We took the boys to Discovery Kingdom on Sunday. It was super busy and really hot but the boys loved it. The moment Zack saw the elephants, he trumpeted just like one and he spent the entire dolphin show pointing and talking up a storm. Aiden just loved the shark tank and the walrus. Aiden is also old enough now to realize there is a world of rides just waiting to be discovered.
We took the boys camping one last time before summer bids us farewell. This time we headed West and camped in the Samuel P Taylor State Park. The park has beautiful coastal redwoods, creeks and wildlife (we saw deer, raccoons & chipmunks) and we took a short hike through the forest and along a creek. On Saturday we drove to the Point Reyes Lighthouse and hiked down all 308 stairs to the very end of the point. Aiden managed to hike 130 of the stairs back up before daddy had to carry him... not bad for a 3-year old. After the lighthouse we went to Point Reyes' North Beach - it wasn't exactly beach weather, but definitely pleasant enough that we could enjoy the ocean. This was Zack's first ever walk on a beach and he seemed to like it a lot. On our way out of the Point Reyes area we stopped for lunch and ice cream at a tiny village called Inverness. Our lunch table overlooked Tomales Bay and an old shipwreck.
We had a fun filled weekend, celebrating our big boy's birthday. We played in the pool, had a great South African braai and the show stopper (even if I have to say so myself) was Aiden's birtday cake - a stegasaurus dinosaur. Aiden really went to town with the ice cream and decided that 3-year olds are allowed to eat ice cream with their hands. Well, it was his special day! 
Aiden's first day of school is tomorrow, but he had a one-on-one hour at the school this past Wednesday, where he met his new teachers and had the opportunity to spend some time in the classroom.
It is Labor Day in the US which means a 3-day weekend. We used most of it to finish up our kitchen cabinet repainting project, but the weather is still awesome so we went to Granite Bay on Folsom Lake for a late afternoon braai yesterday. The rest of the weekend we did things normal Americans that live in the suburbs do... went to the park, went shopping, etc. Christina is also starting preparations for Aiden's birthday party and first day of pre-school next week. Aiden is very excited on both fronts. His favorite puzzle is one of the solar system and he can name all the planets in order. I wonder if they'll be able to teach my bright young boy anything at school ;-) Zack is more and more mobile every day... and more and more cute & naughty too.
