Day 314, Just thoughts

September 16, 2016

Thoughts from the plane heading home.

Sometimes Stacy and I really struggle on how to deal with all of this.  Some days I think we are nailing it, others, we are getting nailed.  Since we have moved back into the RMH this week, I have wondered how other fathers would handle this situation.  I think about by brothers, college buddies, clients, cousins, elk hunting buddies, and other friends and neighbors.  They have great families and living the life dealt to them.  What would they do if out of the blue one, then another, then another of their children came down with a life changing disease that completely changed their lives? Would they sell out and move to Calif? Get a different job? Find a home in the Bay area? Keep the family together? Or just stay at home with the kids while the spouse tends to the sick children? This question has haughted me for months as we have made decisions regarding where we live, where our kids go to school, what activities they are involved in, and how often I travel back and forth to Oregon.  I feel so bad for Stacy when I leave her there with the kids.  I have seen the stress load she carries on her back as she cares for Gage, helps the kids with homework, keeps up with 3 medicine regiments, and runs them to different activities and appointments.  We think it is important to keep our kids involved in activities, but when the activities are at the same time at different locations, and the kids cannot be left in the RMH alone, and some need to get to bed, and others have homework, it turns into a rat race.  So where do we draw the line? Something has to give.  I help out as much as I can.  The biggest help I can be to her is helping get kids to school, and running them around after school to activities.  Is this the right thing? I don’t know, but this is what we are going with.   Please understand, I am not comparing our lives to others, or even complaining (which doesn’t do any good), we are just wondering if we are doing the right thing.

We have also wondered if having Megan home in Oregon was the right thing to do.  We miss her terribly bad, especially Stacy.  It would be so good for Stacy to go home for a time to be a Mom to Megan.  That would do them both a lot of good.

Living in the Los Alto home was a good thing for our family.  It gave Stacy the chance to be a ‘regular’ mother with cooking meals in a normal kitchen, girls and boys in separate rooms, a separate room for Stacy and I, a kitchen table to sit and eat at as a family. Those are thing we all take for granted.  Honestly, this RMH room is tiny, very nice and well decorated, but still tiny.  I am not sure where Megan would sleep or where she would keep her stuff if she were here.  The RMH was not made for a family of seven. It is made for one or two parents and one or two kids.  So then the questions comes up if we shouldn’t be taking the kids back to Oregon or just make it work in Calif.   There is no way Stacy or I would want to divide the kids and send them back to Oregon.  Gage and Stacy and myself would not cope with that very well. So now that brings me back to my original question. What would other dad’s do in this situation? Is there another solution?  We have looked (and continue to look) into other places to rent close to the hospital.  The smallest apartments start around $3500/month and a small house is around 6-9000/month.  That is crazy and totally impossible for us. I am already paying a hefty mortgage back in Oregon.    

Stacy and I are doing ok.  It is hard to be away from each other so much.  My first night in Calif I woke up in the middle of the night in a fog wondering who that was next to me in bed.  That’s not something I am proud of.  So many times Stacy or I need to talk and the other is just not available. Honestly, we don’t know how single parents or other couples handle it when the father is away from home for work.  I just hate it!  But for now, this is what needs to happen.

We have deer hunt coming up.  We (I) look forward to this more than about anything else.  We have been going to this same spot since I was 11 years old and I have looked forward to hangin’ out with my brothers every year. It is a place that doesn’t change and is very peaceful. Anyway, we made the decision that Hunter and I would fly back for the hunt, while Stacy is in Calif with Gage, Lindsey and Sierra.  Sierra and Lindsey have too much homework, school, band concerts and sports to be missing two days of school.  In Oregon we can pull this off because they don’t have school on Fridays, but not in Calif.  With the travel time needed and missing school, it would be too much for the girls. As for Hunter in the 5^th grade, it will be good for his mother’s sanity to get him you in the wild for a spell.  We can also catch a couple of Megan’s volleyball games which happen to be in Joseph and Wallowa which is close to the hunt.    

Stacy and I keep telling ourselves how well everything is going and it is! Gage is NOT on in the hospital on the Berlin Heart and is doing fantastic on the LVad.  Rarely does he have issues. Having said that, he did get dizzy today at school to the point of collapsing.  We take that very seriously! That could be a sign of stroke, brain bleed, blood clot, etc.  He did snap out and was check out at the hospital.  Everything checked out fine, but we (Stacy) sure watches him close now. I guess that’s the reason we live so close to the hospital.

