Today we're going to have a look at our gold prospecting adventure with the aptly named Gold Prospecting Adventures in Jamestown, a little town a few hours east of the Bay Area.
Tuesday, 2 June 2015
Panning for Gold
Over the Memorial Day long weekend we went on an adventure that including a little gold prospecting and visiting a real life ghost town.
Today we're going to have a look at our gold prospecting adventure with the aptly named Gold Prospecting Adventures in Jamestown, a little town a few hours east of the Bay Area.
Panning for gold was such a fun way to spend an afternoon. The kids really enjoyed it, especially as it was a warm day and they ended up drenched from the creek! The highlight of course, was finding gold.
Today we're going to have a look at our gold prospecting adventure with the aptly named Gold Prospecting Adventures in Jamestown, a little town a few hours east of the Bay Area.
Thursday, 28 May 2015
52 Weeks: Week 21
Week 21: Long Weekend Getaway
This past weekend was a long weekend for Memorial Day here in America. Kim had the Monday off work so we decided to go on a three day trip to the High Sierras region of California. I'll have more detailed posts coming soon about each of the places that we visited over the weekend but for now I wanted to share a quick look at our adventure.
On a side note, here's a strange thing about working in America that my Australian friends might find interesting... While there are quite a few public holidays each year, your employer decides which ones you get off. And I don't just mean for people working in stores or restaurants that may happen to be open on a public holiday, I mean for everyone! Your employer sets how many public holidays you are entitled to each year and then they chose which holidays those will be. How weird is that?
Anyway, back to the story...
I've been keen to visit a ghost town for such a long time. A friend recently took a trip through the High Sierras and visited the ghost town of Bodie. When I saw the photos on Facebook I just knew that we had to go there. Bodie is a real life ghost town that boomed back in the late 1800s gold rush and then died off as the gold petered out. The whole town is now a State Historic Park and has been preserved in a state of "arrested decay", existing just as it did when the last residents left.
This past weekend was a long weekend for Memorial Day here in America. Kim had the Monday off work so we decided to go on a three day trip to the High Sierras region of California. I'll have more detailed posts coming soon about each of the places that we visited over the weekend but for now I wanted to share a quick look at our adventure.
On a side note, here's a strange thing about working in America that my Australian friends might find interesting... While there are quite a few public holidays each year, your employer decides which ones you get off. And I don't just mean for people working in stores or restaurants that may happen to be open on a public holiday, I mean for everyone! Your employer sets how many public holidays you are entitled to each year and then they chose which holidays those will be. How weird is that?
Anyway, back to the story...
I've been keen to visit a ghost town for such a long time. A friend recently took a trip through the High Sierras and visited the ghost town of Bodie. When I saw the photos on Facebook I just knew that we had to go there. Bodie is a real life ghost town that boomed back in the late 1800s gold rush and then died off as the gold petered out. The whole town is now a State Historic Park and has been preserved in a state of "arrested decay", existing just as it did when the last residents left.
Wednesday, 27 May 2015
Cooking with Kids: Fruit Yoghurt Popsicles
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Mountain High Yoghurt but the content and opinions expressed here are my own.
It's been a while since I've shared a cooking with kids post on Little Hiccups so today I'm sharing a super easy and delicious recipe that is perfect for the warmer weather.
Like many kids, my girls love yoghurt. They eat it on it's own, with fruit, with granola, and mixed in smoothies, but by far their favorite way to eat it is as a popsicle! Our freezer is always stocked full of home made yoghurt popsicles. The girls feel like they're getting a treat when they eat one, and I know that they're actually eating something wholesome and healthy. It's a win-win for everyone!
The other great thing about yoghurt popsicles is that they are super simple to make - easy enough for kids to make on their own. Plus there's no end to the flavor combinations you can make. We usually make ours with berries but they would work well with pretty much any fruit. Mango and passionfruit would be divine.
