We weren’t going to do a birthday party for Holly. But gathering people together and being with friends is so quintessentially Holly that we couldn’t forgo a big old party. She is such a social creature. Five year olds really know what they want! So that was a bit tough, but we managed to compromise on a few things and the party was an overall success. Simple, and yet I found myself sleeping the entire weekend following.

Also, it seems that five year olds like to pose.

Gilroy Gardens is the best! It’s beautiful and is truly a garden and it has excellent rides for the children. We love going there! We took Catherine and Jim there and fun was had by all!

Conor’s mom, Catherine, had never seen Redwoods, so visiting a redwood forest was a must. We opted for Big Basin over Muir Woods. It’s a bit closer to where we live and parking is much less of a hassle. And there’s some really big trees! Redwoods are awe inspiring. They really are majestic. It was a great little afternoon trip.

After we played at the Dennis the Menace park, we continued on to the Aquarium. We love that place. We’ve all learned so much about the ocean because of it. I’m so glad we finally bought a membership! We had a great time!

On our way to the Aquarium, we stopped at the Dennis the Menace park. It’s basically 10 parks smooshed into one with some really long, steep slides! Holly and Greta loved it. We felt like we were dragging everyone away from play time on the park to go to the aquarium. It really was a blast!