I hope you understand I am not complaining or comparing our lives to others.  These are just some of the feelings Stacy and I have and some the inner struggles we are going through.

September 18, 2016

Been home a few days now.  Good to see Megan and be together in our house.  Watched her play volleyball yesterday in the North Powder tournament.  That was so fun.  She has improved a ton since I saw her play 10 days ago.  They are making a copy of the games so Stacy can watch her daughter.

That’s it for now.  I am in my second life in Oregon.  Strange how I pick-up where I left off and keep on keepin' on.

Jason

Day 312, Trying to Figure Out the "New" Routine

September 15,
Stacy here,
As bummed as we were that Gage couldn't go home for Labor Day weekend, we ended up making the best of it and having an enjoyable weekend.  Friday of Labor Day we made a fort out of blankets, made chocolate chip cookies and watched a movie in the fort.  The excitement happened when the power went out and it was pitch black.  We crawled around the floor,  found some flash lights and read a book together in the fort.  Lindsey joined us after babysitting and Sierra joined us when she got off work.

Saturday, we ran some errands and took Hunter to a birthday party.  This was not the typical "Eastern Oregon birthday parties" we are used to.  They set a pretty high bar around here.  The party of 15-20 boys was taken from Palo Alto to San Jose in a black stretch Hummer limousine.  They played laser tag, ate pizza then returned in the Hummer limousine.  Hunter had a great time and was starting to think of what he might want to do for his party, coming up on the 24th of September.  I suggested meeting at a park for cake and ice cream and playing "Red-Rover Red-Rover."  I'm not sure he appreciated my suggestion, but we will see what we end up with.

Had a relaxing day Sunday and went for a hike on Monday. Sunday, Gage complained of feeling something in the back of his throat.  This is the complaint he gives when he is bleeding somewhere.  He was acting great and only spit up one little clot.  Later that afternoon he ended up throwing up blood a couple of times.  We called the doctors and decided to give him a break from his feeding tube for a couple of days. He still acted good so we did not have to go into the hospital.  Thank Heavens!!

Gage really wanted to go for a hike.  Since he has started cub scouts (which he absolutely loves) he has been excited to go for a hike,  We found a great place right next to the house we've been staying at in Los Altos.  He started out excited, but tired out quickly.  We didn't go as far as we thought we were going to go, but we had fun anyway.  We really tried to take in the weekend and enjoy being in the Los Altos house one last weekend before heading back to the RMH.  Really missed Jason and Megan to make us a complete family.

Jason returned here to California on Wednesday.  It is always so nice to have him back.  It always takes a couple days to adjust to having him here and a couple to adjust once he leaves.  I won't lie, the back and forth is hard on both of us.

This Saturday we started moving back into the RMH.  It was a bitter sweet feeling.  Sad to be leaving a house we could feel like a somewhat normal family (cooking, eating as a family, having a homework routine, etc).  Returning to the RMH, where we are closer to the kids schools and activities.  Thank you so much Dan and Judi for the wonderful time and memories we were able to have because of your generosity! You definitely helped our summer feel like summer. Now we are trying to relearn a new routine for the weekdays.  Getting everyone out the door on time and making sure they have breakfast and snacks for the day.  Some mornings we know things that work and other mornings we need to change some things around.

Gage is doing good in school and LOVES attending regular school.  Hunter is playing the cello and flag football, and is enjoying the 5th grade.  Lindsey has made some more great friends at school and this year appears to be going better than last.  She is more in the routine of things.  She made the 7th grade B team for volleyball, and is excited to be playing a sport.  Sierra is keeping up with school and working 1-2 times per week.  She is really enjoying her job at Tin Pot Creamery and has some fun stories to share about the weirdos that come in late at night.

Jason, Hunter and Gage continue to grow their hair out waiting for Gage's day to come and I am going with out sugar.  Hopefully his turn will come soon, but until then, we are in a good place.
Stacy

September 7, 2016

Jason here. 

