Fair Oaks Summer Trip

The kids and I joined Grandma and Papa Finlay on a trip to see cousin in the Sacramento area for a few days.  The day we left happened to be Brad and Margaret's wedding anniversary, so we got to celebrate with them.

We stopped at Bravo farms on our way up for a bathroom break, dinner and some wiggle time.  Preston was in heaven with the dump trucks.

And although we were only traveling within the state of CA, Ethan still liked this covered wagon, and especially the chance to play inside it.

Cousins were already asleep when we got there late Thursday night, but I got to see these to great each other when they woke up the next morning.  There was lots of smiles and excitement.

Friday we headed to gold country for a full day of adventures.

We went to Railtown 1897 State Historic Park and enjoyed a tour from Mr. Bill about the historic steam trains and roundhouse.

Some of the trains are still operational and one has been in many movies and t.v. series.  We learned it takes at least 4 years to learn to operate a steam train, it also takes about 3 hours to create enough pressure from the steam before it can move out of the roundhouse shed.

After Railtown we stopped by the California Caverns to explore the caves.

We had to squat low to make it through tunnels and we explored from room to room.

The big kids loved it.  Preston loved when he could explore on his own terms, not when he was confined to having to stay on the path holding my hand.

Saturday was a more low-key day with scootering to the park, shopping, swimming and taking the toddlers on the mini steam train by the library.

Preston is very train obsessed right now and loved being able to ride.

I got to celebrate my birthday with yummy deep dish pizza followed by an amazing salted caramel/coconut cheesecake made by my sister in law.

By the time we started home Sunday evening, the kids had been officially worn out.  Ethan fell asleep while coloring.

Boat Tour

It's a summertime tradition to go out on the Sanitation District's research vessel.  There is no greater hands-on learning experience (at least for most of the family.  I have a tendency to get sick and not get to enjoy the hands-on experience to it's fullest.)

Preston liked the chance to drive the boat

and hanging out with cousin, Abby.  He however was not happy about wearing the life jacket and was frustrated he couldn't get it off.

you never know what will be brought up.  Brielle was suprised by the size of this sheep crab, after she'd been enjoying watching a pod of dolphins swim past.

Ethan shows how big and interesting it is.

It's hard to tell, but in this picture Ethan is holding an octopus.  

Lots of different fish, sea stars, crabs, etc. were brought up.  Brielle was kind enough to bring them over to show me as I was on the side of the boat busy staring at the horizon.

Ethan was very excited to teach Preston all about each of the creatures.

After the boat tour we continued our sea-life exploring at the Cabrillo Aquarium and then stopped for a treat at snowopolis on our way home.  

Fly-on-the-wall Saturday

I have done a couple rounds of fly-on-the-wall posts, but have only tracked the weekdays, since the Saturdays and Sundays are not routine.  But, I've learned in my tracking that even the weekdays never seem to be routine either, and it will be interesting for me to look back at how our weekends change over time...so here is what we did on Saturday, July 25.  It was maybe a busier than normal play day, but as I was looking forward, all our upcoming Saturdays will be about the same with either traveling or fun activities planned, so I guess this is normal for us right now. :)

5:30-Running

Listening to: Freakonomics
Preston woke up a little bit before 5.  He asked to nurse, but the sun wasn't up yet (which is his rule-milk goes to bed with the sun), so I tucked him back in bed and he went to sleep again.  But, since my alarm was going to go off at 5:10, I got a head start on my scheduled run for today, a 1 hr long run.

6:30-Stretching
Listening to: Luke 20
Home from running.  James is up and getting ready to head out for a bike ride.  I'm trying to get my daily habits finished before the kids get moving. Everyone is still asleep since it was a late night last night with a trip to the beach.

7:30-A Bit of Everything

Currently nursing Preston, but have timers set for the sprinklers running in the backyard, the laundry that I need to rotate, the cookies that are baking and have breakfast started (smoothies and pancakes).

8:30-Headed Out for the day

James came back from his bike ride and got showered and ready while I got everyone dressed and ready, with extra clothes and food packed in the car just in case its needed.  Just getting everyone loaded in the car. And we're off for the day.

9:30-Snack Table
Just finished donating blood at our Stake Center for our annual Pioneer Day drive.  Hanging out at the snack table.  James is with the kids.  He was going to donate, but got rejected because of a needle stick he had while dealing with a pig at work last week. (just one of the risks of being a Vet)

10:30-Traveling

On our way to the Santa Ana Zoo to meet up for the AALAS (American Association for Laboratory Animal Science) Family Activity.  James is on the board for the SoCal branch.

