Poppi visit - Friday

What.a.day. Zachary skipped school today and we all (minus Art) went to Happy Hollow in San Jose. A bit pricey for a normal family outing, but nice for a special occasion. A young kids's paradise though. Rides for kids: carousel, swings, small roller coaster, mini free-fall type thing, plus a few others. Z and W did everything that was open. Y wanted to do some things, but once he got up to the ride, he just couldn't do it. Too scared I guess. He did ride on a ladybug ride that went up and down a bit and around in a circle (like the Dumbo ride at Disney), but was in tears some of the time, despite Wyatt giving him hugs and holding his hand. Poor little guy. Just can't quite hang with the big boys. There was also no shortage of playground type areas. I am sure we did not see them all. I tried to steer us clear of the playgrounds since we have access to so many, and concentrate on the things we don't have like the rides and the zoo.

We started at the carousel, which they rode twice, Y sitting in the benches instead of on an animal. Still, he rode it! Then over to the ranch area which had a small petting zoo area where you could walk around to feed and pet goats (which Z did), then you could feed and pet some Shetland ponies through the fence (which Z and W did) and see some large sheep and cows etc. Then over to see the wallabies...which were surprisingly small. I had thought they were nearly the same size as kangaroos. There were a few other animals in that area that I think we missed b/c Wyatt called a potty break. From there we went to the rides. Started off with the roller coaster. Z thought it was a bit scary but fun, and W thought it was super fun. Poppi went with them the first time and I did the second time. Then off to a giant ropes and slides playground for a bit. All 3 enjoyed that, though I had to stay with Y the entire time. Another potty break, diaper change, and we were off to the rides. The frog jumper once w/ me going with them and once them alone. Then the ladybug ride twice. Going on a Friday is brilliant. No lines anywhere. A few of the rides they got off then got right back on. After some rides, we stopped for lunch. A packed lunch for ZWY, and a purchased one for Poppi and I. Next time, we'll all bring lunch. Not really worth the $. Then more rides, a few attempts at Y going on a car ride, and the big boys going on the Frog Jumper free fall 3 times in a row, once when they were the only kids on there. Then FINALLY off to the zoo. First a great view of a napping jaguar, then the meerkats were so so cute. It must have been near snack time for them, bc they were very curious, coming up to the glass to see if they were getting anything. Fun to see them approach us like that. Several other animals including a giant tortoise, a parrot and some macaws, a turkey vulture (which W knew right away bf we even read the sign - thanks Wild Kratts!), the largest rodent in the world (don't remember its name, but it looked like a giant guinea pig)...could have been in Princess Bride's ROUS. Then we were shocked to get a 30 minute warning that the park would be closing at 3pm. Woah, was it really that late?! 3 more carousel rides, and we left as the park closed. No surprise Y and W fell asleep in the car. Y stayed asleep. Z and W were forced to lie down for a short rest while Poppi and I tried to recover. Poor Poppi has had a bad back his entire time here. Not pleasant to walk around for 5 hours!!

Now the kids are having screen time (W on the wii, Z on the GameBoy then the iphone) while I type this up on the ipad with my cool new keyboard I got for my bday!

Art will be home late again tonight, but this time for fun. Apple is having one of its Beer Bashes, and I have encouraged him to go to it. They start at 4, so he could still be home at a reasonable time. Last one had Brad Paisley doing a set...don't know yet who will be playing at this one. Jealous I can't go when we have a babysitter here! ) No outside people.

Tonight we plan on watching Cars, specifically so Y can see it for the first time. I hope he loves it.