apples & aquariums & just what i needed

don't you hate it when you feel nauseous?  

(i had 3 rough pregnancies, so i've had all too much of that.)

but when you throw up, you feel so much better?

at least for a little while.

that was pretty much what happened yesterday on the blog.

i kinda threw up all over you with my mommy-sickness.

then i felt much better :)

thanks for all your sweet comments & encouragements...

sometimes it is so nice to know there are other moms out there 

dealing with the same frustrations & feelings. 

thank you to everyone for reminding me what is important,

and to let go of some of the things that don't matter.

it's nice to know we are in this together!

and i am SO grateful for a gracious God who provides me with all the strength i need.

all that said... i have some fun pictures to share today!

last weekend was jam-packed with family goodness.

jeff's parents were coming to visit, and the kids couldn't have been more excited!

since jackson had the morning off of school, 

we decided to do something fun while we waited for them to arrive.

for years, jeff's family has had the tradition of heading up to apple hill in placerville every year.

it was one of our favorite things to do, especially when we lived in davis.

my hubby can make a MEAN apple pie & delicious applesauce.

you know you're jealous!

there are not exactly orchards growing all over down here, but after some research jeff found an 'apple hill' in southern california.

so we hopped in the van and drove the hour+ drive to glen oaks.

i had done a little research and read about riley farms.

they are an apple farm, but also have civil war reenactments!

it was like stepping into early-america...

complete with muskets.

we brought our friend emily & her little guy, will, along for the morning.

i love charlotte eyeing will's gourd!

jackson was having such a good time.

a little smile machine.

charlotte felt like such a big girl running around the big farm.

emily & will

bella was having a rough morning.

she almost didn't even make it on the trip after a morning of fits.

she finally pulled it together and was running to play on a bridge...

only to fall and cut her hand.

oh.... the drama.

(note that you can BARELY see the tiny scratch....)

 

luckily, a sleeping dog brought a smile to her face!  phew!

sadly, riley farms had no apples after a freeze last spring.

so we headed down the road to los rios rancho farm.

the kids loved looking around the big shop and carrying apples in their basket.

(bummer... the apples got pretty bruised in the process)

we got a big jug of apple cider, honeycrisp apples for the kids, and some cooking apples for chef jeff.

 

the girls couldn't wait to eat some apples!

they munched on them while the boys ordered apple treats from the bakery.

 

daddy ordered apple pie with cheddar cheese (an ohio tradition), apple cider, and a 'cimmy roll' for jackson & the girls.

i would love to say it was delicious, but....

it was actually pretty gross.  bummer.

kinda like apple glue in my pie.

this little guy didn't mind.

since we had a friend to take our picture, i thought it would be fun to get a family shot.

this was our best attempt.

and the best of the kids together.

i don't know how we are ever going to get a christmas card pic this year ;)

overall, a super fun morning.

 and we loved having emily & will with us!

shortly after we arrived home,

grandma & papa bachman arrived!

after a tour of the house, we got back in the van and headed to the beach.

jackson wanted to go to huntington beach

(he had seen it on the map)

so off we went for the first time.

it was so beautiful.

the sun was shining through the clouds down on the pier.

it was freezing, but that couldn't keep the kids out of the water.

poor daddy had to follow them in.

 

after their lips were turning blue & the sun was quickly setting, 

we headed towards the car.

good thing- the minute we had changed their clothes, it started raining!

saturday called for rain all day, so we brainstormed fun rainy places to go.

we decided on the long beach aquarium.

 

 

it was such a fun aquarium!

i have only been to the monterey aquarium, so i was mildly skeptical going in.

but there were so many things i had never seen before.

bella loved getting to touch the jellyfish (?!?)

and charlotte could have watched the sea lions all day long.

i loved their little faces pressed up to the glass.

 

they had a tank full of sharks you could pet.

this bunch were all sleeping on top of one another in the tank.

kinda creepy, but bella didn't mind.

bella spent pretty much the entire day with the front of her sweater wet from one exhibit or the other.

oh, that girl.

we hoped charlotte would take a little nap in the ergo, but she was having way too much fun to sleep.

 

we had such a fun time with grandma & papa modesto at the aquarium!

sadly, on our way out of the aquarium, 

bella fell again and scraped up her knee.

 and that is why she is the bruised tutu :)

some days as a mommy are really hard.

thankfully, there are weekends like this that remind you how fun kids are,

and how lucky we are to be a family.