Ben's Birthday!!

Hello Everyone,

Thursday, September 15^th, was Ben’s birthday! We did school in the morning, Ben, Daniel and Anna decided to do their school at the pool. After lunch we headed out to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, in Simi Valley, CA. Presidential Libraries, for those who don’t know, are pretty much like museums, there are many of the Former President’s items. The presidential library was wonderfully done, we learned a lot about Ronald Reagan.  Some of us didn’t know that he was an actor, Chicago Cubs baseball announcer and had a ranch in California. I hadn’t known much about Ronald Reagan, yes, I knew he was a president, but didn’t know much more. I remember watching his funeral on TV a few years ago, but I didn’t know what was so great about him.  He was an amazing, Godly man! He came into government in America when we were in economic downfall, during his administration he turned this country around economically. Here’s an interesting fact: President Reagan was a smoker, Nancy Reagan, his wife, was disgusted by this habit. So, President Regan started eating Jelly Beans, he had them in many parts of the White House and in Air Force One. Here’s a funny quote from President Reagan: “You can tell a lot about a fella’s character by whether he picks all of one color [jellybeans] or just grabs a handful [of jellybeans].” We even got to go inside of retired Air Force One that John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush Sr., Bill Clinton and George Bush Jr. used. It was pretty cool to see the inside of the plane where our Presidents rode. We also went to the memorial of Ronald Regan outside the Presidential Library where he is buried.

After the Presidential Library we drove for about two hours to Bakersfield, CA. Ben decided that he wanted to eat at Olive Garden for his birthday dinner. We ate a nice dinner, and afterward Ben opened his cards. Mom and Dad gave him some Presidential Jelly beans that they picked up from the Presidentail Library. There are 49 flavors of jelly beans in his and headed to the RV Park where we spent the night. Here are the pictures from the Presidential Library and Ben’s birthday dinner. 

Getting ready to go inside Air Force One

Waiting for dinner at Olive Garden

Ronald Reagan's Memorial and Grave

Daniel's odd combination: pizza and mashed potatoes?