Our Weekend

We went to Napa and Sonoma this weekend. The weather was fabulous!

On Saturday afternoon we took the kids to see the Sonoma Mission, Barracks, and General Vallejo's house. At the barracks there were people being trained in the firing of the cannon - which was very exciting. We were able to witness that event twice. Boom!

The kids loved the water feature at the mission. It was so peaceful and relaxing. We all enjoyed checking out the main section of the church. The kids learned a little bit more about catholicism because of the various item displays. We talked about the building material (adobe), the ways in which they would have protected the mission, and the purpose of the mission.

(click to view full-size)

At General Vallejo's home, we were able to meet up with some friends who live about an hour from there. We enjoyed touring the home. Kenna and Natalie both really wanted to get in the display room with all the toys. Kenna told me, "I want to sit in that chair". Natalie just pointed and grunted, but her meaning was just as clear. We finished the afternoon with ice cream sandwiches at the park before heading back to our hotel.

Because Natalie didn't fare too well at the hotel babysitting, we asked/bribed Hannah and Brynne to hang out in the hotel room with Natalie. They put her to bed and settled in to watch a movie. They had permission to get food from the babysitting room - apparently Brynne was the designated "fetcher" because I saw her go by a couple times. :-) I think it worked out really well. They were entertained, Natalie was asleep, and that meant I was happy!

So while we were out of town I took the opportunity to drag Josh to Costco. We had to be careful not to buy too much since we had to bring it home in a car already packed with kids and luggage. It's amazing what you can cram into a minivan, though. We splurged and bought a bike trailer so that I can take ALL the kids riding. I'm pretty excited about that prospect. The older three kids all have new(ish) bikes so they are ready to roll. Now it's my turn. We can ride to the library, playground, Farmer's Market, etc. Should make for a fun summer. Maybe when our legs are stronger we'll try the beach. It's several miles away, but all city streets.

We are going camping this weekend and that is immediately followed by a visit from Jenny (yay!) so some good times in store.