Living in the 1800's

Garrett and I went on a fun field trip to the Bernhard Museum in Auburn, CA.It is a piece of property that that county was able to purchased after it sat vacant for many years. It is such an awesome piece of history pertaining to the Gold Rush years in California . You are asked to come dressed as if you were living in the 1800's. You are asked to bring your lunch in a basket, pail. etc... They like to keep it real and have you experience life on the farm. During their time there, the children got to make crafts that children in the 1800's would have enjoyed. They made their own biscuits and butter. They work with leather. They played marbles. They tilled the garden. They washed  laundry by hand and they got to make their own little crate to take home! It was a fun day, filled with learning and fun experiences. At the end of the day, Garrett and I both agreed that we are thankful for the modern day luxuries that we get to enjoy!

 I am pretty sure Garrett's favorite part of the day was the bottle of Root Beer I packed in his lunch. Keeping it real...no boxed juice or plastic water bottles in the 1800's.

Cold as ICE

Brody and I enjoyed ice skating with friends from his preschool. Today's destination was the local ice rink. I was a little nervous, not sure how he would do with the cold(hey, we are from sunny California) and on ice skates. He instantly put me at ease...kind of. He was all over the place. Once he figured out the bucket crutch, he was off and skating. He even mastered it without the bucket...just ended up on his backside a little more often. I loved being able to spend some one on one time with him and that smile made the cold temps totally worth it.

life in the 1800's

I had the wonderful opportunity to attend Carter's 3rd grade field trip today. The 3rd graders we able to experience life in the 1800's. We visited the Bernhard Museum. This was not your typical museum. The children were able to experience, hands on, what life was like during this time period. They washed laundry by hand, made their own leather pouches, made biscuits & butter, played marbles, made leavings dolls & button spinners. They even did a few chores...just as children their age would have done in that era. As part of the experience, we were all asked to dress the part. Carter had cute suspenders, a white shirt, fitted jeans that weer rolled up. All of the Moms wore shirts, bonnets, shawls, & aprons. I am so glad that I got to share this day with Carter & his classmates. It was such an enriching experience.

















He was all about the orange soda in a glass bottle that John had purchased for the field trip.








































I sure love this super cute boy.

Two little pumpkins

We enjoyed a fun morning @ the pumpkin patch with Garrett's preschool pals. This patch/farm is one of our favorites.


I love all of the yummy colors that can be found @ the patch.
I can't even begin to tell you how many of our mornings, for the last three weeks have started with Garrett asking if it is time for his field trip. So when he woke up this morning, I said "Garrett, today is your field trip(before he could even ask the question)". His eyes got huge & he asked "today is my field trip"? The smile that followed was even BIGGER!

We enjoyed a train ride & a hayride out to the patch. We actually got to pick our pumpkins off the vine-I love that. Here is the pumpkin that Garrett ended up with.

Brody had so much fun running from pumpkin to pumpkin. He had to pat each one.

He then realized that they were like a ball. He then began to pick up the smaller ones & tried to throw them. He loved the patch so much. At one point, he was flat on his tummy & began to make dirt angels...NICE! No photos, I was trying to get him off the ground.

The boys were able to feed & pet some of the baby goats.
The huge jersey cow scared Brody. Kind of funny since it is one of the animals he walks around mimicking. I think the real life "MOO" scared him. He started to cry. In Brody's defense, the cow was HUGE!

Next we watched the chicken show that Mother Goose narrated
& the pig races. According to Garrett, pig #4 won. Not sure if pig #4 really won or that he just thinks the #4 is a big deal because he is 4 years old. A few us us Moms enjoyed some lunch while the boys ran in & out of a retired train, played in the sand & went on the slides. IT was a great morning. I love to watch my little pumpkins run around & have a great time!