June 2012 Part 1

Oh my gosh, we discovered a Bakersfield gem.  We have some friends who are new members of the church and we got talking at a girls night out dinner a few months ago.  Well her husband helps run a waterski ranch and she invited us to come.  Once the weather warmed up, we planned the trip with 4 other familes and had an amazing weekend playing there.

What luck!  A spa.  This water is from a well so although it smells like sulfer (hello, i grew up going to the hot pots - no biggy there) it is nice and warm.

It was hard being pregnant and feeling like I should be somewhat careful, but that just meant I let once of the kids blob me off instead of one of the adults!

Water tramp.  The kids stayed in life jackets all day and since the lake is only about 5ft deep anywhere we let them swim back and forth to the toys.

I couldn't believe how well kept and pretty everything looked...right here this whole time and we never knew it!

There was even a mini gated playground...and you can see the awesome waterslide in the background. Couldn't wait to try that out the following day.

No kid left behind...they all played and played in the water.

There is a lot of property and there are even some horses and emu's grazing around.

When the sun went down and the water felt a little more chilly we got out the paddle boats.  Man was that a leg workout from the get go.

I can't believe how pregnant I already look, just chub everywhere.

Jeremy spent a lot more time on the boat than I did, I was beat after one trip around the island...with the kids shouting, the island mom, the island, go around the island again.

When all the kids were out and warming up the guys went to playing a little two on two basketball.

You think they'd be exhausted and ready for bed, but of course you can't go to sleep right away when there is so much to do and you are having a huge sleepover!  After arranging and re-arranging their sleeping spots they played pool, foosball and some board games while the adults talked. Ok I made myself a s'more over the stove top and cooked a banana boat too. Fortunately there were some little rooms off the side for the grownups! This place is awesome!!!

Before hopping right in the next morning we played in the sand a little and

got started with all the lunch fixin's in this awesome outdoor kitchen. Surround sound included!

Everywhere you looked there were things to do, including a mechanical bull and a rock climbing wall.

Then of course, the waterslide. Ellia was nervouse about both this and the blob, but we told her just to climb up and look, and then of course we coaxed off both at least once.  She was done after that.  I myself rode the water slide several times, it was a blast!

Just lounging.

May 2012

We started off this month in Utah and I figured Ash was old enough to appreciate watching Krispy Kreme so we HAD to stop there during hot doughnut hours!

(get pics from mom of midway cheese factory)

I flew back before Jer and the girls and went straight to Time Out for Women conference in Long Beach.  I felt decent for the most part and some of the talks were so good. All in all it was just a fun trip with the girls....besides when I threw up on the way home. Nicole was driving and we were stopped in traffic, I toldher it was ok to go slow and I leaned out to puke, but she said, 'sorry I have to go now!' and luckily i had a ziplock bag. If you think puking in a car with friends is bad, try riding it in for an hour thinking about that little CLEAR bag at your feet.  When we stopped to eat I was really the only one hungry and I asked for a curbside garbage can...then hurdled the hedge and looked away as I tossed.

Ash has this new position that I love!

Ellia got to show us everything she has been learning in gymnastics at the Spring showcase this year.  It was such a good event and I was really happy she didn't freeze on anything, I was worried she'd get stage fright.  She did SO good on her floor routine and got an excellent ribbon.

Beam (i think this is her hardest)

floor

vault (they really just jump off the springboard with two feet)

One of Ellia's coaches, this is Chloe.

Touring Sweet Surrender, a gourmet cupcake shop here in Bakersfield.

They got to sprinkle their own little cupcake.

I just love when they get along.

California Science Center

They have this really cool aquarium with a pump that mimics the rising and falling of the tides.  There is also a touch pool, but the girls were too scared, they just kept telling us what to touch.

 Building an earthquake safe structure.

 Running around the rose gardens.

 Ellia said something so funny about this statue but I can't remember exactly what, something like, 'they forgot that guys body."

 It was pretty cool to see the coliseum, especially since the Olympics were held here.

 After going about a mile in an hour we made it to the Dodger game with some friends.

 Afterward they let anyone who wanted to go in the outfield and watch fireworks. That was really cool.

The next day we went to the beach and stayed for a few hours, it was a little cold, but we all got a nice nap.

For Memorial day we went to the Jameson Ranch camp, my friends summer camp with private lake and all the toys!  First things first Jer headed to the far side to take the girls on their first fishing experience.

 He had a hard time finding worms and the girls got a little restless, but once the lines were in they were ready to play.

 We came up dry this time but have a better idea of how to get them interested for future trips.

Paddling on the lake...They had some stand up paddle boards that I was dying to try but was a little worried about my ever changing center of gravity.  Before we left I ended up trying and it was much easier than I thought it would be, and pretty fun too.

 As always there is a great turnout for food and the grilling smells amazing.

It all tuckered the girls out though.