YouTube Summer Picnic

Time to play catch up on some of our adventures from the Summer Break... 

During the last week of the girls' Summer Break we attended the YouTube Summer Picnic which was held at Long Branch Saloon & Farm, a replica old west town near Half Moon Bay.

We spent the day playing wild west themed side show games, panning for gold, petting farm animals, eating yummy food, and playing mini golf.

A picnic with Yuba Flip Flop

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Yuba Bicycles. All opinions are my own.

If you follow Little Hiccups on Facebook or Instagram you've probably already seen Lola's new wheels. For the last few weeks Lola has been zooming around Berkeley on a bright pink Yuba Flip Flop balance bike. It goes everywhere with us: preschool, karate, swim class, the playground, the supermarket... If Lola's there, there's a good chance her Flip Flop is too. And now it's here on Little Hiccups!

I'm so excited to share Lola's new bike with you. When I first heard that Yuba Bicycles were releasing a balance bike I knew we had to get one for Lola. Our Yuba Mundo cargo bike has been such a great ride and I knew that Yuba's offering for the littlest members of the family would be just as high quality and as thoughtfully designed. And I was right!

First Grade Picnic

School is over for another year and the long Summer vacation has started.

To celebrate the end of the school year the four first grade classes at Ava's school joined together for a picnic in the park. You know, just eighty or so kids hanging out in a park!

There was pizza, yummy snacks, fun games, basketball, sack races, face painting, and fun with friends on the playground. The kids all had such a wonderful time. It really was such a great way to celebrate the end of year.

Here's a look at some of the fun...

Father's Day in Golden Gate Park

Yesterday was Father's Day here in America. We started the day off with the girls giving Kim gifts and cards that they made for him. As you can see, Lola's drawing skills are starting to improve and she's finally drawing people. Ava loves pointing out how much better she is at drawing than Lola because she could draw people before she turned two. Not at all competitive that one!

Showing off the handmade cards

Codornices Park, Berkeley

I seem to be on a roll with the playground posts tonight so why not add another one?

Here in Berkeley there is a hidden gem of a playground in Codornices Park. Ok, so it's not really all that hidden, but it's new to me.

A while back I read about some amazing concrete slides in San Francisco. For some reason I was talking to a staff member at our local Trader Joe's supermarket (local as in the supermarket under our apartment) about these slides and he mentioned that Berkeley has it's own concrete slide. Huh? How had that slipped past my radar? As soon as I got home I got online to find said slide - to the detriment of my perishable groceries which were left out while I scoured the internet! It turns out the concrete slide is located in Codornices Park, a favourite amongst Berkeley locals. Codornices Park was added straight to my "must do" list.

A few weeks later we happened to be catching a bus that went straight past Codornices Park. On our way home we stopped off and made a bee-line straight to the slide.

Now, although incredibly popular with kids, this slide is not for the faint of heart. It's 45ft long, barely wide enough for an adult's backside and made of skin grazing concrete. To avoid tearing off skin, and to make yourself slide faster, it's best to slide down on a piece of cardboard, especially if you're wearing shorts. We had no cardboard with us but luckily there's quite a lot of it left behind by previous sliders.

Ava slides down at high speed.