Gilroy Gardens

Saturday Jon had to work all day....blah! We have been home a lot this last week so we decided to get out of the house and go do something fun. So, we headed to Gilroy Gardens, a small amusement park for little kids, and met up with Jon's family there. Tickets were $12 and Matthew was free, so we got a heck of a deal. This was our first time and it was really fun....lots of rides, a small water park...I felt like it was the perfect size. We got to see most everything and the lines weren't bad.

The kids LOVED the fire engines. Emma made Matthew sit in front because she insisted that she didn't know how to steer. I don't think she realized that the trucks were connected and they weren't going anywhere. Haha.

The race cars were a hit too. I love how on both of these rides they are watching the pole that connects them to the middle of the ride the whole time.

We went on a train ride around the park...the kids were thrilled!

Gilroy's version of the teacup ride.

One of Emma's favorites

And this is how Matthew feels about carousels... :)

Steve, Jenny, and Fij on the banana split

The artichoke dip- another teacup-esque ride

Buddy and Grandpa planning our next move...probably lunch.

And I just have to say how NICE it was to have other people along...to take kids on rides, to stay with kids while I went on a couple rides, to be my extra eyes and hands....it was great!

It also happened to be HOT on Saturday, so we took a break from rides to splash around in the water. Very refreshing!

We ended our visit with a little boat ride down the river.

Emma put her arms up as soon as she sat down.

As soon as Matthew saw her he had to do it too. Funny kid!

I promised the kids ice cream at McDonalds on our way home, since I couldn't bring myself to pay $5 for a tiny thing of it at the park. They were so excited. So we went, got some ice cream, and then they didn't touch it...at all. But they did have fun playing. It was actually really sweet. Matthew wanted so badly to climb up the jungle gym to go down the slide, but the platforms were too tall for him to climb up. Emma ran over and offered to help him. She was so excited that she was a big girl and could help Buddy up. She kept encouraging him the whole way up, saying You can do it Buddy, Keep going, you're almost there, Oh you're doing such a good job, etc. Very cute. When they got to the slide she told him he could sit on her lap. Then I heard a bunch of banging and grunting and then Emma, "Oh Buddy, I think you're too heavy to sit on my lap. I just can't slide. It's just not working. Sorry Buddy. Let's try again." So, they scooted their way down the slide together and at the end she gave him a big high 5. She is such a good sister.