Field Trip with J

J and I getting some salt water taffy in one of the many candy stores in Old Town Sac

J with his buddy in front of one of the big trains

On Friday, the 9th, I was able to go with J on his class field trip. I met them down at the California State Railroad Museum for a special tour. One of the senior volunteers (or Golden Coyotes) for the class is a Docent down at the museum and we got special treatment. We saw a movie about the railroads (probably could use an update on that!) and toured the museum. Only 2 classes were invited to come. After the tour of many different trains, some of which we could walk on, we ate lunch outside. J talked me into signing him out of school and bringing him home with me. I think he may have been more excited about THAT then the actual field trip! But first, we stopped in Old Town Sac and got some salt water taffy ( just trying to justify my parking validation -- you spend more than $5 and you get a $5 parking validation. I'd rather have taffy than just pay for parking!) It turned out to be a very fun field trip and it was great to spend time with J!

J's Pioneer Day Field Trip

These suspenders belonged to J's great-great grandfather (I believe). G had this hat custom made for him in Italy. It works perfectly for J's pioneer outfit. G teased J by saying, "Hat, have a great time and be sure to come home safe ... oh, and you too, J!!"



Today, J's 3rd grade class is heading out for a Pioneer field trip. They had to dress the part, and it was fun to see all of the kids, teachers, and parents in full pioneer dress. They will be doing some woodworking, laundry, butter churning, among other things. I'll have to have J fill me in when he gets home.

ANOTHER Trip to the Zoo

T & his friend, G, with the fascinating flamingos

Today, we went on a preschool field trip to the zoo. He had so much fun being there with his friends. I enjoyed visiting with my friend, too! We rode down together with our friends, and that was really nice. The weather was perfect for a morning at the zoo. One of the unusual things we saw was a view into the vet clinic. A kangaroo was getting prepped for a tooth extraction! Don't see that every day. After viewing the animals and reptiles, we sat at some picnic tables and ate our lunches. Then we called it a day, and headed home. ..... Oh, and I purposely put T in the "Foozle" sweater (as we call it). That way I can easily pick him out of a crowd!

Railroad Museum

On Friday, T & I headed to Old Town Sacramento to see the Railroad Museum for his preschool field trip. Because of construction on the railroad tracks, the train ride was cancelled. Luckily, I did not tell T about the train ride ahead of time. Phew!! We still went, but ... only 4 out of 24 kids showed up! I guess the cancellation of the train ride was the deal-breaker. I must admit, I would have loved the train ride, too.

Here's T in the Postal Train. Lots of bags and compartments for mail.

On one of the diner cars, they had tables set up displaying the various china sets from different railroad companies. I loved the California Poppy set! Beautiful.

Here we are waiting to get into the museum. It was actually nice having a small group. It turns out that these 4 kids all know each other and were glad to be together. Plus, they got more personal time with Miss Jenn. After playing with a huge train set upstairs, we walked across the cobblestone street to a candy shop and bought salt water taffy.

Another Field Trip with T

Yesterday, I took T on his preschool field trip to an indoor play house. Lots to climb, jump, slide ... and even balls to shoot in guns. We stayed for 2 hours. He had a blast. I wasn't feeling that great, so I just sat and watched. I have a love/hate relationship with field trips, and here's why: even though they can be really fun, I don't have the opportunity to drop him off at school for my 3 hours of 'no-kid' time. Yes, I said it! And I know I'm not alone on this. Oh, and I had about 3 people ask me where I got T's shirt! I purposely put it on today only because it's orange and it's easier to spot him in a crowd. I had to do the same thing with B when he was younger. He'd just take off and it would be so hard to find him.

Field Trip to State Capitol & IMax

On Friday, I was able to go with B on his class field trip to the State Capitol for a quick tour. We went last year for a more in-depth tour, so much of it was familiar. Still, it was great to go inside again, especially the day after such a HUGE hurdle was passed with the state budget crisis. Still lots of buzz at the capitol. We saw a few media vans outside. Fun for the kids to see.

Because of a connection with one of the parents, the kids were able to go past the usual barrier and actually SIT in the senate desks. These desks are over 140 years old! The Historian gave us authorization to be in there. She was there finishing up all of the documentation of what did and didn't pass in the last session, which wrapped up LATE the night before. The kids couldn't come up to the main desk because much of the paper work was still out, but it was WAY COOL to be in there.

Here's B towards the front of the senate chambers. We also got to go into the Assembly, but not too far inside. The assembly room is a light green color, and very similar to the Senate chambers. Very cool!

Then we took a very short walk over to the IMax theater. The principal met us over there and we all watched a 45 minute 3-D movie about the ocean. VERY COOL! They gave each of us a nice pair of 3-D glasses to use, not the typical white cardboard red & blue glasses. It was so real looking. It almost felt like you were actually there! Amazing.

