Circus trip and tips!

Barnum and Bailey Circus came to Sacramento this weekend. I have great memories of attending as a child - we used to get to watch them unload from the rail cars. I was very excited to take my little man and Grandma. 

I had to be in the area for another activity so I decided to purchase tickets a few months back. For some reason the opening night was half the price when I purchased. I used ticketmaster so there were a bunch of fees. My tickets were $11 each but with fees they were just under $20 per person. Parking was $12 per car. 

Thanks to buying early, these turned out to be fantastic seats. We were Row K in the lower level which was the 10th row from the floor. I was VERY pleased. We had some of the best seats in that price bracket. 

I went online the afternoon of the event to see how early we should get there. I'm go glad I looked because there was a not well advertised animal viewing that started 90 minutes before the show. My main purpose for seeing the Circus was to see the elephants. My son loves them but has never seen one in person. This animal viewing time got him about 15 feet from them. They were eating some dinner, throwing dirt and relaxing. If it was cooler, he would have just stayed to stare at them. He couldn't believe how big they were. 

And they enjoyed getting snacks off the parking lot trees. :) 

In addition to the elephants we also got VERY close to the tigers and lions. 

You could also see the goats, ponies and more. But those were less exciting for our family. We did enjoy the educational displays including this one where he could hold an elephant tooth. 

When we got inside there more more kids activities while we waited for the real show to begin. 

They even had freebies like a temporary tattoo!

We LOVED this show. It was a great value considering there were 2 hours of show plus about an hour and a half of unadvertised pre show extras. There was so much to see. Great performers, fun clowns, decor and of course the animals. 

The theatrics were very impressive. The costumes, lighting, music and props were all really well done. It all looked fresh, clean and really nice. 

I also loved that they started with the national anthem. Props for some patriotism at the Circus. 

Here are my tips to help you have a great trip!

1. Come early for the extras!

- We came over an hour early to enjoy the animal viewing time. This is not an option for all markets but it was for us. And it was awesome as I mentioned earlier. 

- When we came inside we were surprised to see a bunch of photo opportunities and a kids event right on the circus floor. This was free and I believe the photo opps here were free too. The lines were long but kids could even sit on the stunt motorcycle for pics. There was interactive activities, dress up and an elephant even came out to paint. My kiddo mostly watched for afar but did enjoy a temporary tattoo. 

2. Bring drinks and light snacks, especially if you come early. It was warm outside and my little needed some refreshment right away. We also had a baggie of cereal for munchies. This also helped keep him still while waiting.

3. Bring some glow sticks from a discount retailer. My kiddo badly wanted a glow sword but I was not about to pay $20 for one. A cheapie glow stick would have provided great distraction during intermission. 

4. When you arrive early, make time to get a booster seat. These apparently will run out early so get them while you can. My kiddo sat in it for a bit, but mostly wanted my lap. It was a good break for my lap at least and allowed him a better view.

5. Buy a snow cone. I can remember eating a one at the show as a child so we did buy one in a souveneir cup. When do you get to enjoy that otherwise? 

We had so much fun and will return to see Barnum and Bailey again! Look the. Up when they come to town and take advantage of any discount tickets! 

Disneyland prep - at the Dollar Store!

We have a trip to Disneyland coming up soon. I am Disney lover and am so excited to take the little man for the first time. So, I have been researching kids and disneyland. Thank goodness for all the great bloggers out there who have shared their experiences and given me some great tips. 

One of the great tips was to get glow sticks from the Dollar Store. It seemed like an inexpensive treat for my kiddo and many people suggested they are a great activity to keep kids busy while waiting for the parades and night shows. 

So off I headed to my local Dollar Store and found these.

There were tons of styles and colors to choose from. But then I noticed these:

Yes, Disney themed glow sticks! They are much less of a value at one stick for a dollar versus 4, but not surprising when Mickey shows up. These got me thinking. What else Disney might be hidden in the Dollar Store isles? Here is what I found:

Sanitizing wipes. I'm guessing these will come in handy. There are 15 wipes. * I've since also purchased a 3 pack of Disney themed sanitizing wipes with 30 wipes total. 

Autograph book. I was expecting to find a plain one that I could decorate with stickers, but amazingly I found this Disney blank journal. I think the ones in the park are almost $10. 

Flashlight! This was in the Halloween section and seems like it will be great fun for my little man in the evenings. Hopefully we can keep him from shining it in our eyes. 

Lanyard! There were several styles to choose from and the cashier said these were new. I got the Princess  option but they had Mickey, Planes, and Monsters. The ones I found from the park were about $10 and on ebay I found them for about $6, but $1 is awesome. Too bad I found these AFTER I had already ordered a pair. So now the boys each have one and I get a girly one. Perfect for pin trading!

And these figurines! They also had some princesses, but I opted for just the basics. They are not exceptionally high quality but, they work. 

Poncho. These used to come in two packs. These will come in handy if the weather turns while we are there or if we decide to ride any wet rides. I have heard ponchos may be cheaper at Wally World so keep a look out. 

There are a few other items that I have not purchased but may be of interest:

Food storage - my store had tons of Cars themed food storage. We have plenty storage containers already so I skipped those.

Popup laundry basket - I saw a few people mention how handy this would be for organizing the dirty clothes in your hotel room. I'll be grabbing one, but didn't see them in my store.

Night light - My kiddo doesn't usually use one, but I may grab one. They had princesses and planes themed lights. 

