents' Day

This Sunday is the official celebration of Grandparents' Day. Before you roll your eyes and say to yourself that this is just another fabrication of card companies to turn a buck, think about the contribution your own grandparents made to your life. Foremost is the fact that they provided you with parents. Then, if you were lucky, they gave you a wealth of experiences and stories that have become your family folklore.

My memories of my grandparents are something I cherish. Unfortunately my grandparents had all passed away before I was out of grade school but that doesn't mean I didn't have wonderful times with them.

I had my Grandpa Baker, my dad's dad. His mother had passed away long before my parents met. Grandpa Baker was always full of surprises. He was a free spirit who didn't have an official address and I don't think he ever looked at a calendar. He travelled around in his truck and lived in the camper on the back. I remember walking home from school and seeing that truck parked in front of our house. I would race home knowing Grandpa would be waiting. He was always promising to send us horned toads from Texas. Much to my mom's relief, he never did. Ever the Texas rancher's son, he loved the outdoors. To me, he was bigger than life. He was always happy and had the best sense of humor.

My Grandma Georgia was my mom's mom. Like my dad, she had lost her other parent before they met. Grandma lived in a huge house in Stockton and I think we saw her almost everyday. We spent lots of time at her house. She was legally blind and my mom would pick her up to take her for errands. Every Friday morning we picked Grandma up to go grocery shopping, helping her push her basket and put things in it. She always bought us a treat. Usually it was a package of Ghiredelli Flicks chocolates. I loved to listen to her tell stories of the old days and her house was a treasure trove of mysteries. She was deeply patriotic and I never spend 4th of July without thoughts of her.

I also had my father's maternal grandparents, Grandma and Grandpa Stanger. Their gift to me was the deep sense of belonging to a family. They loved their extended family and established a sense of the importance of family that has been passed down through many generations. They also were my link to my religion. My great grandparents were devout LDS. I remember when they lived in a little apartment in Stockton. We would go to visit and they always had a dish of these hideous little candies called Horehound Candy and another dish with lemon drops in them. Of course I would always have to try both!

One summer, after Grandma died, I remember taking Grandpa to a family reunion in Idaho. He was pretty old at the time. The rest of the family thought the trip would be too tough for him, but my dad insisted and took him. Grandpa Stanger told us stories all the way to American Falls about growing up. I will always remember that trip. And except for my dad, Grandpa was the tallest person I knew.

No post about grandparents is complete with out talking about my children's grandparents. From each of them I have learned how to be a grandma. From Poppa to be spontaneous and teach my grandchildren to love the beauties of this world. From Grannie to teach them that there is nothing more important than family. From Nana to love unconditionally and to always be there for my grandchildren and from Nanoo to work hard.

So here I am a grandmother, well, actually a Nana. The lessons and examples I learned from these dear people who touched my life fuel my relationship with my beautiful grandson, Andrew. When I look at him he just makes my heart full. And I am amazed at how much he adds to my life. I take picture after picture of him, wanting to document each smile for posterity. I am looking forward watching him (and any future grandchildren) grow. I hope I can create wonderful memories for him just as my grandparents did for me.

Happy Grandparents' Day to all of my friends who have achieved this wonderful state. What a lovely time of life. I hope you all can celebrate with a hug from some precious little person you love more than life itself.

"What children need most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance. They give unconditional love, kindness, patience, humor, comfort, lessons in life. And, most importantly, cookies." ~Rudolph Giuliani

"Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children. " ~Alex Haley

"One of the most powerful handclasps is that of a new grandbaby around the finger of a grandfather." ~Joy Hargrove

"The history of our grandparents is remembered not with rose petals but in the laughter and tears of their children and their children's children. It is into us that the lives of grandparents have gone. It is in us that their history becomes a future. " ~Charles and Ann Morse

Expanding Family

Our oldest child turned 27 yesterday. It put me in a reflective mood. When we were starting out as a family I don't think we put much thought in what our family would look like over a quarter of a century later. We didn't look at that little bald headed bundle of joy and think about who he would marry or that someday we would be grandparents. We were just overwhelmed with the thought that now we had to be responsible for someone so dependent on us.
We were lucky to have all four of our parents available to turn to when we had questions, were worried or needed a babysitter. We also had the first grandchild on either side of the family so there were lots of waiting arms eager to hold him. I had always thought family was important but suddenly they became even more so. My mother became the wisest woman I knew. My sisters became my closest friends. My dad was the best and thought the sun rose and set in Matthew. What is really interesting was that he had this feeling for every single one of the grandchildren that followed. You could ask any one of them and each would tell you that he or she was Poppa's favorite. He had a nickname for each of them and listened to all of their stories with interest.

My mom became Granny. Each of her grandchildren knew without a doubt that she loved them. She was always thinking of them. She bought little treats and trinkets for them to give them when they came to visit. She made bets with them on the World Series. She had them stay overnight for "New Years' Eve parties" and she baked them brownies for Christmas. She was also the go to person when they had earaches, tummy aches, fevers, and needed hugs.

And so here I am, a grandma.
I think being a grandparent is something that you evolve into. You are refined and retrofitted and remodeled along the way until suddenly there you are. I'm definitely not the apron wearing cookie baking type. My favorite cookie recipe is a bag of Oreos. I'm probably not the wise old sage type that can be turned to for soul searching wisdom. I'm also not one of those trend setting grandmas who will zip my grandchildren off to fancy restaurants to teach them the finer art of dining out.
So here I am starting out on this new pathway. I'm Nana. I like that. My children had a Nana. They loved her with all their hearts and she loved them. She cooked for them and drove them places and documented their lives with photos. That's one thing I've already started to emulate. I'm the picture taking grandma. I'm the historian.

Hey, that sounds like a super hero.... I am Nana the Historian. Boy, my grandchildren are going to think I'm cool.