Couple items to report.  A few days ago Gage threw up a blood clot in his stomach along with the feeding tube.  They think it was his feeding tube irritating his stomach.  He as not hospitalized, and Stacy was able to manage the care from the Los Altos house.  They kept the feeding tube out for 2 nights gave him vitamin K supplements to counteract the lack of nightly feeds.  Over the last two nights he as lost a little weight, but other than that he did ok.  Last night Stacy put the feeding tube back in after three unsuccessful attempts.  That's always a traumatic experience!  Today he is at school and doing ok, not great.

Left Oregon this morning and will be gone for 9 days. Megan will be staying with my brother Justin and his family.  Definitely not crazy about leaving Megan and would love to be there to support her in her activities, but for now I am needed in Calif.

Spent Labor day, ALL DAY, bottling pears.  We have a pear tree that really produced the fruit and the time had come to process the harvest before leaving for Calif.  So, for 13 hours on Labor Day, Megan and I along with a few cousins, bottle 63 quarts.  That was a big deal for Megan and I.  When we were all done we were pooped.

That’s it for now.

Till next time

Sept 15,
Sorry for the long posts.  We get so busy we don't get our days posted.  We still want to record this crazy journey, so here is the last of our updates.

We are now moved into our cozy room 304 at the RMH.  The kitchen and living areas are very nice and spacious and our actual rooms compare to a motel style room with 2 queen size beds and pull out mattress.  Have to admit, it gets a little crazy and tense in our room as we are trying to get homework done, kids in bed on time, and ready for the next day.
Leaving for Oregon today. Will be there for six days.  Long enough to see Megan play a few games, be a Dad, check in with ole Axelrod and the homestead, cry over my frozen garden, regroup at the office, and back to Calif next friday morning.   Really nice if Stacy could make a quick trip home to see Megan play and just be home for a bit.  Hopefully I can make that happen.

Our much anticipated deer hunt is coming up at the end of October.  We have been trying to figure out the best plan for this weekend.  The hunt is more of a fathers and kids campout in a special place we have been going since 1981. We rarely miss a year there. So we are trying to figure out if we can get Hunter and/or Lindsey home for that weekend.  But with missed school and traveling, not sure how to pull this one off yet.  Stand by for that one.

Anyway, life goes on as we wait for Gage's transplant.

Jason

 Hangin out in the fort

Lindsey's new friend and long lost twin, Taylor.  It is creepy home much these to look and act the same. 

 Sierra's pepband

 Welcome to our cozy RMH room 304

 One of our favorite nurses from the 'Lindsey' days. 'English' Tracy

 At the trail head

The entire pep band

 Yeck and I.

 Proof of the pears

Our Megan that we miss

Our deer hunt country

from 2010

Day 300, Labor Day

September 4, 2016

Here’s the deal. Several weeks ago some of the Calif doctors gave approval for Gage to go home to Oregon for a short 2-3 day trip.  We were excited and start making plans.  We planned to bring him home this Labor Day weekend and surprise Megan, grandparents and others.  That was a couple of weeks ago.

This last Thursday Dr, Rosenthal, the head of the department, and the doctor that has been with us from the beginning, wanted to meet with us.  We had a bad feeling about this.   I called in from Oregon on a conference call and listened in.  As our medical adviser, he wouldn’t advise us on going to Oregon.  There is just too much as risk with everything Gage has going on inside of him.  The 3 main risks Gage has on the HeartWare is 1) stroke, 2) bleeding around the heart, and 3) blood clot inside the LVad (heartware).  If any of these problems were to occur in Oregon he probably wouldn’t survive.  We even had one of the Baker doctors call and review with Calif and he agreed.  Bummer!! The choice is still our, and we could do it if we wanted to accept the risk.  Sometimes I think I am ok with it.  He is doing so well, and it is only 3-4 days away from Calif.  BUT if something were to happen, I would never forgive myself.  So for now, he is staying in Calif.

We also asked Dr. Rosental about where Gage is at on the list.  According to Dr. Rosenthal, kids on the list get several ‘offers’ for transplant depending on how desperate the kid is.  If the child is in relatively good health the doctors can wait for the ‘perfect’ match or they can accept a less than perfect heart if the child is in desperate need.  Lindsey, back in the day, had 3-4 offers before they accepted the heart she has now.   Having said that, Gage has NOT had a single offer yet.  So who knows, but we could be in for a long-rrrrr wait.

