A few weeks ago, I had an idea to go one a two day road trip out to west Nebraska and back using the Nebraska Passport program as a guidebook. J chimed in questioning how much farther it would be to visit Mount Rushmore. Umm… like another 5 hours driving. This conversation continued and evolved into a 5 day, 4 night road trip through Nebraska, up to the Mount Rushmore area, back through South Dakota, and down hone. After deciding on a big plan, I got to work finding lots of optional activities and sites to see. I’m huge into weird roadside attractions and offbeat sites and made sure to include a ton in my planning. We just got back from our trip this weekend and now it’s time to document our trip. I plan on doing a mini scrapbook album with pictures and ephemera, but first I’m going to document our travels here.
NE-SD Road Trip Day #4
A few weeks ago, I had an idea to go one a two day road trip out to west Nebraska and back using the Nebraska Passport program as a guidebook. J chimed in questioning how much farther it would be to visit Mount Rushmore. Umm… like another 5 hours driving. This conversation continued and evolved into a 5 day, 4 night road trip through Nebraska, up to the Mount Rushmore area, back through South Dakota, and down hone. After deciding on a big plan, I got to work finding lots of optional activities and sites to see. I’m huge into weird roadside attractions and offbeat sites and made sure to include a ton in my planning. We just got back from our trip this weekend and now it’s time to document our trip. I plan on doing a mini scrapbook album with pictures and ephemera, but first I’m going to document our travels here.
Day #4: Rapid City, SD to Sioux Falls, SD
Stop #1: Wall Drug, Wall, SD - If we are going to be in South Dakota, you have to go to Wall Drug! I made sure to get pictures of all the kids riding the jackalope (Q’s pic is on J’s camera right now). Alex and I went hunting for a carved jackalope which we sadly did not find. We bought fudge, strawberry jalapeno jam, and bison jerky. And generally marveled at the ridiculousness. On our way out, I made sure to take a detour to see the 80 foot dinosaur by the highway.
Stop #2: Minuteman Missile Site Delta-09 - We had wanted to do a tour of a decommissioned minuteman missile site, but ran into two problems: 1) Q would not be able to go on the tour (ladders) 2) All tours were booked for the day we were going to be there. Beyond the tour, there is also a visitor center and a separate silo scattered along I-90. We opted for the silo for our stop. There was an audio tour to learn more about the site. Instead, I listened to a volunteer talk about the site with some other families. We got to peer into a silo with a dummy missile in it and read the informational signs. J took an amazing panoramic photo of the nothingness surrounding the site. Hidden gem!
Stop #3: Prairie Dogs, Phillip, SD - Right off of 90, on the way to the Badlands National Park (and scenic loop drive), there is this great random attraction. You can buy peanuts from the store and feed real prairie dogs in a field. We didn’t buy any food, but did watch other families feed the animals. Arthur was super excited to get down low and check them out.
Stop #4: Original 1880 Town, Murdo, SD - J and stopped at this Wild West Town on our way through SD to CA 7 years ago. We had to take the kids! It was weird to go when there were actually people in the town. Last time, we went in April and it was a ghost town. This time, we grabbed lunch at the 50s Diner on the train cars and headed into the town to explore. They’ve added a few little things, but it’s mainly the same.
Stop #5: Dignity of Earth and Sky, Oacoma, SD - This beautiful statue is a recent addition (2016) to the area. The craftsmanship of this piece was breathtaking. I loved how the panels on her back reflected sunlight from the Missouri River. We also admired the view of the river before heading out. (Note for travelers: this is located at a rest stop / scenic view area right off of I-90)
Stop #6: Corn Palace, Mitchell, SD - Of course we had to stop here! They’ve added a few interesting displays in the lobby since I was last here.
Stop #7: Jackalope, Mitchell, SD - On our way out of town, we made sure to stop and get pictures on this jackalope.
And then we were off to Sioux Falls for dinner (at Granite City) and on to our hotel for the night.
NE-SD Road Trip Day #3
A few weeks ago, I had an idea to go one a two day road trip out to west Nebraska and back using the Nebraska Passport program as a guidebook. J chimed in questioning how much farther it would be to visit Mount Rushmore. Umm… like another 5 hours driving. This conversation continued and evolved into a 5 day, 4 night road trip through Nebraska, up to the Mount Rushmore area, back through South Dakota, and down hone. After deciding on a big plan, I got to work finding lots of optional activities and sites to see. I’m huge into weird roadside attractions and offbeat sites and made sure to include a ton in my planning. We just got back from our trip this weekend and now it’s time to document our trip. I plan on doing a mini scrapbook album with pictures and ephemera, but first I’m going to document our travels here.
Day #3: Custer, SD to Rapid City, SD
Stop #1: Pancake Buffet at The Bavarian Inn, Custer, SD - Part of the reason we booked a hotel here was the pancake buffet. Q rediscovered his love of Nutella!
Stop #2: Random dinos in Custer, SD - We had to stop at this random display.
