Charlie's birthday outing...

John and I like to do fun things with our boys, and we especially like giving them special memories for their birthdays.  As Charlie's birthday was approaching we were trying to think of something fun we could do together.  We quickly realized that Charlie hadn't been on a train yet!  That had to be corrected!  We initially looked into going from Wasco to Bakersfield and then back again, but the times of those trains were pretty inconvenient for us, so we were able to talk Sharon into taking us to Bakersfield for a one-way trip to Wasco, where she was waiting to pick us up.  It worked out perfectly!

We did this last Saturday and started out our morning with a special breakfast at Moo Creamery.  Luckily we were the only ones there, so the boys could run around a bit...

After breakfast we went and played at Jastro Park, where we found this note...

It turns out that someone had buried tons of sand dollars all around the toys.  The boys LOVED finding them!  We kept 2 and reburied the rest for someone else to come and find.  What a fun and clever idea!

John got roped into going down the windy tube slide with Charlie :)

After the park we drove to the train station, bought our tickets, and got on the train.  Grandma Sharon snapped this picture for us and then took off in our van to try and get to the Wasco train station by the time we arrived.  We actually pulled into the station at the exact same time, so it worked out perfectly!

You would think that after a large breakfast at Moo Creamery, the boys would be full and in no need of a snack, but that wasn't the case.  Luckily we had a few breakfast leftovers that they could eat on the train :)

Here the boys are showing us how old they are...

It was actually really fun riding the train from Bakersfield to Wasco because it meant that we got to ride right through Shafter!  The boys had fun finding Aunt Pam and Uncle Randy's house, Grandpa Art and Grandma Donna's house, Insect Lore, Mannel Park, our church, The Depot Museum, and Apple Market among other places.  Henry was upset when the ride was over because he wanted to go all the way to Fresno, but a short ride is better than no ride at all we told him :)  Definitely a fun morning!

A field trip to the City Corporation Yard...

 John taught a vocational ed. class for a few weeks this summer and last week he took his class on a field trip to the City Corporation Yard (location of all the city's work trucks, their mechanic and repair shop, and storehouse for various public works paraphernalia).  The public works director met them out there and talked with them about how his department works and gave them a tour of the yard.

Basically, a class field trip that was right up the boys' alley!  So we tagged along!  The boys weren't so much into the talking, but LOVED looking at all of the work trucks and watching the goings on around the yard.  Henry and I were even thinking that it would be a fantastic place for a little birthday party!  (Obviously we'd have to work with the city on that one, but it might be worth a shot next year :)

Here are the boys looking around...

And here was the highlight, an old Shafter Fire Truck!  It is stored in the yard and pulled out and cleaned up for use in parades around town.  The boys LOVED it! (Don't mind their serious faces, it was HOT!)...

Such a fun time!  I'm telling you, small town life is where it's at :)

A little trip to Fresno...

A few weeks back I took the boys up to Fresno to spend some time with Aunt Denise and Levi, visit G. G. Sue, celebrate Aunt Jill's birthday, and take some extended Wiebe family photos.  It was a packed 2 days, but we had a lot of fun.  The second day we were there I woke up with a sore throat which later turned into bronchitis, so by the end of the trip my camera didn't come out much.  Oh well, there's always next time :)

We met Aunt Denise and Levi at Simonian Farms and looked at all the old tractors and ate lots of fruit samples...

Then we went to visit G. G. Sue...

The next day we went to The Discovery Center and enjoyed playing, walking through their gardens, and picking berries!  We were even able to eat our picnic lunch in a teepee which Henry thought was AWESOME!  It was a fun place, not fancy, but super fun!

We had a great trip!