Stacy and I are rethinking how we are running this show.  With all the kids in school and activities, I have scheduled more trips to Calif to help out there.  I love being here in Oregon with Megan and supporting her in her activities, but for now, I am needed in Calif. Megan is going to stay with Justin and Emily, and Stacy or I will come back to be with her when we can.  It has been a very difficult decision, but for now, this is what needs to happen.

Having said all this, Sierra enjoys playing in the pep band and working one day a week, Megan loves volleyball, Lindsey is playing junior high volleyball, Hunter is trying 5^th grade flag football, and Gage is excited to be a cub scout.  We wish we could all be together, but not yet.

They are still in the house in Los Altos, not sure when we will move back to the RMH.

Saturday I was in Dufur Oregon waiting to watch Roper in a football game, Megan played earlier and struggled again in a game against Crane.  The last time I was here in Dufur was 1994 as Jake’s football team was beat in state football playoffs.

After the game, we heading to my sister’s place in Princeton Oregon.  I’m impressed if you know where that is.  It is south of Crane in a very remote part of Oregon.  Garrity and Seth blessed their baby Sunday at church and we wanted to be there to support.

That’s it for now, Megan’s school starts Tuesday and I fly out Wednesday for Calif.

Still no camera. Till next time,

Jason

      

Sunday August 28, Day 293 or 206?

Thursday, August 25, 2016

It has been a great week with the family in Calif. Nice to eat as a family, support our kids in their activities, and help where needed.  We really missed having Megan with us.  Now I am flying home and don’t have immediate plans to return. 

Megan will be going to school in North Powder, so she has been home going to volleyball daily doubles.  Her first game is tomorrow, Friday and will continue with games through October.  I need to be home to be a Dad and support to our daughter.

Sierra is a Junior at PALY and will be busy with pep band, dance and school.  Lindsey is a 7^th grader at Jordan middle school and is signed up for volleyball. Hunter is in 5^th at Nixon, and ‘ole Gage Auelius is a 2^nd grader at Nixon both of them are involved in cub scouts.  Stacy is an official school nurse at Nixon and will tend to Gage’s medical needs as he goes to a ‘regular’ school.  Having him in a regular school is sooooo good for him in so many ways.  Thursday Stacy and Gage made a presentation to his class to explain his heart condition and why he has a feeding tube and a backpack. I was there for it and he did a great job. 

We are still in the Los Altos house.  Love living there!  But will be moving back to the RMH when a room opens up.  With Stacy there by herself and the distances from our house to schools, hospital, and activities it would be easier to be closer. Just not sure when the move will happen.  But oh do we enjoy living in a house. 

Time to land. Excited to see our daughter. 

Sunday, August 28.
It is amazing how my life changes once I get back to Oregon.  We really do have two completely separate lives we live.   Good to see Megan and support here in her activities.  Went to the Friday volleyball game against Union and the Saturday Grant Union Tournament in John Day.  Those volleyball games are so exciting to watch.  Feel like I am going to pass out from holding my breath as some of those long volleys go on and on.

Still no word on when we are moving back to the RMH, but Stacy is cleaning and organizing for the move when it come.  Crazy, but somewhere, sometime, somehow, we are going to get the call in the middle of all this and everything will change, but not yet.

Got the full scoop on his status on the transplant list.  When he is a status 1a, this means he is on the list of highest priority.  These kids are either on mechanical support or desperately ill in the hospital but ready to receive a transplant.  Status 1b or status 2 also means you are on the list, but not as desperate as status 1a candidates.   Status 1a always gets the transplant in front of 1b or 2, no matter how long they have waited.  

Status 7 is when you are suspended from the list for any reason.  Usually the reason for a status 7 is that the patient is too sick or is recovering from a surgery.  No matter how sick the patient is, if he is status 7 it does not count towards 1a waiting time.   However, if Gage goes Status 7 he does NOT loose his 1a waiting time he has accrued so far.

Here is what I have learned. Gage was 1a for 1 week back in early November, then became too sick and was put on the HeartWare machine.  For 3 months, from November to February, he was status 7 as he recovered from the surgery. Then after he fully recovered from the HeartWare machine surgery, he went back to Status 1a.  Those 3 months do not count towards his 1a waiting time. So on the records at UNOS, he has been status 1a since February, (plus 1 week in November) or about 6 1/2 months or 206 days (but who's counting?).   He does NOT get credit for those 3 months when he was too sick to get a heart.  Whether or not that is fair (if I can use such word), that is the way it is and now I know.

