Open Cockpit

Twice a year Castle Air Museum has an Open Cockpit day for the public to view the insides of many of the planes at the museum.  They also have various food vendors, crafts, and most important the bounce houses!  Dave had taken the boys last year and wasn't able to see inside the B-52 bomber because of the long line so we headed there first.  This year instead of having people stand in line they had time slots to sign up for.  We signed up and headed out to check out a few others and to bounce. 

I swear the boys could have hung out at the bounce area all day.  The weather was perfect so they didn't get too hot like last year.  To get up this big slide the boys had to climb a bounce house ladder, Garrett helped push/hold up Gannon's bottom as he climbed the first couple of times then he had the hang of it and didn't want anymore help.  They had a blast on this slide.

Helicopter rides were available and Gannon could have stood and watched the helicopter land and take off all day.  He loves helicopters right now.  Maybe when he gets a little older he will get his turn to ride. 

When it was time we headed over to the B-52 and headed up.  Garrett was fine to go the first level, but freaked out a bit to go all the way to the top so Dave took him down.  Gannon on the other hand has no fear and was good to go up.  It was really cool to see the inside of such a huge airplane.  Dave headed up for a quick look when we came down.  Garrett was having no part of that tour! 

Last Minute Trip to See Mickey

A perk (to some) to being a high school teacher is the opportunity to chaperone Grad Night at Disneyland.  Our school only had two buses going and didn't need more teachers until the day of the event.  I happened to be eating lunch in the office and one of our Admin came in saying that she may have to drive to Disneyland as a fill in for a our Principal who was unable to attend at the last minute.  She was not excited at all about driving her own car down by herself.  Roller coaster at Disneyland - "I'll go with you!"  At first I'm not sure she believed me, but once she knew I was serious it was ON!  I had a sub arranged, got the kids squared away with Dave, and we were headed home to change and get on the road.  By the time I picked her up and just about pulled on to your street we found out there were seats on the bus for us to ride.  Thank goodness the driver agreed to stop in Merced and pick us up.  It was a LONG, but fun night.  I have to say I think this trip is way over priced for the kids and really there isn't a lot of Disneyland open so therefore all that is open is packed.  We got 5 rides in all night between the two parks and did lots of walking, but it was still a super fun night.  All 5 chaperone's from our school made it all night without much pain.  We did sleep for about 2 hours on the way home. 

Before loading the bus after a LONG night....

Mrs. T, Mrs. Malhi, myself, and Ms. De Palma

Taylor's Graduation

I can't believe my little sister is a college graduate already!  Taylor graduated with a BA in Agricultural Business from Fresno State.  Taylor was offered and accepted a full time job following her internship with Bank of the West in Ag lending.  I couldn't be more proud of her! 

Pre Drinks!

Lei Ceremony for her sorority.

 A little over lei'd! 

Taylor and Grandpa after the ceremony

Food Challenges

At Gannon's last allergy appointment the doctor explained that now that we had his system clear we needed to do some food challenges, adding back, to see which ingredients exactly were an issue.  After much thought I determined that adding soy back would be the best bang for my buck, so to speak.  There are lots of gluten free products that he still cannot have because they also have soy so I thought this product would be a great one to add back.  The ability to include soy in his diet would open a lot of products that we are currently limiting.  The doctor also wanted the challenges to be in a controlled way in terms of something that we can control exactly the amount added back and in small increments.  I figured this would be easiest to do with his muffins that I do from scratch.  Currently the changes for allergies are as follows, flour is rice flour, eggs are replaced with applesauce/baking powder, and vegetable (soy) oil is replaced with Canola oil.  Since I wanted to do soy first I change this ingredient to 1 tbsp of soy oil and 1 of the canola.

Results - not only will he only take one bite of a muffin that in some sittings he will eat three of with in a few hours these rash bumps appeared!  Well, test concluded, he obviously doesn't like the taste because he will hardly eat them and they give him a rash.  Soy is back on the NO list!  A week or so to clear up and another challenge will be done.

A Visit with the Greats

My Grandparents came down to visit for my Dad's birthday so the boys and I headed up to spend the day with them.  Grandpa (my Dad) has all kinds of fun treasures he has collected over the years including this pedal fire truck and wagon.  We took a quick walk around the block and Garrett pedaled the entire way.  He is a little big for it so I thought it would be a little challenge, but he did great.  Gannon enjoyed the strolled being pulled in the wagon by Grandpa. 

During Gannon's nap Grandma and Garrett did every puzzle Grandma could find.  He was so excited to be the center of attention with all 5 adults! 

On our way out Gannon had to test out the fire truck, but still can't push the pedals.  Soon enough I'm sure. 

Room for Two

Back when I was pregnant with Gannon we waited to find out the gender of the baby to purchase a bed for Garrett - if it was another boy we would buy a bed that someday they would share...approximately three years later (from purchasing) that day is here. 

Let me back track - Gannon hasn't been sleeping great in his crib lately.  Waking up in the night not wanting to go back to sleep in his crib, taking forever to fall asleep, and so on.  So on Saturday night Dave was still gone and Gannon didn't want to go to bed.  I explained that is was Garrett's turn to be put to sleep and he proceeded to cry when this reasoning has worked in the past.  I took Garrett to his room and asked him what he thought of Gannon sleeping in his room on the "little" bed.  He was instantly SO excited.  I pulled the bed out and went back to get Gannon.  He was a little in shock.  Garrett was cute, he kept explaining to Gannon that he had to put his head on the pillow and lay down - no talking.  It was pretty funny to watch Garrett become a little parent with all the rules.

Gannon did GREAT sleeping in the big boy bed! Didn't make a peep all night and slept in the next day.  Dave got home late Saturday and when he woke up asked what had happened.  Oh - a quick last minute un-thought of decision was made!  I know unheard of for me.  We had been talking about making the transition over summer, but what the heck he was ready. 

Little did I know I was going to tear the place apart on Mother's Day to re-organize the rooms.  It feels so good to have a dedicated play room and a sleeping room.  Garrett was a bit in shock that all the toys got moved from his room to Gannon's old room.  We had to explain that Gannon was not taking all the toys - we now had a big toy room for all the toys.  Okay really isn't now big, but you get my point. 

Nap time was even amazing on Sunday - it took Gannon a bit to fall asleep, but once he did I had to wake him after 3 1/2 hours!  Night three and all is going well. 

First night sharing a room.

Snuggle up in the big boy bed.

The new sleeping corridors.

Play room.

Nap #1 in the big bed. Yes I know he was still in his jammies, it was a working morning in our jammies!

Our Own Indoor Jumper

Dave was away at State Finals and it was a beautiful day so we were playing outside.  The little water table that we bought a couple of years ago has finally lost it's faucet power so I was looking online to replace it.  I came across the little indoor/outdoor jumper for a good price and decided to check our local store - OMG the actually had it.  I explained to the boys what it was and we headed out to get it.  A fast trip and we were back to set it up.  Both boys waited paienty on the couch while I set it up and then jumped for a good hour before needed to stop for a bath. 

I think this was a great purchase for those HOT summer days when we need to get energy out, but can't play in the 100 degree heat.  As you can see Gannon's favorite is to wrestle his brother.