Alameda County Fair

We love the Alameda County Fair - we've gone every year since we moved to Pleasanton. The fair is a 5-minute drive from our house. We get free tickets for being Facebook fans, and this year we decided to go on a dollar ride day, so each kid got to ride several rides, which we haven't done before (usually the rides are 3-5 dollars a piece). We also lucked out and went the day where it was actually cool outside - so cool, in fact, that we got cold and had to take breaks inside! Usually we are roasting and have to take breaks inside for the air conditioning - this time we were inside for the heat. :) We enjoyed every part of the fair, and the kids were sad to see the rides being taken down after the fair had been there for several weeks (we drive past the fairgrounds every day, so we watch all the building and tearing down of all the events). Even Jack did pretty well at the fair, though we had to use all our extra clothing to wrap him up, since he was wearing his cute little summer outfit.

We love seeing all the animals!

Corn pit!

Milking a "cow".

This thing had rubber udders attached to the underside of a bucket filled with water. Kind of weird, but the kids loved it.

Piggy puzzle.

We love the pig races!

Happy Jack hanging out in the stroller.

Loving the rides!

Nora was too short to go on anything by herself, so Matt and I traded going on rides (meaning, he went on the ones that would have made me sick).

Nearing the end of Nora's happy time... watching the high dive show. The divers did a 25 minute water show, which I imagine feels nice in 90-degree weather, but when it gets down to 60, they probably weren't too happy. The show was still fun, though.

And this was the end of the happy. :)

Jack's blessing

We blessed Jack on June 22. We were blessed to have so much family there! Grandma and grandpa Bromley, grandma Auman, my parents and siblings, Matt's parents and siblings, and an uncle and cousin of mine. Matt gave a beautiful blessing, and Jack screamed all the way through it. :)

So much love!

Ryan (Lexie's husband), my dad Robert, grandpa Bromley, Matt and Jack, Matt's dad Steve, and Matt's brothers Jon and Jason.

This shirt and vest were what Matt and his brothers were blessed in when they were babies. I made the pants to go with the shirt, and we got the cute shoes as a hand-me-down.

This is pretty much what he looked like the whole time. Little tomato head. :)

I accidentally let him get a bit sunburned the Saturday before... you can see it on the right side of his nose and under his eye. I've never had a summer baby before - this kid burns in about 2 minutes outside! We've been much more careful since then.

Beginning of summer!

Never have I appreciate summer break more than this year, when I don't have to get all three kids ready and in the car in time to take Owen to school. We've done lots of playing since school got out. The kids love to swim with aunts and uncles and cousins. We've had lots of time to stay at home and get Jack into a regular schedule so he's a happier baby.We had a fun church luau, explored downtown Pleasanton, and helped Matt's parents move. We've been busy so far!

Cute little bugs swimming in grandma Bromley's pool.

Owen doesn't know how to swim yet, so we put him in lessons as soon as school ended. He did a great job!

 Love this little boy's cute face.

There's a great dairy in downtown Pleasanton with really good (and cheap!) ice cream. We walked down one night to get a scoop. And yes, Nora dressed herself that day. :)

 Ready for the ward luau! I wish I would have brought my camera to the luau - there was a dance performance by some Polynesians in the area, and afterward they invited people who wanted to learn the dance to come up on stage. Nora walked right up all by herself, stood at the front of the stage, and followed all the directions. She was SO cute. :)

Last cousin picture at grandma Farrell's house. We're sad they moved, but there are lots of good things in store for them.

We had a very near miss while taking cousin pictures... Owen nearly dropped Jack on his face. Watch the video and see if you can catch it. I slowed it down the second time around so you can see. :)

 And a gratuitous Nora face. This girl is so happy that she can have all the delicious treats now that she's grown out of her milk allergy.

Last days of school

Owen's last days of school were full of lots of dress-up days and fun activities. We went to his open house, took pictures of his favorite people at school, and went to several parties. We will miss his teacher and Alisal Elementary, but I'm sure his school next year will be just as great. I will not, however, miss the crazy traffic driving him to Alisal every day... we're excited to be able to walk next year.

Class ducks! The class got these ducks as eggs and were able to watch them hatch.

Henry the duck is the white one. He's the class favorite.

Ms. White made all the kids a little painted rock Henry as the end of the year gift. Owen LOVES it.

Showing us the meadow themed wall in their classroom. They had so many pets in their classroom: a turtle, tadpoles, ducks, chicks, and an ant farm. They each made an ants, bees, butterflies, and a ton of ocean animals so they could decorate their classroom. 

The ocean side of the class. Owen is pointing to the sea urchin he made. You can see their sharks, octopus, sea horses, and blowfish in the background. They also made jellyfish that were hanging from the ceiling of their classroom. So cute!

Disney dress up day at school. 

Last day of school!

Dropping him off for the last time at Alisal!

Owen loved his teacher, Ms. Cyndi White!

A bunch of friends - Vai and Ani, Jennifer and Patrick, Grace and Olivia, and Julie and Lindsay.

Nora's end-of-playschool pool party. :)