Stop #3: Black Hills Institute, Hill City, SD - Highlight of the day! The Black Hills Institute were the scientists behind finding Sue, the T Rex currently housed at the Field Museum in Chicago. A few years back, they found Stan - the largest most complete male T Rex fossil found. They actually still have Stan so we had to stop and visit. This tiny museum packs so many specimens in a tiny area. Another place we could have spent hours at if not for the little kids.
Stop #4: Mount Rushmore - My second visit to the mountain. Hasn’t changed. Haha! We didn’t spend a huge amount of time here, but we had to stop for a few to all get a look at the faces. While there, I picked up Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln bobbleheads. I now have all four of the Presidents on the mountain.
Stop #5: Lunch at BarLee’s, Keystone, SD - My best meal of the trip. I ordered the pulled pork sandwich and it was so good. Plus we got a great view of the hills across the street.
Stop #6: Black Hills Caverns, Rapid City, SD - Q fell asleep in the car, so J stayed with him while the rest of us went on the cave tour. I loved the tour and our tour guide. We ended up 225 feet below the surface!
Stop #7: Chapel in the Hills, Rapid City, SD - This reconstruction of a 12th century Norwegian church was a must see. J and hiked up to the church (the kids all stayed in the car) to marvel at the architecture. Very peaceful in the hills.
Stop #8: Storybook Island, Rapid City, SD - Apparently I have a thing for weird children’s amusement parks from the 1950s. We had to stop! And it lived up to all the weirdness that I was expecting. Unfortunately, there were so many bugs we didn’t spend that much time here. Seriously, there were swarms of bugs everywhere.
Stop #9: Dinosaur Park, Rapid City, SD - Another random roadside attraction I had to see. Q loved playing on all the dinosaurs. We got great 360 degree views of Rapid City. And I learned that the entire park was built by the WPA in 1936. Random!
Stop #10: Downtown Rapid City, SD - On our way to dinner, we walked through part of historic downtown. We stopped by Art Alley. Not quite the level of art as in Oakland, but I really liked the piece pictured below. RC has statues of all the U.S. President scattered throughout downtown. We saw about 10 total. We even managed to stumble across my favorite: Thomas Jefferson.
Stop #11: Dinner ay Jambonz Deux, Rapid City, SD - Decent soul cajun food. The catfish was really good.
Swimming at the hotel.
NE-SD Road Trip Day #2
A few weeks ago, I had an idea to go one a two day road trip out to west Nebraska and back using the Nebraska Passport program as a guidebook. J chimed in questioning how much farther it would be to visit Mount Rushmore. Umm… like another 5 hours driving. This conversation continued and evolved into a 5 day, 4 night road trip through Nebraska, up to the Mount Rushmore area, back through South Dakota, and down hone. After deciding on a big plan, I got to work finding lots of optional activities and sites to see. I’m huge into weird roadside attractions and offbeat sites and made sure to include a ton in my planning. We just got back from our trip this weekend and now it’s time to document our trip. I plan on doing a mini scrapbook album with pictures and ephemera, but first I’m going to document our travels here.
Day #2: North Platte, NE to Custer, SD
Stop #1: Sinclair Dinosaur, North Platte, NE - We have a few Sinclair Gas Stations in Omaha, but ours do not have the dinosaur outside. We had to snap a pic!
Stop #2: Buffalo Bill’s House at Scouts Rest Ranch, North Platte, NE - I wanted to tour the house, but it didn’t open until 10am and we couldn’t wait. I still got to check out the outside.
Stop #3: Golden Spike Tour, North Platte, NE - We went up to the top of the tower to check out Bailey Yard. Q loves trains, so this was a must stop! The wooden train out back was a highlight.
Stop #4: Petrified Wood Gallery, Ogallala, NE - Another hidden gem of a museum. I would have loved to spend much more time there, but alas, we have small children. Across the street was the Front Street Museum. We didn’t go in, but I did snap a pic.
Stop #5: Mansion on the Hill, Ogallala, NE - Nebraska Passport stop. I love architecture, so I had to take some pics.
Stop #6: Boot Hill Cemetery, Ogallala, NE - Right next door was the Boot Hill Cemetery. A super hidden gem! All of the informational signs were great reads. And we randomly met a couple from Greensburg IN there. Small world!
Stop #7: Chimney Rock National Monument, Bayard, NE - Who remember’s passing Chimney Rock while playing Oregon Trail? We had to take a short detour to see the real thing! There was a cute little museum/visitor center with amazing views of the monument. Arthur was fascinated by the “Beware of Rattlesnakes” signs scattered around. He even got a stuffed rattlesnake as a souvenir.
Stop #8: Lunch at Corner Cafe, Bayard, NE - Cute little cafe serving basic diner food. Our waitress was amazing and the kids loved her!
Stop #9: Carhenge, Alliance, NE - Of course we had to stop her so I could experience the amazing roadside-ness of Carhenge! Q loved the dinosaur, but was confused that he couldn’t move any of the cars.
