apples, science, and dolphins

 October 3rd, the kids and I went apple picking for our Wednesday outing.  We went to an area called Apple Hill about an hour East of Sacramento.  The area if filled with 50+ farmers of various fruits and Christmas Trees.  We picked a bushel of apples at Denver Dan's.  

Today we have 9 remaining. 

Athan and Gavin appreciated the small trees with their low branches.  I'm not sure why Athan is wearing winter gloves, I've learned not to question such activities of children.

I had to get a picture of the kids in front of the trees and flowering plants, for it looked much different than Iowa in the fall.

Here's Obi with his structure he made at Lodi's World of Wonder museum.  Lodi is just a few miles North of us.  This museum is small, but it's all hands on activities that the kids love.  Also, it's free admission with our Science Center of Iowa pass!

 Cora spent a lot of her time with the bubbles and putting bubbles around any willing child.  She mentioned that she should go volunteer there so she can play bubbles with all the young kids.

On the 12th the kids and I ventured up to Old Sacramento.  I'd heard lots of great things about the train museum there.  

Obi's always been a big train fan, so it was a bit of an early treat for his birthday.

This poster was at the museum.  

Cora and I found it quite funny.

p.s. Cora was quite into trains for several years as well.  :)

This is at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco.  The Exploratorium, a science museum, is located right beside this.  

We took a nice walk around the area during a lunch break.

The 13th we were in Santa Cruz.

Athan has taking more of a liking to the sand than the water.

Clone 1 & Clone 2

Cora catching a wave.

Gavin & Phil after their ride.

Having fun!

A new sight.

Gavin and his California twin.

Athan even found a friend to play with.

Phil's catching a wave.

Cora found a sand dollar.

Obi coming in for a rest.

One of the hard things to get used to out here is meat prices!  I wanted to make Obi roast beef with mashed potatoes and gravy for his b-day.

 We celebrated Obi's birthday with dinner, presents, and a movie.  Cora made his cake on the day of his birthday, but we were too full of movie theater popcorn Monday night.  

So we finished the celebration Tuesday night.  Obi decorated his own cake with a train. :)

The 19th Phil took off of work, because he had worked all day Sunday at the sight.  We decided to head back again to the Exploratorium for Dad's first visit.  

You may notice the band-aid on Gavin's neck.  It's covering his surfing wound. :(  He has gotten sand in between his skin and his wetsuit the last two weeks.

We've really enjoyed coming to this museum.  

It's like the science center of science centers.  

It's also been free for us to visit because of our SCI pass.  Unfortunately, the Exploratorium is opting out of the ASTC program at the end of this month.  It's quite a pricey place, so we've gotten in 3 visits this month to soak it all in.

Sunday we were back in Santa Cruz.

It was a bit chilly when we arrived, so we took a walk out on the wharf.   It was very enjoyable!  The sea lion was checking us out, star fish covered the poles, sea lions napped under us, and we spotted a pod of dolphins!

For lunch we enjoyed Fish and Chips, and Clam Chowder in a Sour Dough Bread Bowl.  

Gavin does not like seafood at all, so eat ate 'chips' for lunch, and the lemon for our fish.  Just before I had asked Gavin if Santa Cruz was his favorite, he said he loved everything except for all the fish stuff there was to eat.  :)

Phil rented a Stand Up Paddle board (SUP) for the day.  He's been wanting to try since we were in Maui.   It was a bit more challenging than many of the locals make it look, but he was able to get up a few times. 

Cora was next to give it a try.

Meanwhile, Athan specializes in finding different dead creatures on the beach.

And there she is, sitting in the Pacific Ocean on a SUP with dolphins swimming right by her!   

I'm certain this is an opportunity she won't ever forget!

Cora was able to make it to her feet for quite a stretch of time, while a very proud dad and mom stood on the shore and watched.

Phil took Gavin out for a ride to enjoy the sea lions up close; by this time the dolphins has gone.

On the other side of the wharf we found this dolphin that was much easier to photograph. 

There have been days that have made being out here very tough on everyone.  

Then there are days like these that make the sacrifices a bit easier to take.

All in all, we are still very thankful to be able to have these experiences.....and for skype!

Thanks for reading, lot of love, Jessica