Huntington Beach Trip - 6/22/2011

What a great trip. It took some coordination but we were able to ride our bikes to Huntington Beach (32 miles) and spend the day there with family and friends. Tony, Rikki and the Boys, John and Kate Arnold family and Emily and I all spent the day at the beach. John, Kate and I rode our bikes and met the rest at the beach. We stopped at Starbucks after the ride, as is our tradition (when we can). The kids all had a great time. Our cars were packed with bikes and beach gear. Jax, my one year old grandson was a hoot. He had so much fun playing in the sand. He got so tired he actually stood up and bent over and stuck his head in the sand. Cute, cute baby. Emily got to play with Grace and her cousin in the water. They had a huge piece of seaweed they all held onto and would all dive in the water when the ways came. They also boogie-boarded. We cooked out while we were there also. Great fellowship, great day. 

EOY Pool Party - Emily's Class 5/25/2011

Emily's class had a pool party at one of her classmates home.  They had so much fun.  Fourth grade was really great for her.  Her teacher was unbelievable!  Here are some pictures:

Memorial Day Camp Trip - AZ 5/31/2011

It is always a great time to camp with Dave and Barb Minich and all their friends. Emily and I drove to Arizona and camped on the 'rim'. Kathy taught Emily a new game. It was quite fun. Below is a picture of her and Dave playing. We ate really well, play lots of games, sing to music, played Frisbee golf, and chatted. The kids usually get together and watch movies at the end of the night.

Cactus to Clouds Hike 5/21/2011

This is the first time I have done a really big hike. Lots of work but lots of fun. There was 8 of us and we started at about 5:30 in the morning. It took us 10 hours to go 13 miles. When we got to the tram, four of us stayed while the other 4 went to the summit which was another 6 miles up. It was covered with snow. By the time the others got back it had been dark for about two hours and very cold. We were getting worried about them as the last tram down was at 9:00pm. They made it about 2 minutes till. Once we got down and to our car, someone had broken the window to our van and took several things. Luckily, I had left me purse in my car. Anyway, I had a great time with some great friends.

 

 

Emily Field Trip to Rileys Farm

To study Gold Rush Days, her class went on a field trip to Riley's Farm where they have a 'Gold Rush' area. They can dig and/or mine for gold and trade it in for cash (play money) or they can work to earn money. Gold prices went up and down depending upon the demand. It was really a lot of fun. Here are a few pics.

Emily getting ready to sell her gold.

She decided to earn some money the old fashioned way. She negotiated $20 up front to sweep the floor.

Christmas 2010 Big Bear Trip

I ran across pictures from our trip to Big Bear the day after Christmas.  A friend of mine was gracious to let me and mine stay in her cabin.  We had a great time.  It is always wonderful to spend time with family.

Packing for 2 babies for a one night stay - priceless!

Flower Fields of Carlsbad

Today we visited the Flower Fields of Carlsbad. It was the last day to tour the fields and it was misting rain but we went anyway. I love flowers, love to grow them, see them, smell them, love to put them in vases. Flowers display God's power and beauty as much as anything I can think of. They are so delicate, grown from dirt and sunshine, and yet so perfect in every detail. It just blows me away. We also enjoyed some strawberry shortcake while we were there. The rain quit and the sun came out. Afterwards we drove down Pacific Coast Highway past Leucadia to Encinitas and ate at a favorite place of mine - Moseys. We then stopped at Moonlight Beach. Emily played on the playground while Greg walked around on the beach and took pictures. We then continued up the coast to Oceanside and walked out on the Pier. Emily saw two kids in her class while we were there. It is a small world no matter where you go. On the way home, we stopped by Super Smoothies. All their smoothies are named for super heroes or villains - another of my favorite places. It was a good day to spend with my kids.

Lots of different types of flowers.

Us.

At the Flower Fields.

My sweet girl.

Some of the flowers.  We also went into a Sweet Pea Maze.

Greg at Moonlight Beach.

I love orange roses.

Cute playground.

A new type of poinsettias due to come out next year.

The dew on the roses.