Stop #10: Museum of the Fur Trade, Chadron, NE - We didn’t inside as it was closing, but i had to get a pick of the antler archway and the historical monument.
Stop #11: The Mammoth Site, Hot Springs, SD - Highlight of the entire trip! Seriously, this was absolutely amazing! The building houses an active paleontological dig site focused on a sinkhole. The tour was informative and interesting. I think we could have spent hours there.
Stop #12: Dinner at Big Time Pizza, Hot Springs, SD - We went for pizza this night. J and I shared the Buffalo Stampede (pepperoni, sweet onions, jalapeno, and buffalo meat). Not quite better than the spicy pizza we get from Piezon down the street, but still really good.
Stop #13: Wind Cave National Park, SD - Not actually a stop, but we drove through Wind Cave National Park on the way to our hotel and passed a herd of bison! None of my pictures really turned out that great, but it was amazing to see bison in the wild. Such amazing creatures!
Stop #14: Bavarian Inn, Custer, SD - Most of the hotels I booked were boring chains, but this night’s stay was at a cute independently owned hotel tucked into the hills in Custer. The room was spacious (to sleep all 6 of us), adorable, and clean. They had a great indoor pool and lobby area. They were even piping in jazzy cover music in the lobby and parking lot. If you’re in the area, make sure to book a room here!
NE-SD Road Trip Day #1
A few weeks ago, I had an idea to go one a two day road trip out to west Nebraska and back using the Nebraska Passport program as a guidebook. J chimed in questioning how much farther it would be to visit Mount Rushmore. Umm… like another 5 hours driving. This conversation continued and evolved into a 5 day, 4 night road trip through Nebraska, up to the Mount Rushmore area, back through South Dakota, and down hone. After deciding on a big plan, I got to work finding lots of optional activities and sites to see. I’m huge into weird roadside attractions and offbeat sites and made sure to include a ton in my planning. We just got back from our trip this weekend and now it’s time to document our trip. I plan on doing a mini scrapbook album with pictures and ephemera, but first I’m going to document our travels here.
Day #1: Omaha, NE to North Platte, NE
Stop #1: Covered Wagon abandoned store near Milford, NE - Random roadside attraction I needed to see! Right off of I-80, exit 382
Stop #2: Clayton Museum of Ancient History at York College, York, NE - Hidden gem of a museum. Artifacts are from a private collection. Plus there was a kid’s interactive area. Always a plus when traveling with kiddos.
Stop #3: Random backyard zoo in York, NE - I snagged a pic of the giraffe, but there was also a zebra, lion, hippo, cow skeleton, and a few others.
Stop #4: Lee’s Marbles in York, NE - Another random hidden gem. This is an antique store, junk shop, and marble museum. Arthur got a free bag of marbles from the owner.
Stop #5: Harvard Jail in Harvard, NE - Check out the story featured in the historical marker. We had to see this tiny jail once owned by a dummy!
Stop #6: Birth of Kool-Aid, Hastings, NE - I had to take a pic of the building that birthed Kool-Aid. We traveled about a mile away to see the Kool-Aid Man’s footprints at the Hastings Museum (we didn’t go in, just checked out the outside). Also there, I snapped a pic of a statue of the Martin Brothers. In 1864, these brothers were attacked by Native Americans and were pinned together by an arrow. They survived. Strange random story. Apparently there are multiple statues to these brothers all around the area. We personally found 4!!! of these statues and wonder if there are more…
Stop #7: Coney Island Lunch Room in Grand Island, NE - We had to eat here and compare to Coney Island in Fort Wayne. Decent coney dogs, but Fort Wayne is still a winner!
Stop #8: Wacky cars on poles, Grand Island, NE - Awesome roadside attraction!
Stop #9: Raising Nebraska exhibit at Fonner Park, Grand Island, NE - This is part of the permanent exhibit at the Nebraska State Fair grounds. We popped in to see the World’s Largest Pair of Overalls, but stayed to check out the other exhibits. Arthur and Quentin loved driving the combine!
Stop #10: The Archway, Kearney, NE - Our big museum stop of the day. The pictures I had seen made this museum look really cheesy, but we loved it. You follow the story of the west and specifically Nebraska across I-80 and back across. The audio tour was very interesting with a big story and lots of extra more specific stops. We didn’t explore all of the grounds, but there was more to see outside. Definite stop!
Stop #11: Pony Express Station, Gothenburg, NE - Great stop! This is an original Pony Express Station (moved from original location to this park), complete with mini museum and historical plaques. The lady working was very friendly and knowledgable. This was a quick stop (15 minutes probably), but a must see if you’re in the area.
Stop #12: Dinner at Switchyard in North Platte, NE
Stop #13: Fort Cody Trading Post, North Platte, NE - Very kitschy souvenir shop with random statues and wagons in the backyard. The big draw is the miniaturized recreation of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. Plus they had a ton of other west artifacts. My favorite picture is the one of Arthur and Quentin in jail. Arthur told Q to “look sad.” This pic was the result!
