The first order of business was to get some holes dug and sand castles built, stat!  Luckily, I had Avery there to help me.

Avery stayed over, so we got to keep having fun even after pajama time.

The next day, it was time for a ride over on the ferry.  There’s lots of things to see from the ferry…

… like… the Fun Zone!  Boy did I have my eye on that Ferris Wheel!

First, though we went for a walk out to the pier to see the big waves.

There they are!

On the way back was the big payoff!  A Ferris Wheel ride with Daddy AND Avery!  Weeeee!

Lately, I’ve learned to pump my own legs to make the swing go higher!

I practice every chance I get – like at Shannon’s birthday party!

Here I am, going down the big slide!  Weeeeeeeeeee!

Oh, and it was fun to see my friends and wish Taylor a Happy Birthday, too!  (Maybe next time my photographer will take more pictures instead of going on the slide with me.)

I always like going to visit my friend Zoey.  Last time we went on a hike for dinner.

We had a picnic dinner with lots to eat!

On the way back, we needed to stop and rest.  It was a long hike!

Every year Grandpa Stark and David A. come to visit for my birthday and they bring Grandpa’s race car! We got to go to the races again this year. I’m a pro at going to the races.

First, you have to inspect the car before the race to make sure it is ready to drive.

Then it is time for me to do a little driving of my own.

Then we watched Grandpa’s race group line up in pre-grid.

Grandpa is in car 71. I kept a close eye on Grandpa and David to make sure they saw the race coordinators give them the cue to start driving!

Mommy and I watched the race from the grandstand. Those race cars are really loud, so I’m glad I had my ear covers.

I saw Grandpa drive by lots of times!

After the race, we all had chocolate chip cookies. This is one of my favorite parts of going to the races!

And, as a special treat now that I’m four, Grandpa took me for a ride on the moped. I can’t wait to go to the races again next year!

My playgroup is called the Little Monkeys. This year, I invited all of my Little Monkey friends to a birthday party at… where else but Funky Monkey! Now I am four years old!

We ate pizza and cupcakes. Mmmmm!

I got to drive a fire truck!

I also learned to play Skee Ball. Making faces helps the ball go into the right hole.

Thanks to my Monkey friends for helping me have a great birthday!

I invited a few school friends over for a birthday party. I’d like to share the five P‘s of a good birthday party with you.

Parachute.

Play structure.

Pin the tail on the donkey.

Personalizing your cupcake with your Pals. (I have been asking Mommy if we could do this for months.)

Thanks to my good friend Uncle Rick for lighting (and relighting) my candle when the wind blew it out.

My readers may not know this, but now that I’m 4 I’ve done this a few times and I know: it takes a lot of face-scrunching to blow a candle out.

Today, M&D took me fishing at a local fishin’ hole.  They had a dock and everything.

I started by practicing with the net.  I got me!

Then Daddy got our hook in the water and I did some reeling.

After a while, I left the fishing to Daddy and I just did the netting.  Here we are, catching our 4th fish!

We’re planning to have fish for dinner tonight.  Anybody know how to cook trout?  Anyone?

Ed. Note: Thanks Jim for the loan of the pole and tackle!

At the Rose Parade, you can always be sure to find lots of fire trucks. And they’re just sittin’ around not doing anything.  Perfect for climbing and exploring!

The bad part was that there was a lot of waiting before it was time to go – and no fire trucks by us!

The troops were starting to get restless… just like those ‘occupy’ people we see in the newspaper!  Lots of signs, some screaming, and no clear idea about what is going on!

But once we got going, all was well.  We were behind another band again this year, which made marching in the parade really fun!

The big work party day finally arrived.  I couldn’t wait!

I wore my safety vest and hard hat, and brought my shovel and wheelbarrow.  I was ready!

Today we were going to move the sand out of the far yard playground, and put in some new wood chips!

We started digging!

And barrowing.  Luckily, some friends came to help, so it was fun while we were working!

Check out my dumping technique!

Sometimes you have to stop so your photographer can get that “money shot”.

After we finished moving the sand out, it was time for a break!

Some water and some really yummy cookies really made it all worth it.

And how often do you get to sit on a gigantic pile of sand like this?

After the break was over, it was time to move the chips.  I started by surveying the situation.

Then it was time to get to work filling my wheelbarrow and hauling those ‘chips down to the yard…

Here I go!

And of course, it is good to have help.  We had a lot of work to do!

And here’s the dump!

And here’s the video highlights!

When you’re working hard, it’s hard pay attention to keeping sand out of your shoes.  You can see how hard I was working!

Boy was that a fun day!