Leo's YSI field trip

On Friday, two second grade classes headed into the woods for a field trip.  The kids were visiting one of the Youth Science Institutes in the area.  

I was one of the chapperones and here is my crew - Sebastian, Leo and Alon.  Sebastian was a handful and I spent a lot of time yelling "Sebastian!"  Alon is one of the quietest, most mild mannered kids I've ever met.  

 Here they are loading on the bus.  I asked the teacher in advance if I could drive separate.  After four years of preschool and a year of TK field trips, I've had my fill of buses.

 We arrived at the county park and it was beautiful and cold.

 Here's the whole class before a hike.

 My group broke off with a trio of girls to do some exploring.

 They found some newts, including one with five legs.

 They managed to be quiet enough of the trail to spot three deer.  This isn't one of the quiet moments.

 Happy field tripper.

 Selfie.

 The whole class.

 We went inside and the kids got some hands-on education about insects and spiders.

 Leo and Stella examining a specimen.

 Heading up the hill for lunch.  It was a fun and exhausting field trip.

 Today we drove to Berkeley to see our dining room table.  It's made from reclaimed lumber, like this...

 Once it's assembled, you can select the stain, which is what we were there to do.  Here are the stains.

And here is our table!  It's currently raw and "naked" but it should be done is a couple of weeks.  Tom and I were really pleased with how it is looking.  

Nana and the kids came with us and we tacked on more errands to make for a long day, but everyone did well and a lot got accomplished.