The Fruits of Our Labor

After berry picking Friday morning, Logan took a really long nap (who knew berries and sticks would exhaust a boy?!) before the two of us headed downtown with my parents and brother Kai (visiting from LA for the weekend) for a really nice (late) lunch at Mezcal. After that, we decided to walk off some of the huge meal we just ate and see if Logan was interested in playing in the water fountain at the César Chávez park.


Logan was verrrrrry cautious about touching the water and playing near the other kids. It took a good 45 minutes to just get him to stand near the water and touch it himself. My mom was super patient, taking her time with Logan to introduce him to the fountain slowly and at his own pace (I caught a couple cool moments on video but will have to upload them later in the week).


After getting soaking wet from standing near the fountain, we stopped off at Arena Green, Guadalupe River Park & Gardens since my parents have been wanting to take him on the carousel there. It didn't seem like Logan enjoyed the ride too much - he had a tight grip on the bars at all times and didn't really smile or laugh like you'd expect. Yet, every time the ride was over, he kept asking for more. And, when we finally ran out of tickets and decided to move along (to the playground next door), he got very upset. :( I guess we'll need to make another trip back soon!


We ended the day playing a lively round of Settlers of Catan (our latest favorite board game) with my parents, who have never played before. Surprisingly, my mom was in the lead for the first half of the game but my dad pulled a fast one on us all and beat everyone, out of nowhere! It was loads of fun.


Saturday morning, we met up with my parents and Kai for an early morning breakfast at our favorite joint, Stacks. Amazingly, there wasn't a wait (note to self, apparently no one eats breakfast on 4th of July, probably because they're getting their grills ready!) which was really nice. We all stuffed ourselves silly before my dad and Kai took off to a Giants game.


Jon and I left Logan with my mom for a few hours while the two of us did a little shopping - CAR shopping! We bought a new car, which we are totally excited about and can't wait to start driving. Since we were looking for a specific color with certain options, we have to wait forthe dealership to drive it in from another local dealership in the Bay Area. So, we won't have the car until tomorrow, but we're excited nonetheless. :)

Peekaboo!

The rest of our 4th was spent doing a last minute bike ride (which turned sour when Jon got a flat!) and then visiting with the Hicksons for some water play and BBQ in their backyard. Once the kids went down for the night, the four adults played Settlers of Catan until late at night (did I mention it's our latest fave game?).

Today has been a lazy Sunday - mostly because it feels like we've been running non-stop the last couple of days and work is around the corner. Other than another short visit with Uncles Zane, Kai and my parents, we had nothing else planned. So, I decided to take a stab at making some jam from the berries we picked on Friday. Because we didn't have enough hand-picked berries that the recipe called for, I did cheat a little and supplement with store-bought berries. :) For a first attempt, I think it came out pretty well. The hardest part I struggled with was sealing the jars! Half didn't seem to seal properly. :( I'll be giving those away to family and close friends who (hopefully) won't mind and will help us eat it up right away. ;-)


It was a pretty fun exercise for me, and once I had all the equipment ready, it actually wasn't too hard. Now, with jam galore, you can bet we three will be eating PB&J sandwiches for the next few months. I know Logan, at least, won't mind.