Wine Country Tour

We love going to Napa. This time was even more fun because we were able to share it with our Dad. We went to the Michael Andretti Foundation benefit at the Andretti winery. It was so awesome. All the AGR drivers were there--even Danica--we didn't talk to her. We chit chatted with Tony and congratulated him on his son that will be born in about a month. We had our pictures taken with Tony, Marco, Mario, Michael, and even Mary Hulman-George. It was a ton of fun. (Check out our link to indycar.com to see all our pictures).

Maren enjoying herself at the Winery...

a Tony Kanaan sandwich...

While in Napa we also went over to Fairfield, CA to the Jelly Belly factory. It was so cool. We got to go on a tour of the factory and see how the jelly beans were made. We even got free samples--yum!
At the Jelly Belly Factory!Of course we did some shopping at the great outlets up there too. We also went to historic downtown Sonoma and went to a few little shops and the Mission.
Logan in downtown SonomaCarsyn and Daddy outside
the Mission in SonomaOn Sunday, Maren went to her first Indy Car race--the Indy 300 at Infineon. We had hoped for a better outcome, but it was still cool to see. We sat right behind the pits, which was awesome because #1) we got to see Ashley Judd up close, and #2) we saw Danica stall her engine!

Maren at her first Indy Car race (when Dario was still winning)We had a super-fun four days in wine country.

A San Francisco Treat...

Supporting the Cubbies in San Fran...
We had such a blast in San Francisco. It was a pretty short visit, but it was a good time. It was so pretty and the weather was amazing--much better than the 100+ that we left in Lemoore. We went to Pier 39 and ate, and we went to the Mission. We also went to two Cubs vs. Giants games at AT&T park. The Wednesday night game was good, we won in extra innings. But, the game on Thursday was not as fun. However, we did get to see Carlos pitch! It was a fun two days, but we're heading to wine country...

Logan, Dad, & Carsyn @ Pier 39

Maren and Mommy at AT&T Park

Welcome home, Daddy!

Finally! It was a very long seven months, but we're so glad to have our Dad home. Now it's off to the Bay area!

Logan's first day of Kindergarten!

Logan on her first day of school...

Wow! Logan is now a Kindergartener! She was so excited to start her first day of school. She has a new backpack and tons of new clothes and shoes (no uniforms this year). There are lots of kids from our neighborhood in her class and she's made a lot of new friends.

Let her eat cake...

Maren's first Birthday Cake!

Maren absolutely loved her cake. Neither Logan nor Carsyn enjoyed their first birthday cakes as much as Maren did. She immediately dove straight in. She like tasting it and playing it and cried when she had to get out of her highchair and into the bath tub.

Maren had fun opening her presents too. Of course Logan and Carsyn probably like this part more. The evening was topped of with the world premier of HSM2--we were not disappointed.

Happy Birthday to Maren!

Wow! It's hard to believe that a whole year has already gone by and our little baby Maren is one year old. However, she thinks she's even older than that. She's such a sweet little girl though. She is one of the fastest crawlers we've ever seen. She's very good at pulling up and "cruising", but she makes no attempts to walk on her own yet. She has six teeth and a pretty thick head of hair. She loves to look at pictures. She thinks every picture is of either "Mama" or "me" and points to herself. She seems to be right on track. Now if we could just get her potty trained!

Only 1 more day...

Oh my goodness! We are so excited--only one more day! 'Til what, you ask? Are we so excited that the girls' dad is coming home pretty soon? Or that it's Maren's birthday Friday? Those are both good guesses, but the real reason we're so thrilled is that High School Musical 2 premiers tomorrow!!! We're excited about the other stuff too!

what's in bakersfield?

not much...

we traveled down to bakersfield to see old friends. mrs. harrison and her husband were in central california to watch their daughter, molly compete in the usa water skiing nationals. she is ranked 8th in the nation for age group and gender for trick skiing--pretty awesome. after the competition we were able to visit with them and go out to dinner. we went out to eat at the girls favorite restaurant: cpk--check another one off our list! it was a really nice time. logan and carsyn absolutely loved molly and mrs. harrison. maren warmed up to them very quickly too. it was great to see old friends from home and catch up a little.



Logan, Mrs. Harrison, Carsyn, Molly, Maren, & Megan

California's Central Coast...

It's amazing how much of a difference in temperature just 100 miles makes. We left Lemoore and it was 101 degrees. When we arrived in San Simeon it was only 65. California's central coast is truly gorgeous. There's not much to do in San Simeon other than enjoy the scenery and take pictures.

Logan checking out the view...

Carsyn loving the sea...

Mommy and the girls in San Simeon...

The girls were done with that in about an hour. Luckily the Cubs were on WGN--and what a game, they beat the "Dirty Birds"! We went to the Hearst Castle, but did not go on the tour. We'd like to go back when we have more time though. It was very neat. From there we drove up PCH about 70 miles to Monterey. The drive was breath taking. It was amazing to see, but I don't think I could do it again--talk about scary.