11:30-Touring the Zoo

We had some time to tour on our own before the picnic and guided tour.  James' family all joined us as well.

 

12:30-Picnic Lunch
Kids were very excited for treats provided (chips and soda!) at the picnic, but they liked some of the other choices as well.  Brielle requested seconds of salad.  Preston was a big fan of the pasta salad and everyone stocked up on some extra snacks for the tour.

1:30-Behind the Scenes Tour
The zoo Veterinarian is showing as the hospital and taking us around to see some of the animals up close.  I got to hold the armadillo, which was a fun experience for us all to see up close.  I couldn't see if it was his mouth or claws that I was feeling, but it was a bit sharp on my fingers.

2:30-Continuing the Tour
It is hot and everyone is starting to fade a bit looking for shade and places to sit and rest.

3:30-Traveling
Left the Zoo so we can get back to our Stake Center for our Pioneer Day Activity.

4:30-Pioneer Day Celebration
Preston fell asleep in the car.  James is sitting with him so he can get a nap while I have the big kids on a pioneer trek around the Stake Center.

5:30-Pioneer Day Celebration
I don't think Preston has had cotton candy before.  He wasn't sure what to do with it, it looks like he is trying to eat it like corn on the cob.

6:30-Traveling again
Left the Glendora Stake Center and are on our way to the Arcadia Stake Center.

7:30-Singin' in the Rain
At the Arcadia Stake's production of Singin' in the Rain.  We watched the movie on Wednesday so we would all be familiar with the story before coming to the play.

8:30-Singin' in the Rain
The kids are loving the play.  We are having to shush their a-little-too-loud roaring laughter.  Fun way to end the day.

9:30-Headed Home

Reading Family Scriptures in the car on our way home so we can get kids to bed as quickly as possible when we get home.  Brielle and Ethan are almost asleep already but Preston is still a bundle of energy.

10:30-Reading in Bed
Long day.  All the kids are in bed and asleep.  I ended up with over 21,000 steps recorded on the fitbit.  It feels good to lay down.  James is finishing writing in his journal and we are going to sleep for the night after another fun day.

Brielle in Europe-May 24

Date: Sunday, May 24

Location: Colmar, Frankfurt

First, we went to church.  Gavin and I had fun.  We had a translator to help us.  Then we drove and drove and drove.  Then, we went to McDonalds.  Gavin and I had happy meals.  We had Fanta and apple juice to drink.  After, we drove some more.  Next, we went to McDonalds again. It had a big slide and a small slide.  It looked like a castle tower.

The whole ward spoke French.  There were only a couple of kids in primary; probably about 10.  

 We went to McDonalds a lot because most restaurants took a few hours to eat a meal in Europe.  There was a basketball hoop with like 35 basketballs, but they were really tiny.  There was this athletic track and it had a maze and it had lots of fun things that you could go through.

   We found a geocache that was inside of a tree.  So you'd have to take off a piece of bark and find it.  It was about 2 inches wide and 6 inches wide maybe.  It had a lot of things inside, but we didn't have anything to trade, so we couldn't get anything.

We found a lot of geocaches in Europe.  We found 1 in every country we went to, except for Switzerland.

Brielle in Europe-May 23

Date: Saturday, May 23

Location: Colmar, France

Today we went to Colmar, France.  Colmar is a pretty village because it has brightly painted buildings and a canal that runs through it.  We found our apartment next.  Grandma, Papa, Gavin and I searched for a restaurant until we finally found one.  After, Gavin and I split a cookie dough flavored ice cream.  Also, earlier we went on a canal boat ride and it had pretty things to see.  We went under a bridge that the American soldiers built because the Germans bombed many of the bridges that crossed the canal.

There were a lot of really colorful houses in Colmar.  This is right outside the souvenir shop.  We slept upstairs above it.  Gavin slept on the couch and I slept on these weird cube things.  They were really soft.

For breakfast I had a croissant with chocolate on top and chocolate in the middle.  It was really good.

We went on a boat ride.  It had really pretty views.  There were a lot of flowers and big trees on the sides.  We went under 6 bridges.  We saw 2 or 3 fish in the water.

We ate dinner at a restaurant.  It had really good food.  We had hamburger meat and something that they said was french fries, but it was actually mashed up potatoes with a little salt on it.

Everything in Colmar was really pretty.  The houses were all different colors.  There are doors right by the water and doors by the street.  Some people use boats to go see each other.  The streets are really narrow.