After the movie, B went with his class to the buses and I rode home with a couple other moms. I was glad to be there with B, and I'm so thankful that I was able to go. He'll be going to Middle School in August and I won't be able to do this with him anymore. Thanks, Raimi, for taking T for a bit on Friday. Much appreciated =) I was also so thankful for beautiful weather!

Busy Week @ School for MOM

T is standing in front of the local theater. We went on a field trip to see the play "The Ugly Duckling" with his preschool on Thursday.

Here we are before the play began. We had 2nd row seats! We really enjoyed the play.

I also went into B's classroom to present another Art lesson on Wednesday. We used oil pastels and cut out pictures from wall paper or fabric to add texture and perspective. The theme was 'Artists Show Space' ... as in perspective.

I also made a quick appearance in J's class when I dropped off brownies for his Valentine's Day party.

Busy week, but glad I got to see the boys at school.

Pizza Field Trip

Today, T's preschool went to Round Table pizza for a tour. They got to see HUGE mixers for the dough. T could have sat in the bowl!! Then, they lined up for a turn to make their own personal pizza.

I wasn't quick enough. T just finished making his cheese pizza at the prep station. I couldn't get a good shot of it because the gal helping him was blocking me. There wasn't that much room to move around in there. Oh well. He LOVED making his own pizza and couldn't wait to eat it.

Here, T and one of his 'bestest' pals, Garrett, enjoy their sweet reward. Ooohhhh .... Life is great!!!

Ice Skating with T

T & I went ice skating today and had a blast! I haven't been on skates in years, but I caught the hang of it (again) pretty quick.

Here we are laced up in our skates, ready to go ... I think!

The skating rink has these little walkers (and some big ones too) for beginner skaters. It helped A LOT! T had a hard time at first, but didn't give up. He took a little pit stop over at the snow. They had a 'snowballer' tool to make perfect snowballs. The only problem: I forgot to bring gloves for T. His hands were freezing! I felt awful about this.

I gave T and some of his friends rides on the sleds. It was SO fun and it gave T a break from struggling on the skates. We went around dozens of times. It also gave him a chance to put his hands back into his pocket! At one point, they had a small snow machine on! We skated right under it and experienced a little snowfall.

Trying to warm up those hands!

After much skating fun, we had hot chocolate and sugar cookies -- a kid's dream! We visited with friends for a while and then called it a day. I want to bring the whole family soon. It was SO much fun! Won't be cheap, but it would be a great family outing.

Pumpkin Farm Field Trip

This morning, T & I went to this huge pumpkin farm with his preschool for a field trip. We rode the train, saw a pig race, and then got to ride the hay truck way out to the field to pick out our own pumpkins. I wish I could say that T was FULL of smiles today, but this is what I got a lot of today .....
.... the grumpies!!! He just was not a happy-camper today. Then it occurred to me: he didn't eat any breakfast. Not a good thing. But things turned around a little when he finally decided which pumpkin he wanted.

Here is T with his pal, Garrett. I had to bribe them both to get this picture. Hey, whatever works!! Later, we got to visit a while and have lunch at the picnic tables. The boys played on huge slides and in an old railroad car. We topped off the field trip with an ice cream cone from good ol' McD's on the way home. Thanks for the company, the ride & ice cream, Raimi! =)

Field Trip to the Grocery Store

T and his friends watching a machine smash cardboard in the back room of the grocery store

"Rett" and T making a train during the field trip

All of the kids and their siblings received a "goody-bag" at the end of the tour

T's preschool took a field trip through the local grocery store this morning. They loved seeing the back room with the refrigerator, freezer, storage, etc. They got to go into the back room of the meat department, too. They got samples of salami, cheese & bread along the way. We had a very friendly tour-guide. I got a kick out of a comment she made at the end of the tour when she tried to get the kids to form a line to no avail. She said, "Okay, a blob will do!" After the tour, which took about an hour, we walked over to the Round Table Pizza and had lunch together in the banquet room. We got a deal on the personal pizzas and drinks. The kids colored and ran around. It was quite a pleasant, low-key field trip.

Field Trip To the Capitol

B HAD to climb on this tree!

I loved this painting. The Declaration of Independence is quoted on the right side

B walking to the State Capitol

Mom & B on the steps of the Capitol

I finally was able to go on an elementary school field trip on Thursday. I was amazed at how much smaller the inside of the bus was!! Okay, so I've grown and the seats haven't. It was such a fun field trip. We were put into groups of 4 kids and 2 adults. We had a great group of kids. We had information sheets to fill out at our own pace, kind of like a scavenger hunt. This made things much more interesting for the kids. They had more control of their field trip. Great idea, teachers!! There are so many neat things to see at our Capitol building. Lots of symbolism and history. The Governor was there today and the kids kept trying to get a peek into his office, which was heavily guarded. We got to see where the assembly meets and the Senate chambers, too. Cool! The grounds around the building were really beautiful. The time went so fast. We had to practically run back to the meeting place for the buses. I'm so glad that I was able to spend this time with B. He said he really appreciated it. I loved the fact that he wasn't shy about walking with me or hugging me!! That made MY day!