Maren at a restaurant off PCH

We enjoyed a very relaxing and fun long weekend at Chad and Jill's. The girls always have so much fun there. Logan, Carsyn, and Maren enjoy playing with Evan and Madison. Logan and Carsyn used to "fight" over which one would marry Evan. Now Maren seems to really like him as well! We went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and checked out the Mission in Carmel. We also drove to Gilroy for their famous Garlic festival. It was very hot and crowded, but the food was sure good. The kids had a blast riding the rides and making crafts.

Logan at the Carmel Mission...

Carsyn...

Evan and Logan at the Gilroy Garlic Festival...

Fun rides...

At the Aquarium...

On the way home we stopped at another mission in Soledad. It was smaller than the rest, but still very pretty. Overall, it was a great little trip!

Logan at the Mission in Soledad

Ventura Beach...

Well, the outlet mall in Camarillo was enormous. It was overwhelming. We didn't end up staying long. For one, Logan didn't feel well, and for two, there weren't many good deals. Ventura was really nice though. I really wish you would have been stationed there in Port Hueneme. It's gorgeous, the weather is awesome, it's right on the ocean, and it's so much closer to L.A. Oh well. We stayed on Ventura Beach. The girls had a blast playing in the sand and water.

See how pretty it is...

Maren likes the sand...

We also went to the San Beunaventura Mission. It was very pretty. However, we were out in front of the mission taking pictures of the girls and some crazy, homeless lady started yelling at me. It was a little scary. She kept telling me not to take her picture. Um, I wasn't! Thankfully a cop was driving by and I asked him to make sure she stayed away from us. Then we left. What an experience.

In front of the mission, before the "incident"...

American Girl Place...

After four fun-filled days at Disneyland, we headed over to Beverly Hills for a day. We stayed at the same hotel as last time. For their birthdays, we took Logan and Carsyn (and Maren too) over to the Grove to the American Girl Place. That was their big birthday gift--dinner at AGP and AG dolls. They had so much fun. It was really neat.

Make a wish...

Logan and her new doll, "Catherine" (Cathy for short)

Carsyn feeding "Patty"

Maren's getting so big...

Unfortunately, no celebrity sightings this time. Tomorrow we're headed to Camarillo because there is a huge outlet mall there. And then we're going to Ventura Beach! Love you!

Disneyland Birthday Vacation...

At the birthday party...

Well, we finally did it. We bought anual passes to Disneyland! And, we couldn't have had more fun--unless you were there with us. The girls had such a blast. It wasn't too crowded, so we were able to go on most of our favorite rides. However, we did not go on Peter Pan or the Tea Cups--the girls wanted to save that for when you get home and can take them since those are your favorites. We also weren't able to go on the new Nemo Submarine ride...the line was over two hours long. The girls did great decorating their cakes at their birthday party with Minnie and Mickey too. Carsyn made a huge mess--as usual. Maren absolutely loved going on the carousel. It was her favorite ride. She was so excited, bouncing up and down. She screamed and threw fits everytime it was over because she didn't want to get off. Logan thought the Haunted Mansion was much scarier this time. But, we got to see the High School Musical pep rally which was fun. We can't wait to go back with you! Love you.

Happy 5th Birthday, Logan!

Wow! Can you believe we have a five-year-old? That's so crazy. The girls have had pretty good birthdays. They opened their presents and posed for pictures with their cakes. Their big present, though, is going to Disneyland and having a birthday dinner at the American Girl Cafe. They are going to have so much fun. We just really wish you were here with us. It would be even more fun with you. This will be the third year in a row that they've gone to Disneyland for their birthdays--incidentally it's also the third year in a row that you haven't gone with us. That stinks! We can't wait 'til you're home for good. Love you!

Logan at her birthday party at Color Me Mine

Happy 3rd Birthday, Carsyn!

Carsyn is three years old today! Hopefully she got the memo that the "terrible two's" are over! The girls are opening half their presents today, and the rest they'll open tomorrow. We'll probably have Carsyn's cake today, though. We wish you were here.

Happy Fourth of July!

You know we're not really into the Fourth of July--it's not Christmas or anything. But, we actually had a pretty fun day this year. (Of course it stinks that this is the third year in a row that you've been gone!) We went for a walk early and then the girls had Grace over to play. We went to the Khaki pool around 3:30 and were the only family there for almost an hour. There was never more than 14 people there the whole time we were there. It was quite nice. We decided to go to the Tachi Palace for the Chubby Checker concert and fireworks--it was FREE! We had a really good time. I wish you could have seen the girls dancing and having so much fun. They looked so cute too in their matching dresses. It was very hot, but overall it was a pretty nice day. We love you.

Carsyn taking a break from her sidewalk art...

Grace and Logan hard at work...

Maren tried to eat the chalk...

Ready to swim...

At the pool...

What a cutie!

Matching...

Watching Chubby Checker...

C'mon Baby, Let's do the Twist...