First Day of Spring Break

Though Joshua has been looking forward to a spring break of watching anime. playing video games and reading manga, I insisted that we do at least a tiny amount of sightseeing and check out a nearby park: Garin Regional Park.

Fortunately, no one was collecting money at the entry kiosk so we got to check out the park for free!  The visitor center is only open on weekends during the summer so we did not get to go inside.

Tour de San Jose

Saturday, March 24 was a potpourri of activities.  We started off  walking some trails on the Don Edwards National Wildlife Reserve in San Jose.

Laura has to show off her death defying stunts by pretending to almost fall off.

Laura also explored the small exhibit in the education center.

Next we went to the San Jose Art Museum.

The museum has sketching supplies so guests can draw their own interpretation of the still life.

Laura shows off her masterpiece.

Laura's (left) and Joshua's (right) interpretation of the still life.

Benjamin shared his opinion of the museum.

Finally, as a concession to the kids, we ended up at the Tech Museum of Innovation, which is just a couple of blocks from the Art Museum.

They enjoyed building robots.  Laura's robot has a military hat and Benjamin's, a cowboy hat,

They tried making contraptions to protect a ball dropped 10 feet.

In the evening,  the boys went to a teen activity through the synagogue,

Joshua is wearing blue and sitting on the couch.

so we let Laura try a poke bowl (raw fish, rice and vegetables).

On Sunday, the Women's Social Bike Ride rode to the end of the Alameda Creek Trail.

And we borrowed guinea pig Penny for the week.

Bouncing Good Time

On March 21, we celebrated Laura's birthday party with her friends at Rockin Jump.

Laura's 12th Birthday

On March 15, we had a hailstorm in warm, sunny, California.

(Or perhaps California is freezing over.)



All day yesterday, Laura said that it her 'last day being 11'.  So finally turning 12 makes her feel much more like an adult.

Celebrating Laura's birthday.

Today's activities were in honor of her birthday.  We started off returning our two rented nice to Sulpher Creek Nature Center.  Laura is excited to try renting a rat too, but we persuaded her to forgo getting another pet so we could enjoy our planned adventures for the day.

The mice enjoyed the playground Laura made for them.

We saw a group of turkeys wandering around the parking lot after we returned the mice.

Out next stop was Indian Rock Park in Berkeley.  The park is one of a several build on a large outcropping of volcanic rock.  stairs have been carved into the rock to provide a safe path to the top, but of course Laura was excited to scamper over the rocks and perform death-defying stunts.

Out last activity of the day was Playland-not-at-the-Beach in El Cerrito.  We arrived just as magician Fabulous Frank was starting his show.

Laura helped with one of the magic tricks.

This museum contained a collection of carnival games and pinball machines that were free to play (after the cost of admission).  The kids even got tickets which they could redeem for prizes.

Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve

Hiking on an extinct volcano where dogs are allowed off leash sounded exciting, so we visited Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve on March 10 sounded exciting (especially for Laura who loves to stop and pet every dog we pass).  We took a hike to the Quarry Pit  a little over 2 miles round trip.

At the overlook to the quarry pit.

Laura found a small frog.

In the middle of the labyrinth is a pile of rocks from which you can take or leave small trinkets. 

The bark of the tree matches their jackets!

After we got back to Fremont, Laura "Sewed a Selfie" at the library.

Historic Fremont--visit to Mission San Jose

Our stay in Fremont would not be complete without a stop at the historic site of Mission San Jose.  It is considered the first European settlement in Fremont.

The kids were amused by the low doorways and thick walls.

The mission contained exhibits about the history of Spanish missions in the Bay Area.

The mission has a small garden on one side of the church and a cemetery on the other.

The inside of the church was beautifully decorated.

Purim Celebration

We went to hear the Megillah reading for Purim on Wednesday. February 28.  Laura, excited to read a section, pretended that she was being chased by need while reading a summary of section.

Laura is running around pretending to be chased by bees.

Joshua, also brave enough to volunteer, read the section 5 summery as of he were 10 years old.

 At the end, Dave and Laura each read a sentence of the last section's summary as opera singers.

On Sunday, March 4, the religious school celebrated Purim with a competition between two teams.  Laura was excited to be picked at the captain of one of the teams,Team Gavourote (if I spelled it correctly) with means strength.

Laura preparing her team for the next event.

Laura, dressed at queen Vashti, is doing her part in the 10 Commandments Relay.