Joshua's 9th Birthday

If my computer cooperates I hope to post a few pictures and updates....we'll see.

On November 12, Joshua turned nine years old. Time sure flies! I am so thankful to God for giving me a such a happy boy. But I am also reminded that Joshua is halfway to 18! I pray that God would give Jason & me wisdom and grace to raise Joshua correctly. And that God would work in Joshua's heart and grow him into a godly man.

To celebrate his birthday we went to Disneyland. I love going when it is decorated for Christmas! Joshua was given a birthday pin so that all day long whenever a Disney castmember saw it they would wish him a happy birthday. He loved that, it made his day more special.

Joshua & Marina on a ride in California Adventure.

My mom & Mercy

Lucy's first time on the Merry-Go-Round. She loved it! I think she went on 3 times.

I promised Joshua an ice cream since it was his birthday. They ate deliciously! And they better have enjoyed it considering how much I paid.

Lucy was very well behaved, considering we spent the entire day at the park.

More Picures from Oak Glen

The children posed in front of Willowbrook again this year.

And another cute picture.

After Willowbrook Apple Farm, we went over to Sno-Line to see if they had any Winesap apples to buy (they didn't). We did get some apple donuts to nibble on and they did have a few animals to pet. This llama really liked Jason, but didn't like pictures. Everytime I tried to get a picture of Lucy with the llama, it w0uld hide behind Jason and peek over his shoulder!

Oak Glen 2009

On Saturday we made our yearly trek out to Oak Glen. Before we went out I checked out the web sites and was disappointed to read that a late spring frost had wiped out most of this year's apple crop. We decided to go out and make the most of the day.

We started out at Law's Cafe for breakfast. They have a wonderful buffet that is served on the weekends through apple season. Their french toast is the best! They also offer eggs, bacon (Joshua says it is the best he ever tasted), potatoes, sausage, ham, freshly made cinammon rolls, pastries, apple butter, apple topping, fruit, home made salsa, waffles, and more I am probably forgetting. I wish I had a bigger stomach!

Next, we went to Willowbrook Farm to make cider. We always start out at the tasting table. They offer most of their products to sample. This year they offered their first batch of apple blossom honey. It was tasty!

Mercy and I found a pretty picture spot while waiting to make cider.

This was Lucy's first trip to Oak Glen. She really enjoyed being outdoors. It helped that it was a beautiful cool day.

Jason and Joshua were hanging out waiting to press cider. The owners and workers at Willowbrook are so friendly and helpful. They remembered us from past years & were happy to see our new addition.

Mercy posing for another picture.

Joshua and Jason worked hard turning the wheel for our gallon of cider. Mercy helped by throwing the apples in the grinder.

This is the cider being poured through the filter. There were a couple of bees that got into the cider while we were pressing it.

Our beautiful children!

We found this lovely pumpkin in the pumpkin patch.

A Year With Frog and Toad

A couple of weeks ago, we went to the playhouse at the Victoria Garden's Cultural Center to see a play. The play was A Year With Frog and Toad, based on the book by Arnold Lobel. We attended the play with our home school group.Joshua waiting to go in.A shot of the home school group.

Joshua and Mercy ready for the play to begin.

We had read the book together before we went. The play was very entertaining. I highly recommend their family plays. We have attended at least four and we have never been disappointed. I like that they usually have live music, and the actors are very talented.

After the play we had lunch at Victoria Gardens. It was a very enjoyable outing.

Disneyland Trip

Last week, the children & I took a two-day trip to the Disneyland Resort with a stay at the Disneyland Hotel. We went with my sister Marina. We spent all the first day at Disneyland. It was a beautiful, clear day and the park was not too crowded.

After the park closed we went back to our hotel room. The children were so excited! The hotel has a lot of cute little Disney touches which made our stay special for the children. In the evenings, the hotel has a TV channel with a Disney Princess telling bedtime stories. Mercy loved that!The headboards and bedspreads had scenes from Disneyland.

The TV armiore had a map of Disneyland, the walls had a Tinkerbell fairy dust pattern that was glow-in-the-dark.

The bathroom had Disney character wallpaper, the lights were held up with Mickey hands, & the toiletry bottle caps were Mickey shaped.

The next morning we went to the Grand Californian's Storyteller Cafe for the Chip & Dale Character Breakfast. The food was yummy and the service was excellent.

After breakfast, we headed over to California Adventure. We got on a few rides, toured the tortilla and bread factories, and visited the Hollywood area. The children rode & enjoyed the new Toy Story ride for the first time.

I did not ride most of the rides on our trip. I did do a lot of walking, especially the first day. I actually overdid myself on the trip and was not feeling well when we arrived home after the second day and also the next day. But overall our spur of the moment trip went well. I know the children will remember it for a long time.

Cider Pressing!

This year, was the first time that we tried pressing our own cider. We think the cider tasted better, because we had to work so hard before we enjoyed it.

Joshua and Jason had the hard work of turning the wheel to smash the apples through the grinder.

Mercy and I had the easy job of putting the apple in the grinder.

After the apples were grinded, we had to turn the press to squeeze all the juice out of the apples. And then the cider is poured into a gallon bottle after going through a filter to take out any large pieces and bees that fell into the vat.

We had a wonderful morning in Oak Glen. Breakfast, apple picking, and cider pressing! We can't wait until next year!

Oak Glen

Last month we took our annual trip to Oak Glen. We woke up early to get there in time for breakfast. We ate at Law's Cafe, where they serve a buffet breakfast. It was delicious! I highly recommend it, but if you go get there early. We got there a couple of minutes before the buffet started, and the dining room was almost full of people waiting to eat. By the time we got up to get in line at the buffet, there was a line of people waiting outside to get in. But it is worth it! Yummy!

After breakfast, we headed over to Willowbrook Apple Farm for apple picking and cider pressing. It is a small family run farm. The children were able to feed and pet Duke, the horse, again. This year they had a new pot bellied pig, she was so cute and excited to meet us.

Cute little apple pickers!

It was a beautiful, crisp, clear morning.

I tried to get Jason to take a picture with the children. It is almost impossible to get that man to smile!

But after some work, I was able to coax a smile out of him!

I had to help Mercy pick apples. It was only the second weekend that Willowbrook was open, so there were plenty of apples that were low for the children to pick.

Carbon Canyon Nature Trail

This past Saturday we headed out to Carbon Canyon Park. This time we decided to hike the 1-mile nature trail that ends in a beautiful 10-acre grove of Coastal Redwood trees.

Mercy and Joshua pose at the trail-head.

Joshua was our fearless leader.

Here is Mercy posing next to a baby Redwood tree.

The trail was an easy one, mostly level and straight. Mercy found lots of sticks along the way that she called "Swords of Truth." Usually when we take the children to a park, I like to bring a brown paper bag for each of them. In it they put the "treasure" that they find - interesting rocks, pinecones, flowers, etc..

After the hike we had a picnic and relaxed. It was another beautiful day at the park.