Recent Outings

Last weekend we checked out Pioneer Park in Tustin Ranch. It has a Western theme and there were three "covered" wagons. It looked like a nice place to have a birthday party (and someone was having a party when we visited).




There are also two pretty tall/steep slides. I screamed when I went down with k.

Yesterday we went to another birthday party at a gymnastics center. The party was for two brothers, a one year old and a four year old.

"Airplane Arms"


k liked this little trampoline, but didn't want to try the big one. She also didn't want to jump into the foam pit. However, she seemed to have fun just running around on the bouncy floor and n did too.


Two cakes for the two brothers.


D the gymnast (with a black mouth).

Bible Study Fellowship (5 yrs)

Lessons from BSF that are memorable or changed my thinking...

1st year (Genesis)
Submission to God results in promises and blessings.
(Abraham's faith more than his skills set him apart)

2nd year (Romans)
There is a triangle that shows the following...
Jesus --- Propitiation --> God (Left side)
God --- Justification --> Us (Right Side)
Jesus --- Redemption --> Us (Bottom)

3rd year (Matthew)
I always thought that in the parable of the hidden tresure, the tresure is Christ Himself. But another interpretation that the "man" throughout the parable is Christ and the treasure is Israel. God in the Old Testament often described Israel as His treasured possession. For this tresure, hidden within the world, Jesus gave everything to redeem the whole world.

4th year (Life of Moses)
Reading the Bible to children during the first three years of life is very important and something they take with them through out their lives.

5th year (John)
Five tests of Assurance:
The Test of Obediance
The Test of Fidelity to the Apostles' Teachings (False teachers cannot sway true believers away from the apostles' teachings. Granted by the Holy Spirit)
The Test of Moral Purity
The Test of Love
The Test of Faith
That second test one was really interesting.

Three more years of BSF to go, with Isaiah coming up...

Tanaka Farms: Visit #4

So today I took the kids on our annual trip to Tanaka Farms with my moms' group. This was the first time that n went on the tour and ate strawberries with us, though.

Although the tour has remained essentially the same all four years, there are little changes. For instance, they now have the saying, "Bottoms on Benches!" when the wagon is moving. I think that is a new one. Also, I learned that only two ears of corn grow per stalk. Interesting.

Cornfield

The farm rotates their crops so as to not deplete the soil. So, where we picked strawberries last year, they are now growing cabbage:



The tour guides must eat a lot of vegetables!

k wasn't too keen on eating the celery, bok choy, and green onion that they offered along the way. She did, however, enjoy the carrot.


But, of course, we were all looking forward to the main attraction: the strawberries!

I'm not sure if this is true, but the strawberry field that they let us loose on for 15 minutes of all you can eat strawberries seemed a little more "picked over" than in years past. I think these tours are getting a lot more popular. There were still plenty to eat, though, and all three of us certainly got our fill. This was the first year that k picked her own strawberries (I still took off the stems for her, though).


Strawberry mouth!


After all that healthy eating we went to Chick-fil-a for dinner to redeem our coupons. Peach shake...yum! Yes, that is n wearing a UCLA shirt.

Distance to Sports Stadium/Arenas

I was thinking the other day about all the places I have lived at least a year and how close I was to professional sports stadiums/arenas (excluding Windsor, Ontario which is by Detroit).

Closest by Sport:
Baseball
Angel Stadium is less than 8 miles away from where I lived in Anaheim (4 yrs) & Tustin (1yr)
Hockey
The Honda Center (Anaheim Ducks) is less than 8 miles away from where I lived in Anaheim (4 yrs) & Tustin (1yr)
Football
Oakland Coliseum (Oakland Raiders) is less than 13 miles away from where I lived in Berkeley (4 yrs)
Basketball
Oracle Arena (Golden State Warriors) is less than 13 miles away from where I lived in Berkeley (4 yrs)

Berkeley Dog

I credit living in the Bay Area for seven years for turning me into a foodie. As in all college towns, there are certain institutions that every student must visit. One of these places in Berkeley is Top Dog.

Last week I read that there was a place called "Berkeley Dog" that was opening in Mission Viejo. Although not officially affiliated with Top Dog, it is endorsed by, and supplied by the same people as Top Dog. They were giving away free hot dogs on Saturday, so we decided to try it. D and n wore their Cal shirts to show our school spirit. When we arrived, D chatted it up with a guy who seemed like the owner/manager, who is a Cal alum, and he gave D a card for a free sausage on another visit. I think we arrived at a good time (around 4:30) since there was no line and we were able to find a seat. I guess earlier in the day the line was out the door.

My full review can be found here.


She's drinking lemonade, not soda! (n can officially drink out of a straw now, too).


Love the bun.