Out and About with Mom

A stage of the Amgen Tour of California came through town so the kids and I checked out the excitement.

It's the largest bike race in the country, so how could we miss it?

Parking was nearly impossible, so we rode the light rail to get to the center of town.

 Our first stop was for a morning snack.  Even Karen's Bakery was in on the race excitement.

 When we were at Karen's a guy from Team Jelly Belly took a liking to the boys and told us to be sure to stop by their tent.  And, my goodness, was that nice guy ever generous.  He filled our bags to the brim: packages and packages of beans, water bottles, stickers, and it just kept going.

So, obviously after that, we had a definite team to cheer for.

In between walking around all of the sponsor and team tents we actually caught some of the race, both at the start and finish lines.

 The finish line was a little less excited for two little boys since the riders were more spread out by then.  Stickers and brother shenanigans kept them occupied though.

 We roamed for hours around Sutter Street.

And these boys really were all smiles the whole time.  Between experiencing something new and getting free stuff every few minutes, they were the happiest, sweetest guys.

And despite Leah's questionable face in this picture, she was an angel.  I got some crazy looks from some people and sweet smiles from others as the four of us negotiated through the crowds.  These boys make being out and about easy and fun. 

That same week the city put on their City Works morning, where all of the departments within public works come out and let the community see what they do up close.  This really is boy heaven.

I mean, sitting in a garbage truck, quite possibly the very garbage truck that comes down our street every Friday?  That's serious business if you're a five year old boy.

 

We made it to the police car just in time before the line got very, very long.

 

We see city buses around town, but have never been on one until now.  The boys thought pretending to be riders was too much fun. 

 They also thought being a bus driver, just like Papa was LONG ago, was pretty neat too.

 Learning about where our water and pollution runoff goes was fun. 

 And so was examining all of the different nests from local birds that the zoo had on display.

 We ran into our friends Graham and Wes (and their mom and baby brother) so for a little while we all checked out vehicles together.

 

 

 At the end of the week I thought back on the fun I'd had with my little pack of three and was just grateful.  I'm grateful for them; that they are fun, interested and obedient.  Noah and Luke make going places, even while I'm juggling their sweet sister, pretty easy.  And, wow, I'm so grateful for where we live:  beautiful trails, a city that is invested in its community, and a place where the biggest bike race in the country wants to visit.  I love where we live, and I love even more that I get to live here with this sweet family!