Growing up in California was the best. We lived in a small little town where you could leave your doors unlocked and not worry about your kids roaming the streets. Behind our house is the Blake Estate Gardens. It is the Botanical Gardens owned by the University of California at Berkeley. It was the best backyard any kid could have. We spent hours back there building forts, much to the dismay of the gardeners, wandering the paths, climbing rocks and relaxing in the shade of the big trees.
I don't have too much energy lately but I wanted to get the kids outside for a little fresh air and exercise. (Poor Michela had been throwing up all morning so we left her at the house watching cartoons.) We walked down to the Gardens and ended up having the whole place basically to ourselves, except for some big fat squirrels we saw running up the trees.
My favorite part of the gardens is the forest area. 
I used to spend a lot of time there as a kid. I would bring a book and a lunch and spend hours curled up on a bench reading in the quiet and the shade. The kids didn't take much time to notice what was around them, they were too busy running down all of the paths.
Another favorite spot was the huge rock down by the bottom of the gardens. We loved climbing this as kids. We would often take our lunches down there and eat them up on the top of the rock. Hunter and Chase climbed up about halfway before they looked down and freaked out.
There is a big lawn that I just let them run around on. They were having races with each other. Chase and Hunter would let Aria get about halfway across the lawn before they would start running to catch up with her. Aria kept saying, "They're coming, they're coming!"
It was funny watching Chase and Hunter race. Hunter is much taller than Chase but Chase is way faster so they tied every time. 
Hunter doesn't seem quite sure how to use all the height he has gained in the last year or two. Hopefully he'll be able to gain more control of his limbs in the near future.
The gardens are just a wonderful little piece of heaven. I love going there to look at the beautiful flowers and to appreciate this amazing world that has been created for us.
It also gives you some wonderful views of the Golden Gate Bridge.
It's not the biggest botanical gardens in the world but I like to think of it as my own special garden, one that has captured memories of my youth and hopefully it will capture memories of my children's youths as well.
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