As the kids and I were out today, I eyes were drawn to the almond orchards in bloom. I wish I could somehow attach the beautiful smell for you to enjoy as well.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
The boys are doing Awana this year at a church in Manteca. Obi and Gavin were quite happy to learn that they would still be able to do the pine car derby races. They race was held on a Saturday, so I took the opportunity to stay at home in an empty house. Off they all went with Dad, Cora took the camera to capture some memories.
They did not place, but they still had a lot of fun!
The kids and I found the perfect sand shovel, and they also picked out a skim board.
They had a lot of falls, but were still having tons of fun!
Here's where I generally rinse out the wetsuits. When I'm done, there's a good amount of sand left in the tub.
Someone had some fun making pictures.
When Phil make a quick trip to the house, he grabbed the K'nex box. The kids have been doing a lot of building this last month. Here's our fleet of helicopters.
The weekend before last we ventured into a part of California that we've passed by, but had never ventured into, the caverns.
We made a visit to Moaning Cavern.
It was a beautiful day!! Sunny and low 70's.
We did the walking tour of the cave. We walked down the 234 stairs to 165 feet below the surface.
After our cavern tour, the boys wanted to do the climbing wall.
They were suiting into their harnesses.
Phil made sure they were all fitted properly.
Here you can see Athan on the Left side and Obi on the Right.
Here's a look out on an old gold mine and town.
Here's a look at a gold mine currently mining.
You used to be able to do underground tours here at Sutter Gold Mine, but with the current higher price of gold they are back to mining.
Ok, I had to show this.
We're figuring out how to put the abundance of oranges to good use.
The kids really enjoyed their experience of painting Christmas ornaments, and have asked to go back. Last Friday, the kids painted their own mug. Athan insisted that his mug be just the same color as the hot cocoa that it was going to hold. The store owner did convince him to add a bit of color. I'll be sure to post a picture of the final products.
Here's a Zinfandel grape. There is a lot of Zinfandel grapes grown in our area. Lodi has several vineyards that are more than 100 years old. I'm guessing this one is about that old.
It won't be long now, and they will begin sprouting leaves.
This last weekend we may a day trip to Cowell's Beach in Santa Cruz. Cora made a hole for herself, and her brothers had great fun burying her.
Gavin then wanted to be buried. Athan was delighted to do the job. He even made sure the sand was properly compacted by jumping on him.
After the first tries with the skim board, we quickly learned that we needed to wax it. Here's Phil getting the job done. We had a few jokes about an Iowan learning how to wax a board. The wax worked. It makes the board sticky instead of slippery. Much easier to stand on!
Phil captured the full moon rising on our way home.
As our time here in California is winding down, it is becoming more apparent to us the things we will miss most. I've started my checklist for the things we must do before moving back.
We are very much looking forward to our visit the end of March!! We will be staying at our house. There some details that I need to work out, and we may be in need to borrow a few items while we are back. I'll get a list together in the next week or two.
Thanks for checking in on us!!
Lots of love, Jessica and family
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
A quick trip to Petaluma.
Today we make a visit to Petaluma.
I don't know much about the town, but we've passed through it several times.
We first visited the Petaluma Seed Bank.
It was neat, but it would be a trip better suited for a time minus three boys who found it VERY boring.
Our second visit was to
Mrs. Grossman's Sticker Factory.
I guess I didn't realize how much stickers had changed over the years. This company was started in 1979, just about as old as me. :)
Just about all of their printing in done right here in the factory. It was neat to see the process and the kids were given a lot of stickers to take home.
Although we didn't see anything spectacular today, it was a nice day and I was able to appreciate the drive. Passing through Napa and Sonoma Counties is always a treat. I only brought my cheap point and shoot camera today, but I still wanted to share the view.
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