centennial farm.

this past weekend was supposed to be phil’s first full weekend off in four weeks and boy, were we both really looking forward to it.  it felt like the start of a holiday by the time he got home on friday.

until…  until he got a call later that night.  turned out that a cardiac case was scheduled for sunday morning and he’d have to go in to do it (ended up taking nine hours).  great.

but we decided to still make the most of the one day phil did have off.  except we didn’t exactly have a plan in mind when we woke up saturday morning.  enter the greatness that is the internet.  phil hopped online, typed in something like “fun things to do in orange county” and a place called centennial farm in costa mesa popped up.

and suddenly, we were headed out on a new family adventure!

“hey kids!  wanna make some butter?”

mikey took the instructions to vigorously shake the jar to heart.

this one wasn’t too interested in the whole manual labor thing.

we went on to see stuff growing in the ground.  the kids were surprised to see that this is how the strawberries they love so much grow.

worm’s eye view.  it’s not too comfortable being a worm.

bees!  eek, bees!!

but without bees, there would be no honey.  and where would we be then?  we’d be in a world without honey sticks, that’s where.

“lauren, can mommy have some?”  she pretended she didn’t hear me.  or know me.  hmph.

bee-vision.

“pssst.  hey kid, eat more chicken.”

“yeah, what the cow said.  eat more chicken.  ahhh, that feels good.”

“what?  what did they say to you?”

“wow, these oxen are really soft.”  this was juuust before the ox lifted his tail and…  well, you know.

my baby.  no fear.

taking a break from her tractor chores.  with a honey stick.

it just so happened that there was a kids’ expo going on at the fairgrounds right next to the farm that day.  so after we were done exploring the farm, we headed over to check it out.  we wandered in to a large building with all kinds of science-y things to play with.

better watch out, fan yang…

cuz here comes a new bubble artist.

and he comes with a devoted fan base, too.

i can’t look at this picture without cringing.

and this one evokes the urge to dry heave.  i was SHOCKED that mikey was so bold about touching it.  i’m thinking maybe he thought it wasn’t real?  in any case, he’s way braver than i am!

afterward, we visited some of the many booths set up outside.  booths for camps, schools, hospitals, restaurants, you name it.  all kid-related, and most had either a game or some freebie to give out.

“hey, look at what my big brother won!”

winning this police car made mikey’s day.  phil’s, too.

taking in a farm-related magic show.

and we wrapped up the day with cotton candy.

“want some, little sister?”

being a kid with a fresh cloud of cotton candy.  does it get any better?

we had a great time spending the day together and letting the kids see and experience new things.  the best part of our day?  everything (besides lunch and the cotton candy) was FREE!!  free parking, free entrance, free activities, free honey sticks, free prizes.  now that’s my kind of fun!