And that concludes our packed Day 1!
Christmas Vacation
It's time for my annual two week vacation from the blog. I try to focus on family and fun during Christmas vacation. This break also helps me leisurely prep for the next year. I'll see everyone in 2016 with some great new blog ideas (and potentially another new blog)!
Vacation Time
It's time for my annual blogging break. I'm home in Indiana for Christmas. Looking forward to seeing Arthur's first Christmas with the family. We have a ton of activities left before I return to California. I'll be back to active blogging after the New Year.
Heading Back East...
It's Spring Break in Indiana and that means drinks and parties... Oh wait! Wrong life! Spring Break means time with the family and more importantly the boys. I'm flying back to spend 12 whole days enjoying their company and trying to keep warm (April in Indiana is NOT warm). We plan on having the boys' birthday party (late), trips to Science Central and possibly Putt Putt, and lots of family dinners... Very exciting stuff! Plus, I have some big news that I will be sharing with everyone. Look for it soon!
Vacation Highlights
I came back to California a few days ago, but I thought I would share some of my vacation highlights. I"ve spent almost three weeks in my hometown hanging out with the boys, family, and friends. Komets hockey game from the nose bleed section! We had free tickets because the stepfather's chorus group was singing the National Anthem. The boys' friend Tommy also came. They seemed to have a ton of fun.
Seeing the Cougar Hunter boys play at the bar. My my Beth, did you drink all those! Nope, but the pic was too good to pass up. Plus, 80s hair band music and crazy hairsprayed hair. Who could turn that down?
Christmas extravaganza! Based off of the looks on the boys' faces, I think they got some good presents. Hanging out with the family for presents time and then seeing Santa Claus! Finally stockings and Santa gifts on Christmas morning.
When I arrived in Indiana the ground was cold but bare. A few days later, it looked like this. Well, I definitely don't love the cold, I do love the snow. It looks so pretty.
The pretty Christmas tree in the outdoor mall. I couldn't get a pic of it, but at night it has changing color lights that flash and spiral up the tree. Very cool effect!
The kids ringing in the New Year with their sparkling juice and Pepsi.
My favorite Christmas presents. An awesome bag from my mom. My laptop fits in it perfectly.
Tie-dying party with our friends. They were being washed when I left, so I'll have to wait to see what they really look like.
I'm heading east to the cold...
I'm off to Indiana to see the family for the holiday season. I'm sure there will be lots of food, lots of laughs, and lots of flowers (in the shop). I'm excited to see everyone, especially the boys, but hesitant about the cold. I think I'm acclimating to North California weather and this will be a shock to the system. I'm packing tons of layers, basically whatever's left of my winter wardrobe and hoping for moderate temps. If you are traveling, be safe!
Sunnyvale Summer Week 6
The boys are here! Now on to the fun. I thought it would be a easier to do a week in review for all of our summer adventures.
Sunday:
- Chill day at the house
Monday:
- Pool day
- Doctor Who marathon -- Series 3 with Martha Jones. Not my favorite, but it does include some great episodes, especially Blink (scariest episode ever)
Tuesday:
- Library visit
- Sunnyvale Golfland -- We played another round in the Knight's Quest course and some arcade games. By the time we were done, the boys had earned 2100 tickets to redeem. And here's their haul.
Wednesday:
- Exploratorium in San Francisco -- This time we traveled by car up to the peninsula. The Exploratorium is a huge hands-on science museum. The boys really enjoyed their time there. I especially loved the life sciences sections.
- Palace of Fine Arts -- Right outside of the Exploratorium is the old remnants of the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition. They are just gorgeous and make for great photo ops.
- Golden Gate Bridge visit -- The boys and I drove over the bridge to get the view from the other side. It was worth the $6 to get back to the city to see the view.
- Dinner at the Sunnyvale Music and Food Wednesday -- Murphy Street hosts a great collection of band, vendors, and food trucks. I ordered some amazing fish tacos from the Oaxacan Food Truck. The boys got some curry chicken nuggets (A loved, N not so much) and yummy yummy sauce.
Thursday:
- Chill day at home
Friday:
- Great America -- We finally hit some of the attractions that we hadn't before. And I got to ride The Grizzley (wooden style coaster). Plus we took in a show. It was a good day.
Saturday:
- Chill day at home with Doctor Who marathon.
Starting goals:
- Getting a library card (for the boys) and weekly trips √
- Sky High √
- Great America √
- Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco √
- Alcatraz
- Scavenger hunt/photo scavenger hunt √
- San Jose Giants baseball game
- Beach trip √
- Exploratorium in San Francisco √
- Summer camps √
- Most likely daily pool visits √
- Get together with an old friend and her kids
- Possible bike rides
Sunnyvale Summer Week 5
The boys are here! Now on to the fun. I thought it would be a easier to do a week in review for all of our summer adventures. Sunday:
- Sunnyvale Golfland -- We played the east course, Tiki's something or other. It's definitely easier than the Knight's Quest, but still fun. We rounded out our visit with a bit of arcade time. Golfland is on for one more visit sometime next week.
