Horsing Around

Billy loves this horse suit!  He loves dressing up and currently this one is his favorite.

When I asked him, "Why do you like being a horse?" he exclaimed, "It is warm and cuddly!"

Mo loves Billy as a horse...

Jungle James Animal Adventures for parties

We went to a birthday party for our son's friend a few days ago and they had Jungle & James Animal Adventures.  All the children were wearing safari hats while they watched the show, it was adorable!

The safari guide showed the children reptiles, amphibians, and insects.

My son says, "I liked the REALLY, REALLY big snake!"

Resources:

Jungle James Animal Adventures, LLC
P.O. Box 391, Danville, CA  94526
925-362-3580
www.junglejames.com
Adventures@junglejames.com

"Amazing adventures featuring reptiles, amphibians, and insects.  We bring the jungle to you!"

Snake:

 REALLY REALLY BIG snake:

Noodle Theory- Oakland, CA- Great comfort food when your child has the sniffles!

I'm on my way to Noodle Theory to pick up a broth and noodle dish for my son!  I wanted to make a slow cooking soup today for him, but time got away from me, so the great noodles in broth at Noodle Theory will almost  perfect!  No one in our house is feeling well, we all have something.

Resources:

Noodle Theory
6099 Claremont Avenue
Oakland, CA
510-595-6988

restorative justice- an effective way to restore peace in schools

I recently went to a workshop on restorative justice and I was touched by the way it is being used in different areas such as parenting, the criminal justice system,  schools, and other venues.   A dear friend and I got our children together this past month and did a restorative justice style meeting with our children, they asked to do it again so we did!  I recently discovered that the Santa Cruz Waldorf School uses the Restorative Justice technique in their school, and they only use the best!

Resources:

Restorative Justice
www.restorativejustice.org

Steam Train and Sky View Trail at Tilden Park

Yesterday we had a great time at the Steam Train at Tilden Park.  A 5-ride ticket on the steam train is $12 (single-ride tickets are $3).  Each ride is about 15 minutes long.  The tracks wind through the redwoods in the park, and you can catch glimpses of the Bay in the distance.

Pictures of the nearby Golden Gate Miniature Railroad.  A club maintains the railroad, which is open to the public on Sundays (we went on a Monday holiday and so the GGMRy was closed).

Pictures in the roundhouse:

We then walked up part of the Sea View Trail, which is a fire-trail that you can find right by the upper parking lot for the train area.  Here are some of the views from the trail.  First, facing West:

The trail passes by several telecom towers:

The view facing East:

Mt. Diablo in the distance:

Looking down on Lafayette Reservoir: