The season is wrapping up for summer activities! For our last day at The Ravine, we took advantage of cooler weather to finally play put put golf like Cato’s been begging to do all summer (fun course!). Then we still had enough time for some water play on the slides before heading home for lunch and nap.
It was super fun to check out the rainbow boat graveyard at Cuesta Inlet for the first time, and Alex introduced us to a fantastic hidden play area! Another gal brought two dogs as well, so Jasper had a blast jamming around off leash with a new friend.
This was a fun overnight trip exploring out Hwy 166 to the heart of the Gifford Fire burn area (Aug 2025). We stayed at Buck Spring “Campground”… a remote, minimalist location that required some 4- wheel- driving to access and just provided a flat clearing with a fire pit and two picnic tables. The road pass the camping area was closed due to fire damage, so there wasn’t any traffic passed camp. The main adventure was when Cato crashed the drone, so then we all got to go bush wacking through sharp thistles and yucca plants up the ridge to find the drone… thank goodness it’s light was on, and it was in the shadow of the hill!! On the way home Sunday, we stopped at Avila Dog Beach for lunch.
We might have overdone it this week, but it was so much fun! Cato’s preschool was closed for summer break and this was Du’s first week of freedom after his last day at Amazon on July 31st, so we had some extra time to play around with friends!
We kicked off the week with a Camp Sky group “Bubbles & Lawn Games” gathering at Paloma Creek Park. Then it was time to escape the heat at Avila Dog Beach with Parker and Hudson. Mid-week, we met up with Clay and Sierra at The Hub in SLO for a beer and pizza dinner (the copious amounts of games were lots of fun and Cato even scorred a Michelangelo Ninja Turtle monster truck!!). For some additional water play, we went up to The Ravine Waterpark one afternoon with Du and Grandma.
We also had a playdate at Wyatt and Levi’s house on Wyatt’s actual birthday to play in their backyard pool, but the boys never made it outside because there were too many fun games to play inside (Margaret and I didn’t mind just getting to relax on the couch and chat while finishing our morning tea, lol). Then on Saturday, we went back for Wyatt’s birthday party and had lots of fun playing games in the back yard (including racing monster trucks down the slide…always a fan favorite!)
We decided to take a little road trip up to Watsonville to check out their annual strawberry festival (if nothing else, it was an excuse to escape the 100 deg heat at home!). There was lots of music, food, vendors, and carnival rides to check out. Du enjoyed some delicious street tacos with strawberry salsa and the group split a strawberry shortcake dessert. The fresa aguas frescas drink hit the spot as well!
Everyone braved the triple digit heat for the backyard bonanza to celebrate. The water play was a huge hit, but the trampoline, swing set, and sandbox also got some attention. Naturally, once everyone was bored of water play, they moved to mud play (created from the water play.) I tried to get a nice picture of Casey and Cato together, but the closest thing I got was them on the swing set while Cato was showing of a trick on the rings, lol.
Mrs. Kim is a very brave soul and takes the kids to the zoo every summer for a class field trip. I believe we had 29 kids plus the various attending adults (teachers, parents, and grandparents… not all in the group picture). Thankfully, the Central Coast Zoo is a small operation, so it is easier to keep the kids corraled, lol. As always, the Red Pandas steal the cuteness award, and afterward, everyone enjoyed animal cracker snacks in the park.
Per usual, it was triple digits hot for the fair, but we still had fun checking out the vendors (in AC buildings), 4H and FFA animals, and all the little kid rides. This year, we got the unlimited ride bracelet so that Cato could do laps on his favorite rides. He especially enjoyed his first time in a ferris wheel! Taking the shuttle bus to and from the fair was a fun bonus ride 😆
It was a fun affair at the skate park in Grover Beach, complete with music, DJ, dance party, goats (taking a break from surfing), and, of course, wheels! Hudson and Cato worked on team building skills while climbing the steep sides.
We had a fun filled day participating in the Santa Margarita parade with the Atascadero Horsemans Club in the morning and then a party at Jason’s house in the afternoon. At Jason’s, there were lots of board games, food, and an outdoor movie showing of “Independence Day.” Cato’s highlights, however, we’re the balloons and giving Dan a ride by pushing buttons on the recliner remote, lol.
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