Cars and boats

A very short video of Carter driving a blue car on a ride at Gilroy Gardens. Actually, this one was probably his favorite ride, now that I think about it:

Carter driving the blue car @ Yahoo! Video

And on the slow boats with us:

We discover Gilroy Gardens

We headed for a pumpkin patch in Morgan Hill yesterday, but got there and found out it doesn't open until October 1. So I suggested we take the 101 south for a few miles to Gilroy, where there was some park called Gilroy Gardens.

We didn't realize we were going to toddler Disneyland. And, with $43 ticket prices, it sure felt like Disneyland too. (Carter got in for free, thank God).

The place is huge, and filled with tons of kiddie rides. Carter rode on the mini-carousel, the train, the apple and worm roller coaster, the boats, the fire trucks and lots of others. He refused to get off of the rides when they ended, asking "more?" instead. When we pulled him off, he screamed.

In the end, he had such a fun day that we ended up buying a season pass. We had to pay $100 more, and now we've added Gilroy Gardens to the list of weekend activities.

Here's the fire truck ride, which was probably his favorite:



He ran through this waterfall with us four or five times:


I had never seen a toddler-only carousel before:


With Dad in the strawberry ride:


Looking like a cool kid on the choo choo:

Sand on feet!

Carter at the beach in Santa Cruz, Sept. 6 2008.

At the beach in Santa Cruz @ Yahoo! Video

Fire trucks and ambulances

Carter has developed a fascination with rescue vehicles. The police and fire departments in our neighborhood reach out to the residents all the time, and every few weeks they'll bring a vehicle to the park and let the kids check it out.

Last week, Carter climbed into the back of a police car and refused to get out. That's a sight every parent wants to see.

On Saturday, three fire trucks and an ambulance came by during a festival at the park. Carter got a firefighter hat, which he won't wear for more than three seconds. He spent about an hour looking at the vehicles.

At the Santa Cruz Boardwalk

We went to the boardwalk in Santa Cruz last weekend for a company party. It was a great day for the beach.

I gave up trying to match Carter's clothes a while ago. Poor kid.


He kept trying to run into the water, which would have been fine if he had stopped at some point. But no, he just wanted to charge in as far as he could.


Now to the boardwalk part.


Apple slices with a little caramel on top. Yum!


We let Carter go on kiddie rides by himself for the first time. He wasn't scared at all.

Happy birthday Papa!

We celebrated Carter's grandfather's birthday on Saturday. This was before Ava's hair caught on fire in the birthday candles. Hee hee...