This year’s summer reading program was a significant one–it was the first time that Dylan really, really read (fluently)! And he worked so hard to earn all of his summer reading dollars. We are so proud of him–I love seeing him really want to complete his goals and work so earnestly — and joyfully — on achieving them!
Because he worked so hard, I am so glad I checked the Summer Reading Program schedule before I headed out for my run with Jenny. If we’d missed it, we wouldn’t have been able to collect his summer reading dollars!
So, after my run with Jenny ended (and, luckily, I mentioned it to her because her daughter Julie had also been working hard and Jenny had also forgotten about the festival!!), we packed up the kids and headed to the park.
They all collected their free lunch coupon (only chips were eaten–and I ate the vegan hot dog out of sheer hunger. Blech), their free book, their summer reading dollars AND we all got a professional family photo taken. Too bad we knew nothing of it beforehand. Here we were in our grubbies, but hey, it’s a family portrait (I’ll scan and post it soon) and these are rare!!!
Unfortunately, these things take time! Kids wanted to play on the playground, snack at the table, etc., etc., and we ended up leaving Santa Cruz too late to get to a good friend’s housewarming party way over in Redwood City! We were actually hustling to get there, but it’s over an hour away and, of course, as luck would have it, there was horrid traffic on the 17. But, Billy Jones Wildcat Railroad was also having a celebration–a new steam engine (#5) debuting on Billy Jones Day! So even though we couldn’t make it to Redwood City, we braved the traffic anyway and took the kids to the park. We almost gave up several times…it took probably about an hour to get over the hill (that’s only 12 miles folks!), but in the end, of course, it was so worth it!!
The train rides were free!! At $2/person/ride, we saved tons! We rode it about 4 times! Tom and Dylan also rode it a couple of times while I took the girls on the carousel
Here’s Cameron high-fiving Chloe for being so brave!
Yes, this girl is really such a sweet big sister!
So much fun, so little time! Before we knew it, it was time to head back for dinner and sleep!