Monday:
- Chilling at home
Tuesday:
- Great America -- This time we hit up the water park (no pics as I was having too much fun in the water). The weather was perfect: 88 degrees and sunny in Santa Clara. After the water park, we hit up some of our favorite rides and played a few carnival games. We each won a Domo! After spending another 7 hours at the park, we were all exhausted. GA is on our list for one more time this summer, probably next week.
Wednesday:
- Doctor Who marathon -- Who can say no to the Doctor, especially David Tennant's Doctor? We got through almost the entire second series. We'll definitely be into the third series before they go back to Indiana.
Thursday:
- Scavenger Hunt -- I made little card clues and scattered them about the complex. The boys had to figure out each clue to reach the next one. At the end, they had to rearrange the secret letters to spell out their prize...
- Hunt Prize: Tutti Frutti -- To which A was super excited and N decided he didn't want any. How can you say no to frozen yogurt? A got his usual, chocolate with chocolate chips and m&ms. I got peach with oreo cookie crumbles. Yummy!
- Pool
Friday:
- Library visit -- Picked up some Pokemon comics and a movie for tonight, 9.
- Pool day
- Little Caesars -- As I wasn't feeling so great today, I caved and we went and picked up Little Caesars. The boys' favorite pizza. At $5 a pizza, it's definitely in the budget.
Saturday:
- Pool
- Mythbusters
- Pick up J at airport
Starting goals:
- Getting a library card (for the boys) and weekly trips √
- Sky High √
- Great America √
- Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco √
- Alcatraz
- Scavenger hunt/photo scavenger hunt √
- San Jose Giants baseball game
- Beach trip √
- Exploratorium in San Francisco
- Summer camps √
- Most likely daily pool visits √
- Get together with an old friend and her kids
- Possible bike rides
Sunnyvale Summer Week 4
The boys are here! Now on to the fun. I thought it would be a easier to do a week in review for all of our summer adventures. Week two in the past:
Sunday:
- Chilling at home
Monday:
- Chilling at home -- three days in a row, but it felt so nice
Tuesday:
- Winchester Mystery House -- It's only about 15 minutes away from our house. I had previously visited 6 years ago on vacation. I thought the boys would enjoy it after our interesting visit to Fallingwater. We did the mansion tour and the behind-the-scenes tour. I love examining all the of the different rooms and gardens. I love that house! I think the boys enjoyed our time.
Wednesday: Fourth of July!
- Fireworks in Cupertino -- We didn't want to fight the crowds to get to the bay, so we decided to head about 15 minutes south to Cupertino. We sat in a nice park with our picnic blanket, card games, and snacks. The fireworks were great. And the best part was that we got home in 30 minutes.
Thursday:
- Running errands without the car -- The boys and I took a nice walk to the bank and then to Target.
- Lunch at Gumbas -- We grabbed a pizza at the Italian restaurant two blocks from the house. Yummy!
Friday:
- Pool afternoon
- Movie -- We ventured out to see The Amazing Spiderman.
Saturday:
- Library visit -- We grabbed some great books and movies.
- Dropped J off at SFO -- He's flying to Romania for a week for a business trip. While the cat's away, the mice will play. Not really... But I will miss him.
Starting goals:
- Getting a library card (for the boys) and weekly trips √
- Sky High √
- Great America √
- Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco √
- Alcatraz
- Scavenger hunt/photo scavenger hunt
- San Jose Giants baseball game?
- Beach trip √
- Exploratorium in San Francisco
- Summer camps √
- Most likely daily pool visits √
- Get together with an old friend and her kids
- Possible bike rides
Sunnyvale Summer Week 3
The boys are here! Now on to the fun. I thought it would be a easier to do a week in review for all of our summer adventures. Week two in the past:
Sunday:
- Pool -- It was a bit chilly, but still refreshing.
- Started the boys on Doctor Who (reboot, not back to the 60s). So far they love it!
Monday:
- Great America -- I might have been crazy to take the boys to an amusement park, but it's only 10 minutes from our house. We had to try to it out. After a bit of hesitation, they tried ton of rides. We spent 8 hours at the park! And they want to go again! Good thing I bought season passes. (And yes, that is N and I participating the grand finale of the magic show)
Tuesday:
- Library Visit -- Love our library visits. This time we even picked up some movies.
- Golfland Sunnyvale -- I had bought a Living Social deal awhile back. There's two different courses: Knight's Quest and some Tiki styled one. We choose Knight's Quest and boy was it challenging, fun but challenging. We played one round and then went inside to check out the arcade. They already want to go back. And if you want to know who won, N blew A and I out of the water!
