Last Sunday was the Kaiser Family Wellness Festival, and this year location was at the Happy Hollow.  It had been probably a couple of years since we last visited that park, so we definitely did not mind going.  We met up with Kathy’s family at the entrance to get in together.  The first thing we decided to do was the flu shot to get it out of the way.  Once the boys found out, they wanted to leave, but we tried to convince them and keep them in line.  I was the first one to receive the shot.  Logan reluctantly became the second one and was in a huff afterward.  Connor sat on me to be the next one; as soon as the shot was in, Connor started sobbing.  It took both kids awhile before they let the sadness pass.  We took a picture at the photo booth, then the boys voted to watch the puppet show.  The Three Little Pigs was actually quite entertaining.  Next the boys played awhile at their favorite spot, the playground, before we picked up some lunch.  We ended up sitting with one of my coworker and family, and chatted a bit.  The boys then enjoyed a popsicle while we took a walk around the little zoo.  Connor and I also watched the hula hooping show for a bit and the boys played at the Crooked House afterward too.  Overall, we ended up spending a few hours at the park and it was fun.  It was interesting that the boys still had the same few favorite things as a couple of years ago, and they were still not interested to ride any of the bigger kids rides.

    Tennis has been the family favorite lately and we vote to play tennis usually once a week.  The interesting change has been that the boys do not seem to want to take a break.  In the past they looked forward to sitting down to have a snack and play with each other in the shade.  Lately we have to convince them, especially Connor, to take a break in order for Stuart and I play on our own for a bit.  Logan prefers playing one on one against Stuart or I, and he does better when he has to fend the entire court.  Connor just seems to have endless energy; he dashes to get to the balls and has better timing with the hits now.

     We had planned to celebrate Robyn’s birthday last Sunday by trying an “escape room”, so I left the boys and grandparents to meet up with Robyn, Theresa, Michelle and Thuy at the locaton.  We were locked in a room after being given some instruction, then the search and puzzle solving began.  We broke open a few locks and were able to advance to a hallway and later into another room.  We were stuck on one lock for a long time, and out of the blue, Theresa and Robyn solved it and had it opened.  We were able to make the home stretch, and successfully escaped in 47 minutes (within the one hour time limit).  We were happy and pleased that we worked together well as a team.

    Next, we (minus Thuy) went to check out a popular Korean BBQ place.  Our appetite was built up after some wait, and we all dived in for a great meaty meal.  It was a yummy dinner and we had a great time catching up.  When I returned home, the boys were just about ready to have their reading time with Grandma.  I made it home just in time to say goodnight to everyone.

     The grandparents drove up to visit us last weekend.  They arrived on Friday, and the boys were pleasantly surprised by having Grandma picking them up at CDC.  Both boys hung out with them in the evening by showing grandpa and grandma their school computer sites, and playing with the toys given to them.  Connor also did his homework, writing about his class’s Cat in the Hat, with the help from grandma.  On Saturday, the boys wanted to teach Grandma how to play Plants vs Zombies video game too.  Afterward, we all went to play a round of miniature golf.  After some getting used to it, the boys did well with their putting swings.  Connor was good with those “volcano” shots and helped me put some away when I was having a hard time.  We also checked out the Almaden Art and Wine Festival at the lake park on Sunday.  It was a beautiful day to stroll around looking at all the booths and watching some stage performance.  We also grabbed lunch and had some dipping dots for snack too.  It had been a long time since we were at that park, the boys had a good time playing at the playground as well.  While at home, the grandparents also entertained the boys with a game of Monopoly whenever there were free time.  It was a nice visit by the grandparents.

    As an extra bonus, the boys had fun sitting in the 3rd row seats by themselves while we were driving over the weekend.

     Due to camping, Stuart’s work trip and the start of school, we were feeling busy the past weeks and were behind with lots of chores.  So it felt great to have this long weekend free and to do some of our favorite things too.  Today the boys voted to play tennis again in the morning.  We discovered that Logan does better when he is on his own behind the baseline, and today Logan preferred for me to play at the net while he stayed back.  He did a great job trying for most of the hits.  Later when I took a break, Logan did well holding down the fort all by himself.  We are happy that both of the boys are getting into tennis and improving too.

     In the afternoon we had planned to go swimming as it was warmer today.  We also wanted to try our new action camera while we swam.  The cabana club was unusually quiet; there were only a few families on site, and the pool was quite empty.  The boys brought their noodles, and so they spent half of the time floating and other time swimming.  Stuart and I was able to take turns swimming around too.   Since the whole place was so empty, Stuart suggested that I try the diving pool that I had been wanting to try for a couple of years.  I finally built up the courage to walk on the diving board.  I had to say that once I was at the end of the diving board, it was quite scary looking into the deep water.  I had considered backing out, but I decided that I just needed to jump in and I did it.  I emerged deep in the chilly water with some impact, but I floated back up quickly.  To my surprise, I felt comfortable swimming to the side which made me very happy.  Logan and Connor complained that they did not see my first jump and I ended up doing two more jumps by their request.  I was very proud that I conquered my fear and did a dive even though I did not have the prettiest jump which gave the boys a good laugh.

     Since returning to school, the boys are back to playing two- or four-square during recess.  They are excited to play two-square whenever they have free time outdoor.   Even with Maxim coming over on Sunday morning, the three boys immediately went to the backyard to play the game.  They were playing nicely for half an hour before returning inside the house to play video games.  In the afternoon when Stuart and I decided to have the boys get on their bikes to school, they wanted to bring the ball too.  They recruited the two of us to play with them at the playground, and that when we realized how good the boys are.  It truly took me some effort to win a few games.  It was a good exercise for all of us too.

     At bedtime Connor told me that he and Logan are the only brothers who play this game at recess together and are good at it.  He said they are the “Two-Square Brothers”.