Excited to be home with my daughter but still missing the crew.

Yes the hair is growing longer, but still not long enough for the desired 'Man Bun'.

Sorry no pictures, the camera on my phone doesn't work right now.

Till next time

Jason

Day 286, Jason checking in

August 21, 2016

Jason checking in on the plane in route to Calif.  Stacy did a great job updating the status of Gage and the rest of the crew.  I am flying to Calif now to spend 8 days here before returning to Oregon.  I have spent most of the summer in Oregon involved in the ranch operations and office work.  Now that the ranch water and haying is slowing down, I can spend a bit more time with the family.  Megan is home  in Oregon staying with my parents while she goes to daily doubles for volleyball.  The team practices 2 hours in the morning and 3 in the evening.  Her first game will be Friday August 26, the day after I get back from Calif.  After this trip to Calif, it will be increasingly difficult to get to Calif with Megan in school and sports starting early September.  Not that I can’t or won’t make trips to Calif, it is just more difficult to leave our daughter behind.

I have been trying to keep up with the house, yard and garden in Oregon.  It is all hangin’ in there, but definitely could use a woman’s touch.   With all the ranch work we have been doing, some of the details of the house, yard and garden may have been overlooked.  It is still no fun to live without my beautiful wife. I don’t know how single parents do it.  But right now this is what needs to happen and we are making it work.

Couple of weeks ago, Megan’s friends Abby and Mia came to Oregon for a visit.  It is always fun to have city kids come to the country to experience a different way of life.   While they were here they had the opportunity to ride horses, hike to mountain lakes, ride in a swather (a machine that cuts the hay), and even drive our stick shift big 18 wheel red hay truck called ‘Clifford’.  What was funny is that the only vehicle she had previously driven was a Tesla, a very nice high-end automatic electric car.  She did great following my numerous hand signals navigating her around the field.

Don’t know how we can ever adequately thank the Van Elderen family for letting us use their home this summer.  It has been so nice to be in a regular house and  be able to invite friends and family over for dinners and family reunions.  We will be moving back to the RMH here in the next couple of weeks.  With the Van Elderen’s returning, and school starting, it is more convenient at the RMH to get kids to school and activities.  With where we are at, Stacy and Sierra have to drive the kids everywhere.  At the RMH, Lindsey can ride her bike, Hunter can ride the bus and they are close to the hospital for blood draws and appointments.  With Stacy being there by herself and caring for Gage, that is a big deal.

Gage really is doing well.  I was comparing pictures from him now to a year ago.  A year ago he went in for surgery for his upgraded pacemaker and defibrillator. He looked so frail and weak compared to his condition now.  Now he is more filled out, has more energy and excited to go to school.

Regarding the Man-of-Steel, Gage Aurelius, according to our records he has been on the list since November 10, 2015, or 283 days, or 9 months and 8 days (but who’s counting).  Having said that, I do need some clarification regarding the time he spent as an inactive ‘Status 7’.  This was the approximately 3 months we spent recovering from the HeartWare placement.  We have received some conflicting reports regarding his true wait time as a status 1A.  It would seem to us that if he was a status 1A before the HeartWare placement, then placed on Status 7 for 3 months to recover, then back as status 1A, that he wouldn’t lose his place in line as a status 1A for those 3 months.  I know that it is not a ‘line’, we have to match blood type, antibodies, and size, it will happen when it happens. I get all that.  I just want some clarification.   Some of the medical staff have suggested he has only been waiting as Status 1A since February. I will let you know as I find out.

That’s it for now.  Getting ready to land.  Till next time, Jason

 Here are come cute pictures from a month ago.

Took Hunter out ground squirrel hunting back in July up by the Dish....... just kidding, this is back home in Oregon.   First shot, standing, with a peep sight!  How can he top that?

NO WAY can we get away with this at the Dish, but in Oregon, squirrels ruin our fields.

