This is the 2nd of several entries in my new miniseries, Family in a Camry. In August while on our annual family vacation, Toyota loaned us a 2015 Camry for our road trips around California.
So I decided to compile all our video footage and photos into a narrative to remember our trip. Here’s this week’s video:
Now, Evan is 5 years old and you are just a couple of months away from your 5th birthday, which we plan to celebrate in Florida; while reviewing another Toyota.
As for Evan, he decided he wanted to have his party at the local skating rink. So that meant you got to roller skate for the 1st time!
There was also a “jumpy house” there; as well as those roller scooter things…
The fact that Evan’s birthday party just happened to be during the 10 day span we were there in California on our annual family vacation was completely coincidental.
But what a perfect coincidence!
Even though you and Evan were born only 4 months apart, you guys are a year apart in school; based on the way the cut-off date.
I have a feeling that you and Evan will grow up knowing each other; even if you only see each once a year.
Stay tuned for my next Family in a Camry entry, which features our family visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
It was important to Mommy and I that we had your 4th birthday party (nearly a month ago now) at a unique place. Having it in Bricks 4 Kidz(a Lego play center) was definitely the right decision for us!
Mommy stayed home and took care of some things back home, as you and I had a “dadventure” to his party.
You were able to take advantage of the DVD player on the Lexus RX 450h. Coincidently, you happened to be watching a birthday episode of the Berenstain Bears.
I am confident to say that it was one of the most unique birthday parties we’ve ever been to. Right when you came in the door, you got a Nerf dart gun as a party favor.
That’s right. Everyone who attended got their own dart gun, along with safety goggles. How cool!
The tractor store was set up as a shooting range for you and your friends.
However, your favorite part of Jacob’s party was the balloon room. Yes, just a small room full of 150 balloons.
You had a ball… literally!
Actually, you were the first one in the balloon room, but it didn’t take long before Jacob came in and joined the organized chaos, along with several other friends.
Even your teacher Ms. Michelle was there!
Towards the end of the party, Jacob’s daddy pulled up in a bulldozer and dropped off some snow for you and your friends to play in. Seriously, how awesome is that?
I loved watch you and all your friends run to the snow!
And nearby, there was also a tractor that showered bubbles into the air for you to pop.
You and I had a great time together on our dadventure. I can’t wait to test out that dart gun with you in our new house!
Love,
Daddy
Catch up on the entire series of the Lexus RX 450h Weekend. A lot of exiciting things happened!
Well, this weekend you were quite excited when Mommy and I learned that Abbi’s birthday actually had a costume theme.
While I tried to convince you just to wear your Ninja Turtle hoodie and be Donatello, you insisted on wearing your costume from Madison.
The logistical problem with that is that we had already boxed it up in our storage unit, as our new house should be ready by the end of next month.
Mommy was up for the challenge so we loaded up in the 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe we have been driving this week, as we await the news of whether or not my own car will be totaled thanks the albino deer that hit me on the way home the night before Thanksgiving.
Something really cool about every Hyundai I have reviewed is that basically the entire ceiling is a moon roof. You love that! You love being able to see so much of what’s going on.
Mommy’s favorite feature of the Santa Fe is the heated seats, especially this time of year.
My favorite thing about it is the size. Now more than ever, I like a good strong SUV that help protect me in the event I get hit by another albino deer. Hyundais are just nice vehicles anyway, as I’ve been quick to mention in my other reviews of them.
Speaking of safety, I also really appreciate the Blind Spot Detection System, which alerts me anytime another vehicle or object is getting dangerously close to me. (After having recently been hit by a deer, this is something I’m quite sensitive to this days!)
And not to mention, the back-up camera saves me a lot of worries too. (See below the relevant song that happened to come up on XM radio this week while we were driving the Santa Fe.)
Well, thanks to Mommy’s supreme packing skills, she was able to pull up the door of our storage unit, then immediately open up the box with your super hero costume! You then curiously asked about your monster trucks- she found that box too.
Before Abbi’s birthday party, we decided we should stop by our new house which is still under construction and see the latest updates.
Afterwards, as part of our tradition, we stopped by the model home so you could say hi to the in-house real estate agent. You had hidden a piece of foam (which you refer to as your “pizza parlor”) in the bushes and decided to crawl under the Christmas tree as a gift… because that’s normal for 4 year-old boys, I assume. (See top picture, again.)
