Spring Break - Day 4 - Academy of Sciences

On Thursday, the girls and I headed to San Francisco to visit the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park. Emma Jo had been here for a field trip last year, but it was a first trip for Grace and I. We made arrangements to meet one of Emma's classmates down there.

The Academy of Sciences was re-done in recent years and it is a very interesting place. One could easily spend all day there looking at all of the exhibits. We were there for almost 5 hours and that was about all I my feet and legs could handle. We'll have to plan on going back after the baby is born.

While we were there we got to watch a movie in the planetarium dome about the life of stars. It was very cool to see realistic representations of the milky way and the formation and ending of stars. We also got to walk through the rain forest. The girls were disappointed that there were very few butterflies in the exhibit, but there were lots of birds including a Macaw that squawked the entire time we were in there. The aquarium was also a hit. It definitely isn't as big at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, but the displays are really neat and we were able to see many different kinds of fish and sea life.
The only part of the Academy of Sciences which we were all on the fence about was the "Extreme Mammal" exhibit. It is the newest exhibit and very odd. It featured mostly extinct animals with extreme features. Most were too bizarre to comprehend.

Ice Cream

Grandma Bette & Grandpa Joe - Thank you for the Cold Stone Ice Cream money for Easter! We went last night and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Cooper had an interesting technique of using a big spoon and a taster spoon to scoop the ice cream into his mouth. He ended up with ice cream all over his hands, face and shirt, but he sure looked cute doing it.

Sorry, no pictures of Emma Jo since she was the photographer!

Spring Break - Day 3 - Mrs. Grossman's Sticker Factory

I have to admit that this new adventure everyday for a week is beginning to wear me out. Good thing we are half way through...

Today's adventure was a trip to Mrs. Grossman's Sticker Factory. I have loved these stickers since Elementary School and ever since I learned the factory was in Petaluma I've wanted to visit. I was thrilled when I made the suggestion to the girls and they both voted "yes". It meant I finally had an excuse to go.

The tour was about 40 minutes long and included a short movie and a walk through the factory. We got to see the printing presses, assembly line, packaging, and one-of-a-kind laser cut machine. After the tour we were each given a bag of stickers and a postcard to make our creation. The girls worked diligently on their cards but I was a good mom and saved my stickers for Cooper. After the tour we shopped in the "Company Store" and got a good deal on stickers for our house and Connie's house.

Then we headed towards home and made a quick stop at the gym for swimming. Now we are cooking some Carne Asada tacos for dinner and looking forward to Cold Stone for desert.

Easter Egg Dyeing

Spring Break - Day 2

Today we decided to stick close to home. The girls were happy that meant that they could sleep in as late as they wanted this morning. Still they were up by 7am. Cooper was up before the frost alarm went off around midnight. Once he stole my spot in bed he slept soundly until 6:30 (I had to steal Jason's spot since he was off "turning on the vineyard heaters").

Our first stop was the Petrified Forest. I've never been there before even though I've driven past it thousands of times. It was pretty neat to learn that the trees were petrified in a volcano explosion 3.5 million years ago. They told us that the volcano knocked the trees over and then covered them in ash. As a result of the explosion, the ocean which had been 3 miles away, moved to over 30 miles away and caused a huge flooding that covered the trees in water. As a result of the lack of oxygen the trees became petrified with minerals that leached out of the ash from the pressure of the water. We went through the half-mile walk and looked at the trees and then headed down to Calistoga to see Old Faithful.

Old Faithful is another of our local "landmarks" that I've never visited despite being born and raised in the valley. I negotiated a "locals rate" at the geyser and we headed out to wait for the eruption. Within minutes we saw water shoot about 5 feet in the air. I was unimpressed but the girl wanted to see it happen again. Since we had about 30 minutes before we were due at lunch we waited. A few minutes later water shot about 12 feet into the air. As we talked to another couple visiting from Connecticut we saw a total of 3 eruptions.

After all that excitement, we headed into St. Helena for lunch at Taylor's Refresher. It may have been re-named Gott's Roadside Tray Gourmet last week, but it still tasted like Taylor's to me. Jason, Grammie and Grampa met us for lunch. The girls loved trying the Black & White Milkshake (much better than regular chocolate they both agreed). The weather was beautiful and it was nice to sit at a picnic table on the lawn and soak in some sunshine.

After a quick trip to the bookstore, we headed to the gym for swimming so Jason could take a nap. I was happy to watch the girls play nicely together while I got to sit in a lounge chair and read my book. There is nothing quite like hearing your children squeal in delight while they are playing together. Makes my heart happy!

Tomorrow we are headed to Mrs. Grossman's and possible a movie...

Spring Break - Day 1 - Jelly Belly Factory

Today was our first official day of Spring Break. This year we decided instead of going on a family vacation we would have a new day trip adventure every day. We planned this even before we knew about the Little Bean but it makes me even more happy now. I don't know if I'd have the energy to go on a family trip right now and I'm really looking forward to spending the days with the girls but being able to sleep in my own bed each night.

The first adventure on the schedule was the Jelly Belly Factory. Jason, Emma and I have been there once before Grace was born. It is an hour and a half drive so we started out early. We dropped Cooper off at Daycare and stopped at Starbucks for some breakfast. Then it was straight to Fairfield. We got there right before 10am and the line for tours was only a couple of minutes long. We browsed the gift shop and then got in line. During our tour we learned that Very Cherry, Buttered Popcorn and Licorice are the most popular flavors of Jelly Bellys. We also learned that the factory goes through over 100,000 pounds of sugar in the average 8 hour shift. After the tour we hit the shop for some souvenirs and treats then headed back towards home.

We decided to stop in Napa at In-N-Out Burger for lunch. After circulating the parking lot we finally found a space right next to Grampa's truck! I figured he must be at In-N-Out since the other closest store was Target. Grampa had just ordered, so we were able to find a table and have lunch together.

Still on the schedule are trips to the Petrified Forest, Old Faithful Geyser, Bodega Bay, and the California Academy of Sciences. We might try to fit in swimming, manicures, a movie and a tour of Mrs. Grossman's sticker factory.

Easter Egg Hunt at church

Last weekend, our church hosted their annual Kids Easter Celebration and Egg Hunt. Since John and the boys were up visiting, we invited Grammie, Mays and Dallas to join in the festivities.

Emma and Cooper waiting patiently for Grammie and the boys to arrive.

Before the Easter story and Egg Hunt, the kids got to color pictures and make sticker collages of the crucifixion and resurrection.

While we waited for the Easter story to be read, Cooper entertained us with his Easter basket/bucket hat.

Cooper enjoyed finding the brightly colored eggs and throwing them into his basket. Good thing they were plastic.

Emma Jo loves her little cousins to bits and helped them find eggs.

Grammie and Grace checking out Mays' haul.

Thankfully we had the big hunt last weekend, because today we were greeted with gray skies and rain.