Back to School

Sierra has done a lot better on this new medicine.  Her stomach hasn't hurt at all and her white count is steadily climbing.  It was above 2400 Friday.  Just to make things clear, when I said she was able to go home, I meant our home in California, NOT home home (Oregon).  Tuesday was a little bit of a rough day for me.  Sierra had a band camp she attended all day.  At the end of the day, they performed for the parents and then had a parent meeting following the performance.  As I sat in this meeting with ALL of these parents, talking about volunteer opportunities and all the exciting stuff for band, I just felt this wave of heavy emotion swarm over me.  I love to help out in my kids' classrooms, volunteer to drive, chaperone field trips, and be involved.  This heaviness came from a couple sources.  First, I am tired of feeling like we are only half here.  By that I mean, we can only give a part of ourselves to help out.  I can never volunteer and help out as much as I really want to.  I have to depend on other parents to get my kids to games at school, practises and other activities that we would normally do at home.  Here in California, there is always a tie down with one of our kids, so I can only be "half here." Second, I can't believe I have to ask my kids to start another school year here.  NOT that this isn't a great place, it really is wonderful.  It's just, it isn't our home with our small school and friends they grew up with.  They have some really great friends here in California and for that we are truly blessed and was the selling factor on them staying here and going to school.  We have asked them for 3 separate school years to leave their friends in Oregon and join us here in California.  Each time they leave their friends in Oregon, come here and strive their best to find their place and friends here.  Then we head back to Oregon and their friends there have moved on to other friends,  Again, they have to strive to find their place and fit in.  I know we are making the right decision having them here in California, I just felt so bad for them and what "waiting for a heart transplant" means for everyone.  I thought for sure we would only have to ask them to do the last half of last school year.

I was really feeling down, and was talking with Jason one night on the phone.  He could sense my frustration and decided to fly down and surprise me.  He and Megan flew down on Thursday morning and was able to stay until Sunday morning. What a wonderful husband I have! I really miss him.  It was so great to all be together as a family, it was certainly not long enough, but they had to get back to Oregon.  This trip here we were able to make some decisions and help give each other pep talks, so we are now ready for school to start.  Here is the layout of how this school year will work.  Sierra will be a Junior at  Paly High School, she is really nervous for her Junior year.  Mostly from all the horror stories everyone tells her about how she has to grow up now and look at her future.  She would love to stay young.  Megan will be at home in Oregon.  We will really miss her here, but we felt that this was really important to her and so we support her in this decision.  Lindsey will be in 7th grade at Jordan.  Her good friend she made last year will not be in the same classes as her, but they have plans to meet for lunch and brunch.  A good opportunity for Lindsey to practice meeting more people.  Hunter is very excited to start his 5th grade year at Nixon, where he gets to start playing the cello.  We picked up his instrument last week, so he has had it out playing on it a couple times.  I have to discipline myself not to take it from him and start playing on it myself.

So, here is the most exciting part (well it's all exciting, but maybe unexpected is better).  When I started figuring out the kids' schedule and when I had to be, to pick them up from school, I realized that Gage would only get 3 hours of school a day at the hospital school.  The thought occurred to me to have him go to regular school, he certainly has the energy for it.  Long story short and many phone calls later, Gage will be attending Nixon Elementary (where Hunter goes) in the 2nd grade class.  I have been hired as the nurse to sit with him in his class all day.  They will hire another nurse to take my place, I was just the quickest and most available one they could find, with all this coming together last week.  I would LOVE to stay on and just have it be me, but the district said there is a conflict with it being the parent.  So, I will be the "sub-nurse" and if the nurse they hire has to be gone, I will cover.  We feel he is doing so well on this device and we wanted to test the theory that, "they can live close to normal lives." Gage is nervous about the kids staring at him with his feeding tube, but it will only be the first couple days.  He handled it so beautifully today.  He and I met with his new teacher and the principal.  As we were leaving a girl that will be in his class came in.  Her and her brother were staring at Gage and the boy finally asked, "What is that thing coming out of his nose?" Everyone in the room looked at Gage, and he said, "Well I don't eat enough, so this tube goes in my nose and down the back of my throat and into my stomach.  And then, at night when I am sleeping, it feeds me."  He has SO GOT THIS!! I left a very proud mama.  First day of school pictures to follow next time.

Everyone together at the Oakland temple. 

Gage has lost 2 teeth and is very excited to cash in on his tooth fairy money. He has one more loose tooth that I told him he had to have out before he can get his transplant.  He is slowly working on it.

My cute boys overlooking Oakland. 

On Saturday, the 3 girls went on a river rafting trip.  So, Jason and I decided to take the boys to the Tech Museum in San Jose.  They had a great time.  Below are all the picture from there.