When we arrived to Abbi’s party, we were greeted by hens, which we fed some dried worms to.
Once we walked inside the house, I was glad we had found your costume beforehand, because I realized your Ninja Turtle hoodie wasn’t quite enough for this costume-themed party.
You kept your eye mask on the entire drive and at least the first 30 minutes of the party.
And of course, your friend Madison (who gave you the costume) was so happy to see you wearing it. (Pictured below.)
You were lucky: you basically got to have an all-you-can-eat sweets buffet while we were there.
So we decided having dinner at Whole Foods would be a good way to offset that, but first we stopped to see some Christmas lights along the way.
Needless to say, we had a really fun week in the Santa Fe. And you especially had fun, being a super hero the whole time!
Love,
Daddy
2014 Hyundai Santa Fe Standard Features:
5 year/60,000 mile New Vehicle Warranty
10 year/100,000 mile Powertrain Warranty
7 year/Unlimited mile and Perforation Warranty
5 year/Unlimited mile Roadside Assistance
Advanced Safety Technology:
Vehicle Stability Management (VSM) with Traction Control
ABS with Electronic Brake Force Distribution & Brake Assist
That meant you had already opened your presents from your friends by the time Mommy and I let you open your gifts from us the next morning at our house.
Sort of half-jokingly, I suggested that before you got started opening our gifts to you, that you should dress up in the super hero costume that your friend Madison had given you. (We actually let you open your gifts in front of your friends at your party; even though that’s nearly considered weird these days!)
You didn’t hesitate.
To make things even better, you happened to already be wearing your Batman pajamas, which had served as your Halloween costume just a few weeks ago.
So by the time you put on your costume, it apparently made you Super Captain Batman Jack!
It’s like you honestly believed that the red cape made you fun faster, because you were trying it out right, getting into super hero character before you sat down to open your presents.
I want to be clear, you did not remove one item of the costume the entire time, including the mask.
Even if you never wear the costume again, which after seeing this, I’m pretty sure you will, it was worth Madison picking out this outfit for you just for this event alone.
It was a relevant gift for more than one reason. Turns out, one of the gifts Mommy and I got for you was a Spiderman sleeping bag.
Not only have you been using it to sleep on this week, given that everything is moved out of our house now since we’re moving out to live with some friends as our new house is being built, but I also envision your new Spiderman sleeping bag to be what you sleep on when we “go camping” in our backyard of our new house next summer.
And fortunately, your mechanically-minded Uncle Andew was there to help put together a Techno Gears Marble Mania Quest maze; it took him only 2 hours, whereas the box warned it would take 3 to 4!
You provided great entertainment for our family as you opened your “Mommy and Daddy” presents. You really did make the best Super Captain Batman Jack that I have ever seen!
Until last Saturday, the only birthday parties you had been invited to were for either very close friends or family.
So as weird as this may sound, it was at least somewhat of a milestone as a parent to receive a birthday invitation from one of your classmates from daycare.
“Jack, do you know Joshua from your class?” I asked you.
“Yeah, he likes the trains,” you responded with no hesitation and full confidence.
So we bought 3 die cast Chuggington trains for your friend Joshua.
I didn’t even know who Joshua was, which added to the coolness factor of you being invited to his party.
“Who is this mysterious Joshua kid?” I wondered.
We arrived at The Monkey’s Treehouse, where you instantly made your way to the giant wooden train sets and began inching a train around each corner and up each ramp with careful precision.
A friendly boy with olive complected skin and black curly hair pushed a toy shopping cart by you saying, “Hi Jack.”
“Oh, that must be the Joshua,” I told Mommy. I was right.
It was his 3rd birthday. A cool, older kid wanted you at his fun birthday party at an indoor playground. Epic.
Of course, you were perfectly content hanging out at the train station the entire time, only taking a short break for birthday cake.
Trust me, I tried, but I just couldn’t get a natural shot of you and Joshua in the same picture. That’s okay, though.
Because I have a feeling that part of the reason Joshua invited you to his birthday party was that he liked you and wanted to make sure you guys officially became friends.
Kids’ birthday parties are a good venue for building relationships with not only the kids, but also the parents.
Sure enough, for the first time ever, when I picked you up from daycare today, you explained, “Joshua ate the apple.”
Yes, Joshua has now made it into your after-school conversations with me.
I like your new friend. He’s a cool kid, just like you.
Family Friendly Daddy Blog 