Totes - we aren't going to the Halloween party, but the disney bags would be perfect if we were. 

Drink ware - many people mentioned decorating reusable water bottles for their families. We have our own already or this would have been a fun crafting project. 

Irrigation

This was my view at dawn this morning. This is what irrigating looks like for us. 

I've been meaning to do a post about irrigation for some time now. Irrigation is a pretty complex topic and really needs a very long post and a ton of pictures. So I'm going to give you the quickest version I can, because if I try to do a long one it was stay as a draft for way too long.

We irrigate all of our crops using surface water. This means that the water we use for irrigation is collected above ground. In our case it is rainfall and some snowmelt (none this year) collected during the winter months. The water is collected in man made resviours. The resivours also have the benefit of  being lakes and providing recreational opportunities. 

This is different that using well water. We do not have any ag pumps or ag wells. Our water is coming from above ground rather than below. 

Our water is delivered using a system of canals or open ditches. As seen in this picture. The open ditches are not as efficient but this system is an oldie but goodie and would be very expensive to replace. We are currently working on a project to convert an open ditch to a pipeline on 20 acres. Just for the 20 acres that project will cost about $60,000. So upgrades happen slowly.

Our water project delivers water to most of our neighbors and thousands of acres of farmland in our area. The water is running most of the time and we essentially take turns using it. It is more complicated than that, but the gist of it. 

So, this means that you only can irrigate when the water is in your area. So last night the water arrived at 6 pm. If we had decided we would prefer to sleep then we would not have the opportunity to irrigate for about 2 weeks. Crops need water to grow so that meant I had a very long night of changing irrigation water. I made changes at 11pm, 2:30 and 4:30 am and then gave it to a neighbor at 6:00 am. 

We often have people confused about why we change water at night. But we don't have much of an option. It is just the way our system works. It frequently limits our sleep, social lives and general plans. But, that's farming.

I'll try and post again with more about irrigation. It is a very complex subject. 

Family Date Nights

Going around Facebook this summer is the idea that you only get 18 summers with your kids before they head off to their own lives as adults. The thought is to cherish this time and be present during this time with them.

This has me thinking about focused family time. We have busy, busy lives and it can be hard to get away for extended vacation time in the summer. My husband and I have been making time for lunch dates with just us so we decided it is time to implement family date night too. My logic is that evenings are easier to make happen, not too expensive and we can make them happen more often. So I'm gathering ideas. They need to be fairly local and friendly for a 3 year old. 

Here is my list so far:

Movie night - at the theatre 

Mini Golf

Bowling

Backyard camp out

Fishing

Water Park

Museum/Science place

Zoo

Fairy tale town

County or State Fair

What do you think? What should I add to our list? 

Silent Sunday Sunflowers

The first field of sunflowers - for us - is already done blooming.

I was a little past the prime photo opportunity on these.

But we have one more field yet to bloom, so I will try to be more on the ball with those pictures. 

First Father’s Day

Since this was Michael’s very first Father’s Day I wanted to do something special for him.  He is an amazing father.  I always knew he would be a good father, but I never knew how good he would be to me during labor, after delivery, and during my recovery.  It is wonderful having such a great father and husband! 

Avery and I devised a plan to surprise him with a trip to Cabela’s (which I am pretty sure is his favorite place on earth).  I thought about blindfolding him and driving him there, but then I had a dream we got pulled over and it was hard to explain to the cop.  So, I skipped that.  Someone (who shall remain nameless) spilled the beans but he knew all along and was just playing along.  In the morning we gave him his present.  I asked him what he wanted and he said a bow … he thinks we need a bow to match every outfit of Avery’s.  So, that’s what he got.

 

A bow for Avery to wear hunting and a bow in Michael’s camo (I made both).  Of course I had to add a book for Michael to read to her.  Then, we headed up to Reno where Michael was going to get a hunting bow (which is what he meant by bow).

We had a late lunch at Famous Dave’s – I’ve been there twice now and I still don’t understand what is famous about it.  It hasn’t been anything to write home about either time.  I don’t think we will be going back.

Then we headed over to Cabela’s to get his present.

 

What a milestone – Avery’s first trip to Cabela’s!

It took quite a while in the store to pick out and get fitted for a bow and arrows.  The guy helping us, Christian, was amazing!  I’m so happy we got such great customer service!  He did warn us that it takes a while but made the process feel like it went rather quickly.  We made it out of there just before closing!  Avery did great in the store too!  She loved watching daddy shoot his bow to sight it in. 

Happy late Father’s day to all of the dad’s out there!   

Did you do anything special for Father’s Day?

Heman turns 3!

I can’t believe it has been 3 whole years since the “We-had-a-baby IT’S-a-boy” call from my sister.  (Remember that commercial – still so funny!)

He had a super cute train party at the fair grounds.  There was a real train the kids (and adults) got to ride on all afternoon.  Although, Heman was a little more focused on pine cones but it was still the perfect party for him!

My brother got him this present.  When we asked Heman what it was, he said he didn’t know.  So, he started unwrapping it.  It was wrapped quite well, so grandma had to help him while the rest of us tried not to pee our pants at Heman’s hilariousness. 

Grandma: What do you think it is?

Heman: I don’t know. 

Grandma: Look, it has a trigger.  What has a trigger?

Heman: I don’t know.

Grandma:  Here’s the barrel.  What has a trigger and a barrel?

Heman: I don’t know.

He is such a funny kid! 

Do you know what is was?