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It's been a while since I've shared a cooking with kids post on Little Hiccups so today I'm sharing a super easy and delicious recipe that is perfect for the warmer weather.
Like many kids, my girls love yoghurt. They eat it on it's own, with fruit, with granola, and mixed in smoothies, but by far their favorite way to eat it is as a popsicle! Our freezer is always stocked full of home made yoghurt popsicles. The girls feel like they're getting a treat when they eat one, and I know that they're actually eating something wholesome and healthy. It's a win-win for everyone!
The other great thing about yoghurt popsicles is that they are super simple to make - easy enough for kids to make on their own. Plus there's no end to the flavor combinations you can make. We usually make ours with berries but they would work well with pretty much any fruit. Mango and passionfruit would be divine.
Saturday, 23 May 2015
Maker Faire 2015
Last weekend was a super busy one for us. On Saturday Ava competed in the Berkeley Kids' Marathon (and won!) and on Sunday we headed down to San Mateo for the 10th Annual Bay Area Maker Faire.
This was out third year visiting Maker Faire and just like our previous visits we had a blast - not literally of course, although there were plenty of things there that go kaboom!
There's always so much to see and do at Maker Faire. Admittedly, we only ever see about half of the displays. It's such a huge event that you'd really need two full days to experience it all. While I'd love to see all of it, the kids are always exhausted by the end of the day. All that fun is tiring!
There's always so much to see and do at Maker Faire. Admittedly, we only ever see about half of the displays. It's such a huge event that you'd really need two full days to experience it all. While I'd love to see all of it, the kids are always exhausted by the end of the day. All that fun is tiring!
Thursday, 21 May 2015
52 Weeks: Week 20
Week 20: Bike to Work (School) Day
The last week was one filled with lots of physical activities for the kids, especially Ava. On top of their usual karate, swim and dance classes, and riding and scooting to school, we also had a runathon at Ava's school, the Berkeley Kids' Triathlon (which Ava won!) and Bike to Work (School) Day. What a busy week!
Last Thursday was Bike to Work (School) Day and Ava was super excited to ride her bike to school. She usually rides her scooter as it's easier in the mornings. She'd love to ride her bike every day but we're always in a hurry and collecting her bike from the garage plus locking it up again at school adds too much time. So riding her bike to school for this special day made it more of a treat.
The last week was one filled with lots of physical activities for the kids, especially Ava. On top of their usual karate, swim and dance classes, and riding and scooting to school, we also had a runathon at Ava's school, the Berkeley Kids' Triathlon (which Ava won!) and Bike to Work (School) Day. What a busy week!
Saturday, 16 May 2015
Berkeley Kids' Triathlon 2015
Today Ava competed in the Berkeley Kids' Triathlon for the third year in a row.
I can't wait until the end of the post so I'm just going to blurt it out now...
...She won!
She won! She won! She won!
I'm so happy for my little triathlete.
I can't wait until the end of the post so I'm just going to blurt it out now...
...She won!
She won! She won! She won!
I'm so happy for my little triathlete.
Friday, 15 May 2015
Get Well Cards
Yesterday Ava and Lola were making get well cards for a family member and it got me thinking about a card that I made back in 2008 when Ava was a toddler. At the time my Grandma was in hospital and I thought that seeing her little great-grand daughter playing doctor would cheer her up a little.
So we got out the toy doctor's kit, some bandaids and bandages, and a patient - in this case, one of Ava's teddy bears. I bandaged up the bear's arm and Doctor Ava set about checking his heart rate and temperature, feeding him medicine, giving him needles, and putting spare bandages across his face!
Here's a look at the collage card I put together.
So we got out the toy doctor's kit, some bandaids and bandages, and a patient - in this case, one of Ava's teddy bears. I bandaged up the bear's arm and Doctor Ava set about checking his heart rate and temperature, feeding him medicine, giving him needles, and putting spare bandages across his face!
Here's a look at the collage card I put together.
