At two and four, both of the boys are finally at ages where they can really enjoy family outings for what they are, so it was really fun to go into Father’s Day weekend recently with a bunch of family plans.
The first event of the weekend was the Castro Valley Car Show. We go every year, and they shut down Castro Valley Boulevard for several blocks to showcase individuals and organizations bringing in all sorts of classic cars. We met up with a friend of mine around 3PM after the boys got up from their naps and had a lovely afternoon strolling along the boulevard.
After the show, we all went over to enjoy some Indian food for dinner. Adam is a bit of a picky eater, but we found a butter chicken (chicken makhani) a while back that he enjoyed, but was sadly discontinued. But we keep trying similar dishes and trying different restaurants. Aaron chowed down on the chicken makhani, but I think we’ll have to keep searching for Adam. And we all enjoyed the rice and naan!
Sunday was the Big Day as far as Father’s Day goes. We went out to an Oakland A’s game! In 2021 we went to a couple games, but made a big event out of it by bringing friends and renting a suite, but this time we decided to get seats in the stands. They were playing the Phillies, which was fun for us, and caused us to have amusing split loyalties in our gear; Adam was all decked out for the Phillies, while the rest of us wore green for the A’s. Truly, we all love both teams, so it was bound to be a fun game. Execution-wise, we took BART to the stadium, and agreed that we’d split up or all go home if it got to be too much for any of us (kids running off, troubled by too much noise, etc).
We made it through the game though! It wasn’t stress-free, sitting in the stands for long periods is definitely a struggle for them, and going on such a busy day meant that leaving our seats meant fighting our way through crowds, which was unpleasant for all of us. I think if we tried sitting in the stands again we’d go on a less busy day, or maybe even go to San Francisco where there are peripheral activities for the kids if they get bored of the game.
I think what really made the day was the end of the game when kids got to run the bases! Apparently this is a Sunday tradition that some parks follow when there isn’t a home game the next day, but it’s not something we’ve ever experienced. The line for it was incredibly long and patience was wearing thin, but it was worth it. MJ took Adam around the bases and I took Aaron, and we all had a lot of fun.
As a bonus it meant that we didn’t have to wait in line to get on a packed BART train to get home, we were able to leisurely walk to and wait for the train, and all got seats on the trip home.
We skipped naps for the boys to attend the game, so Aaron actually fell asleep in the stroller on the train, and I found Adam zonked out on the couch right after dinner, so we enjoyed a relaxing evening for the rest of the day.
Gift-wise, I’ve struggled to find something MJ would actually use, so in addition to a small gift the boys picked, I went the route of getting a piece of furniture that belonged to his grandparents fixed. During one of the moves (apartment, storage, pod, garage…) the top became detached from the base, and we weren’t confident in our ability to fix it ourselves without doing damage.
I contacted a local furniture restoration shop and they picked it up, got the top re-attached, and dropped it off! I then spent the next couple of days cleaning it, which was a transformation unto itself, and then got a pair of tight-fitting tablecloths that cover the remaining blemishes.
The table replaces the big, plastic folding table that we had in our upstairs entry way, so the chairs are re-united with their table now! It’s a smaller table, but it looks much nicer in the space, and less space for stuff to collect is probably for the best anyway.