- Brave -- Definitely a must see Pixar movie. We loved it! Plus it gave us a chance to check out a different theater in Cupertino. Road trip! (really only 15 minutes from home, but we've never really gone that far south)
Wednesday:
- Coast exploration adventure -- I was determined to find a decent beach. We wound our way to the coast and Highway 1. The first beach we tried (Half Moon Bay State Beach) was charging $10 a car and didn't take credit cards. So we got back into the car to try another. Just about 1/2 mile south we found Poplar Beach with metered parking $4 for 2 hours on the beach. And the machine took credit cards. Perfect amount of time. The boys frolicked (yep they frolicked) in the surf. It was freezing, but they didn't seem to mind. They were so excited to check out the Pacific Ocean. They even built a sandcastle with another little boys. After two hours, they were exhausted and bit cold, perfect time to pack up and head home. But we will be back!
- Toys R Us -- The boys had a couple of gift certificates from grandma. They found a few Skylanders they don't have, a toucan Angry Birds plush, a few Sonic comic books, a mini Lego figure, and a Fruit Ninja apple plush. I think a pretty good haul!
Thursday:
- San Francisco Day!
- Commuter fun -- First time for the boys riding the Caltrain and Muni. We caught an early bullet train in the city. From there, we had to transfer to the Muni light rail to the BART station underground. Finally we hopped on the old fashioned street cars to travel to our destination...
- Aquarium of the Bay -- The boys loved looking at all the exhibits. All the animals are species that live in the bay, so it's a unique aquarium. We end watched an awesome 3D movie about sharks that was entertaining and informative.
- Johnny Rockets for lunch
- Musee Mechanique -- Antique arcade games stretching back into the late 1800s. And they are all playable! Of course the boys gravitated to the 1980s-1990s games, but we had fun anyway.
- Fisherman's Wharf -- Checking out the sights
- Boudin Bakery -- Yummy sourdough bread and cookies for a snack
- Pier 39 -- Shopping, seeing the sights, taking pictures.
Friday:
- Chill day at the house
- Movies and Pool
Saturday:
- Chill day at the house
- Pool, Movies, and Rock Band
Starting goals:
- Getting a library card (for the boys) and weekly trips; summer reading program √
- Sky High -- trampoline bounce place √
- Great America -- only 10 minutes from the house! √
- Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco √
- Alcatraz -- J wants to go with, so this will be a vacation day or weekend trip
- Scavenger hunt/photo scavenger hunt -- I want to do one of these but haven't even started thinking about the clues
- San Jose Giants baseball game?
- Beach trip -- possibly Santa Cruz
- Exploratorium in San Francisco
- Summer camps -- need to get a Sunnyvale account to sign them up -- Signed up! √
- Most likely daily pool visits √
- Get together with an old friend and her kids -- possibly at the Santa Cruz boardwalk or in Fresno (her town)
- Possible bike rides -- if they can get better at riding
Sunnyvale Summer Week 2
The boys are here! Now on to the fun. I thought it would be a easier to do a week in review for all of our summer adventures. Week two in the past:
Sunday:
- Pool
- Dinner at Rok -- We ordered cheese fondue as an appetizer. Yummy California Dreamin' mix. For the main course, N had mac and cheese, A had chicken tenders, J had kangaroo, and I had scallops and prawns. You cook your food at the table on 650 degree volcanic rocks. (Don't worry, the boys' rocks weren't hot). All that plus a bottle of wine made for a very yummy dinner. Next time we will have to try the dessert chocolate fondue. (The last picture is N trying the kangaroo. He didn't really like it, but he did try it.)
- Trutti Frutti -- Dessert at Trutti Frutti. Boys had the same concoctions as last time. I tried green apple and death by chocolate with brownie bits and gummi bears.
Monday:
- Library visit -- Most of the books the boys put on hold became available, so we stopped to grab them before camp today. Below: returning books through the library's automated system. Very fancy!
- Summer Camps -- N had LEGO Engineering and A had Magic Camp. They both talked nonstop after their classes. I think they are enjoying it so far... Pic from today is of A.
Tuesday:
- Summer Camps
- Playground/park time -- The boys' classes start an hour apart in different locations. So we have a bit of time to wait between start and end times. Thank goodness N's location is in the middle of a park. All pics from today are of N after his class, but before we went to pick up A.
Wednesday:
- Summer Camps
- Playground/park time
- Pics of the Sunnyvale Community Center fountains. Very pretty. A has informed me that it is an "acid lake" (break time play with friends) and they have to avoid it at all costs.
Thursday:
- Summer Camps
- Playground/park time
- Start of our Pixar movie marathon -- This is one of my Day Zero Project goals and I though the boys might enjoy rewatching some Pixar movies. We started with Up... makes me cry every time. I think our next selection will be Wall-E.
Friday:
- Summer Camps
- A's Magic Show -- The kids each performed two tricks and then received their special awards. He did so well with a clear voice and eye contact. Each kid took home their box of magic tricks, but there were others to buy after the show. A bought his favorite growing flower in a pot trick and N picked up a magic hat to match his brother.
Saturday:
- Pool
- Lounging day at the house
- Another Pixar movie
Starting goals:
- Getting a library card (for the boys) and weekly trips; summer reading program √
- Sky High -- trampoline bounce place √
- Great America -- only 10 minutes from the house!
- Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco
- Alcatraz -- J wants to go with, so this will be a vacation day or weekend trip
- Scavenger hunt/photo scavenger hunt -- I want to do one of these but haven't even started thinking about the clues
- San Jose Giants baseball game?
- Beach trip -- possibly Santa Cruz
- Exploratorium in San Francisco
- Summer camps -- need to get a Sunnyvale account to sign them up -- Signed up! √
- Most likely daily pool visits √
- Get together with an old friend and her kids -- possibly at the Santa Cruz boardwalk or in Fresno (her town)
- Possible bike rides -- if they can get better at riding
Sunnyvale Summer Week 1
The boys are here! Now on to the fun. I thought it would be a easier to do a week in review for all of our summer adventures. Week one in the past: Tuesday:
- Boys arrive -- After the usual nastiness of air flight, the boys arrived two hours after their scheduled time. We were going to do a ton of errands, but they were a bit exhausted. So we grabbed some Wendy's on the way back to the apartment.
- Pool visit -- Right away the boys wanted to jump into the pool, so of course we did it.
- Target -- The boys got new towels, a subway map shower curtain, and some pool toys.
Wednesday:
- Donuts -- We walked across the street to get donuts. The boys can't believe that we can get fresh donuts across the street. Yum! Yum! And they are huge.
- Pool -- I think that the pool is going to be a daily adventure.
- Bookstore -- We visited the small local bookstore, Bookasaurus (kids) and Leigh's Favorite Books (adult,) two blocks away.
- Frozen Yogurt -- Boys were hesitant about frozen yogurt ("Is it ice cream?" "No, but similar"), but I won them over at Trutti Frutti. N had chocolate with chocolate chips and gummi bears, A had chocolate with chocolate chips and m&ms, and I had green apple and french vanilla with mini peanut butter cups. They already want to go again...
Thursday:
- Sunnyvale Library -- I can't believe how excited the boys were to go to the library. They got their own library cards and proceeded to grab books left and right. They even asked for specific books that we had to look up on the catalog. We put some of those books on hold for the coming weeks. In the end, they each checked out around 10 books. One was read in the car and another partway read waiting for lunch. I'd say they are pretty happy. We will be visiting the library on a weekly basis.
- Sunnyvale Community Center -- We had to go get our household id to sign up for summer classes. Five minutes and everything was set.
- Sky High -- A huge warehouse filled with trampolines. A little boy's dream. After passing it about three times and searching for a parking place, we arrived for our hour long visit. I only bought an hour and thank goodness. The boys really enjoyed their time, but an hour was the limit.
- Pool -- Third day in a row. But this time the boys met a few boys their age that actually live in the complex. We found out which apartment. The boys are determined to play with these kids every day now. We'll see... Although I am glad they found some kids to place with.
Friday:
- Pool -- Of course.
- Rock Band -- The boys are now obsessed with Rock Band. We had to have J show us how to set up everything. We then played for almost two hours. This may become a daily occurrence.
- Lots of cleaning and laundry -- Actually got the boys to help me take out all the trash and clean the house. They did it without too much fuss.
- Lots of reading -- The boys really got into reading their library books. I didn't want to interrupt, so we all read for over any hour.
Saturday:
- Farmer's Market -- The boys were excited to get some fresh lemonade, kettle corn, and baked goods (mystery roll for A and pretzels for the rest of us). Yum!
- Rock Band -- More and more playing
Starting goals:
- Getting a library card (for the boys) and weekly trips; summer reading program √
- Sky High -- trampoline bounce place √
- Great America -- only 10 minutes from the house!
- Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco
- Alcatraz -- J wants to go with, so this will be a vacation day or weekend trip
- Scavenger hunt/photo scavenger hunt -- I want to do one of these but haven't even started thinking about the clues
- San Jose Giants baseball game?
- Beach trip -- possibly Santa Cruz
- Exploratorium in San Francisco
- Summer camps -- need to get a Sunnyvale account to sign them up -- Signed up!
- Most likely daily pool visits √
- Get together with an old friend and her kids -- possibly at the Santa Cruz boardwalk or in Fresno (her town)
- Possible bike rides -- if they can get better at riding
Crazy Summer
When we moved in April, my original idea was to get a job ASAP. Unfortunately that didn't happen quickly. And then I realized that the boys would be coming soon (today in fact). With them here, if I got a job, I would have to pay for babysitting/child care and I wouldn't be able to spend that much time with them. Back in Nebraska, J worked at home, so he could be physically there with the bosy while I was at work. That's not the situation here. So I will be holding off on the job hunt until towards the end of July. This means that I will be home everyday with the boys. I've been making a list of things we must do. Currently the list includes:
- Getting a library card (for the boys) and weekly trips; summer reading program
- Sky High -- trampoline bounce place
- Great America -- only 10 minutes from the house!
- Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco
- Alcatraz -- J wants to go with, so this will be a vacation day or weekend trip
- Scavenger hunt/photo scavenger hunt -- I want to do one of these but haven't even started thinking about the clues
- San Jose Giants baseball game?
- Beach trip -- possibly Santa Cruz
- Exploratorium in San Francisco
- Summer camps -- need to get a Sunnyvale account to sign them up
- Most likely daily pool visits
- Get together with an old friend and her kids -- possibly at the Santa Cruz boardwalk or in Fresno (her town)
- Possible bike rides -- if they can get better at riding
Whew! It's quite a list and it'll probably be growing. We were going to go to Disneyland, but J won't have much time off. He said to just go alone with the boys, but that kinda defeats the purpose of a family trip. We could possibly do this during Christmas Break... Anyway, I think this is going to be a crazy summer!
I'm off to the airport to pick them up. Hope the plane's on time!
Spring Break Vacation Part 3/3
See Part 1
See Part 2
Days 8-9 were spent in the Pittsburgh area.
Day 8: Carnegie Mellon Museum of Art and Museum of Natural History. Awesomely they are in the same building and one admission price gets you into both. The boys were over the moon with the dinosaurs. J loved the art museum. And I really liked everything. I really am a museum whore and proud of it!
Pictures: Working lab, Allosaurus, boys in front of the T Rexes, Boys being paleontologists, main staircase, Terpsichore Muse of Lyric Poetry
Day 9: We drove about an hour outside of Pittsburg to see Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater. I've been to his house in Oak Park (Chicago) and see the designs there. But I've always wanted to see Fallingwater. The boys even enjoyed it! Unfortunately you can't take pictures inside the house.
Day 10: J and I drove back to Omaha. On to the moving!
Spring Break Vacation Part 2/3
See Part 1
Days 4-7 were spent in Philadelphia, PA. We stayed at a beautiful house in the Mount Airy/Germantown area north of downtown. It was a quite neighborhood full of some great restaurants. B&Bs or the like are the way to go in big cities.
Day 4: We drove from Hershey to Philadelphia. First stop: the zoo. Did you know the Philadelphia Zoo is the oldest in the country? Built in 1847, you can definitely see the old designs mixed in with newer ones. Of course we all loved the zoos. Who doesn't?
Pictures: Entrance to Zoo, pig-nosed turtle in the Reptile House (I hate snakes, but even I have to admit that house was pretty neat), very cool sculpture
Day 5: National Constitution Center, Old Philadelphia, Hard Rock Cafe (lunch). It was our big history day. While the boys just didn't love this day, I always enjoy history. My favorite was seeing an original printing of the Constitution. Very Cool!
Pictures: Alex and Nick chilling with Ben Franklin in the Signer's Hall, Me with Alexander Hamilton in the Signer's Hall (he was really short), Independence Hall (where Constitutional Congress was held), George Washington's family pew in Christ Church, Elfreth's Alley (longest continually habited street in U.S.)
Day 6: Eastern State Penitentiary and Franklin Institute. I loved the prison (very creepy and kept in semi-ruins) built by the Quakers. Al Capone was even kept there for awhile. And the boys and J really loved the Institute.
Pictures: Cell block 1, Alex in front of an original door to cell in block 1, outside of Franklin Institute, real meteorite that you can touch, Ben of course, the boys learning about physics in Sir Isaac's Loft (I think their favorite part)
Day 7: We crossed the Ben Franklin Bridge to go to the Adventure Aquarium in Camden. From there, we drove towards Pittsburg.
Pictures: Philadelphia sky line from New Jersey, giant aquarium with multiple species of sharks, Nick in an aquarium, I braved the shark tunnel to get this awesome pic of Alex next to a huge shark
Part III coming tomorrow...
Spring Break Vacation Part 1/3
We're back! Okay, so we've been back for a week, but that week has been super busy. Packing an entire house for our impending move to California delayed my vacation posts. I finally got to them... here we go!
Day 1: J and I drove to Indiana... no pictures. Driving through Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana is really boring.
On to...
Day 2: Drove to Dayton to the National Museum of the United States Air Force. The boys and I especially loved the WWI era planes. The newer stuff just isn't as exciting. Plus some of those models are at the SAC Museum right here in Omaha.
Pictures: Wright era glider, post WWI era plane, WWI Model T ambulance, Japanese Zero, B-2 Spirit
Day 3: Drove to Harrisburg area to the Indian Echo Caverns. First time the boys had ever been in a cavern. And I think they really enjoyed it.
Drove to Hershey, PA for Chocolate World. Best part: make your own chocolate bar. You get to pick the chocolate, the fill ins, and the packaging. The boys loved watching their bars get made. And We all loved eating them...
Pictures: Boys in their chef finery, Outside of Chocolate World, candy bars being made
We stayed the night at the Red Caboose Motel. Not the fanciest place, but the boys were excited to stay in real train cars. Supposedly the entire motel started as a bet and has grown over the years. J stayed there as a child. The best part: real bacon (like slaughtered pretty close to that day) at breakfast.
Part II coming tomorrow...