natural history museum

We love museums.  So that was why we were so excited to go a museum that Dad and I hadn't gone to since we were little.  There was a special display on Mammoths at the time.  They were really big!

 

in which we take a break from driving

We got to stop at a museum called Turtle Bay for a couple of hours.  It was so fun to take a break from driving.  As we entered the museum there was a sign saying there was a spider loose inside and that we should keep an eye open for it.  What? Turtle found it first.  A giant tarantula.  Luckily it was under glass and made of Legos. 

There were several different things going on in this museum.  For example, there were living creatures in their own 'habitats'.

 

There was a demonstration of how erosion works in nature.  This was very interesting to watch.  It's amazing how fast things can change all due to a little stream of water.  Dad really liked this part, mainly because it fits into what he teaches at school.

 There was a display of old things for the kids to see.

 This was something unique.  We all loved looking at the creations of Nathan Sawaya. His work with Legos is so unique and creative. We took pictures of a few of our favorites.

 Part of what he does is work with a photographer and creates pieces that can be used as 'props' and can be seen in a realistic scene.  You can see this with the umbrella.  You can read more about that here.

 

 Another part of the museum was outside where you can see animals.  This is a barn owl, the same that you can read about in the books "Guardians of GaHoole."  Buddy really likes reading those books right now.

 This is called the Sundial Bridge and it spans the Sacramento River. 

 

It was a fun time out of our busy driving schedule.  We enjoyed the break, but it was so very hot outside, that we didn't take time to enjoy the botanical gardens the museum has to offer.  I linked the things that I found interesting in this post.  Click on the links to find more about them.

in which we heard a 'prophet' speak

Dad has a very big calling.  He is part of the Stake Young Men Presidency.  The Stake organized a Book of Mormon Quest this year for all the youth and Dad was assigned a day to plan.  He planned about Limhi, King Benjamin, and the 24 plates that were found.  The youth went on a hike and on a 'scavenger hunt' type thing.  It was awesome how everyone worked together.

This is our Stake President giving a modern version of the speech that King Benjamin gave.  He gave a great talk and all the youth seemed riveted.

 Before we left for the day, we climbed on the tower as well.  I wish we could have stayed all week, but the one day was pretty fun.

in which we went to a tiny museum

After our hike and exploration of the Quest site, we had to go to the Scout store to pick up a few things.  A couple of blocks away was a kids science museum we could go to for free with our ASTC cards.  We decided to take advantage of it, even if it was only for 40 minutes before closing time.  The kids had fun.  It was a very small museum, but everything was hands on, which is important for learning.

 

 

in which we checked out the site

Dad needed to see what the campground looked like for the summer Quest that he is helping to plan for the Youth.  So we drove a couple of hours until we reached a little place in the middle of nowhere that is absolutely beautiful.  We also took a two mile hike, which took us an hour and forty-five minutes to complete.  It was a nice trip.

 

in which it was the last week of school

The kids only had two days of school this week.  They each had a field trip doing something fun.  Sunshine went swimming.

I snuck into Sunshine's classroom to snap a picture of her (and if you look closely, you can see Turtle snuck all the way in there to visit before the bell rang).

 Buddy went bowling.  I snapped this picture right before the ball hit the pins for a spare.

 Buddy received the all A Honor Roll for the third trimester in a row.

in which we took a much needed break

We've been working hard.  So today we decided to take a break.  Buddy had three requirements left in order to finish his Bear in Cub Scouts.  Two of the requirements were to go on a picnic and take a hike.  We took a short drive and ended up in a state park overlooking the ocean.  Today was beautiful!  We enjoyed our picnic at the top of the cliff.  We ate sandwiches and the boys got chased by their Dad. 

 

 When we were finished, we hiked down to the bottom and the kids played on the beach.

 I mentioned that the kids played on the beach.  There was a huge drop off the trail and because I have bad knees and I'm not a huge fan of falling, I stopped before the drop off and just watched. 

 Just a little further up on the beach, right out of sight in the picture, happened to be a family that we know.  It was the guy who has been doing the work on the house, Mr. L.  It was funny to run into him there.