Gilroy Gardens

On Saturday we headed out to Gilroy Gardens. We had never been there before, well Avery has, but Jaron and I had not. My parents bought us all season passes so it was time to start getting some use out of them. My dad came along with us...mom is in Tanzania on a mission trip until mid-August where my dad will soon join her in 2 weeks.
Anyways-what a great place! It is beautiful and so much fun for little kids. Avery again wanted to go on ride after ride. We stayed for 4 hours or so and are excited we can go back more during the summer.

Happy 4th of July!!

Beach Boardwalk

On Tuesday night we headed over the hill to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Every Monday and Tuesday night the rides are only 75 cents as well as their hot dogs, sodas, and cotton candy. Avery had such a fun time on the rides. She kept wanting more!!
After Avery went on a few rides, Jaron took a ride on the Big Dipper. He also indulged in a fried twinkie. He has always wanted to try one...it was good!

Trip to Southern Cal

After our camping trip we made our way down to Southern California. Jaron had to got to the National Athletic Training Convention in Anaheim. On Thursday while Jaron was at the convention, Avery and I headed over to Cypress to visit with Amy, Kaylin, and Trevor. We were able to see their new place and the kids had a fun time playing outside and being together again.

On Friday night our friends Mike and Zariq met us at Downtown Disney for some food and fun. I love hanging out with them as we are always just able to pick up right where we left off.

On Saturday, Derek and Amy came out to our hotel where the kids and us had a great time by the pool and a yummy dinner at Mimi's Cafe. Later that night, we had a spectacular view of the Disneyland fireworks from the parking lot of our hotel. It was so hard to be so close to Disneyland and not go. Avery really wanted to visit Mickey's house. Maybe before her 3rd birthday so we can get her in for free! :)

On our last day we went over to Mrs. Knott's Famous Chicken Restaurant for the Sunday buffet brunch. The food was so good! I kept wanting to eat and eat. After that we headed over to Kent and Liz's house for a quick visit before heading home. I had never met their little girl Abby who is 10 months old and adorable! Of course Avery loved hanging out with the boys too. We of course wish we could have spent more time catching up, but after being away from home for a week, We were ready to get back home. We are hoping they can come up for a visit later this summer. Hint hint!

Camping at Ice House

Last Sunday we left for our first camping trip of the season to Icehouse Resevoir which is a few miles east of Placerville. What a beautiful place to spend a few relaxed days.
This is about the cleanest Avery was during the entire trip. As soon as we got there she was playing in the dirt.

Probably the best thing about going camping is the campfire...and smores.

Avery warmed right up to great grandpa, and had fun exploring camp with him.

Avery really enjoyed the smores...once she saw everyone roasting marshmallows she grabbed her own stick and stuck a marshmallow on it, the stick she chose was about 4" long and 1" wide.

Did I mention Avery was dirty the whole time we were there? Here's a pic of after playing in the dirt and rubbing her eye.

Avery latched right on to Jenni's cousins, and kept asking "where's Kelsey, where's Melissa?"

Avery enjoyed riding in Great Grandpa's boat...she liked going fast, although she had a kung-fu grip on me the whole time.

Roger had a great time camping...he went swimming 3 or 4 times everyday we were there. Here he found a stick to fetch...well, it was more like a log. He became obsessed with it and kept dragging it out of the water and barking at it. Finally I had to hide it in the woods while he was swimming after another stick so he would quit barking at it.

A visit with Papa and Grams

On Saturday we headed up to visit with Mom and Dad in Pittsburg for Father's Day. We had a great time, especially Avery who loved helping Papa wash his El Camino. She also went to the park with Grams to feed the ducks. We are so thankful to be able to see them regularly!

Berry Picking

I have been waiting for a month or so to finally go and pick Ollalieberries. One of my absolute favorite deserts is my Grandma's ollalieberry pie. Today, my grandma, my two cousins Melissa and Kelsey, Aunt Kathy, myself, and Avery headed over to Watsonville to Gizditch Farms. We had a great time picking our berries. The crop is so good this year so we did not have to work too hard to leave with a combined total of 66 pounds of berries! Avery had a great time picking, but mostly eating the berries. She left with a stained face and hands.

Travelin' in Komfort

Welcome to the virtual tour of our new 1975 Komfort travel trailer. Jenni and I planned to go camping a couple of times this summer, so to prevent the pregnant wife from sleeping on the ground we picked up this beauty on Tuesday.

I've been keeping an eye on Craigs List for the last 3 or 4 weeks, I looked at a couple other trailers in our price range that were pretty rough...then this popped up. For being older than both Jenni and I, it is in great shape.

It was owned by an older guy who took great care of it evidently. He passed away a couple years ago, and his wife had no where to store it. It has an updated fridge and stove that look almost new.

A weekend with friends

This last weekend we headed down to Arroyo Grande to visit our friends Steve and Kelci. Jaron met Steve about 5 years ago and they share a passion for off-roading. Kelci and I also share two great passions...scrapbooking and sewing. Kelci was my inspiration for learning how to sew. She is so artsy fartsy and everything she creates is beautiful.

They have 2 little girls, Bella who is 3, and Matea, who is 10 months. Avery and Bella had a great time and immediately hit it off. Though as time went on, they were fighting more and more over toys, balloons, books, etc... Ahhh the life of toddlers. Thankfully, they were instantly friends again after the tears stopped. :)

Of course all my pictures are of the girls and not of the adults. Next time I'll make sure to document the fact that Steve and Kelci really do exist.

It was a great kick-back weekend and we are so excited to see them again soon for a camping trip in August.

Friends and Fun

Happy Mother's Day

To celebrate mother's day, Jaron and Avery gave me flowers and made me a special breakfast with waffles, whip cream, and strawberries!! We then headed down to Gilroy for lunch with my grandparents and parents. We went to Famous Dave's BBQ and enjoyed a whole lotta food. Here is a pic of Avery and I...it is really amazing if we get a picture with her smiling! :)

San Francisco

Jaron's mom was out in California for a conference in SF so we headed up there on Saturday and stayed over until Sunday then mom came back here to our house until Tuesday. We had a great time walking around and taking the trolley down to Fisherman's wharf and Pier 39. We enjoyed some very yummy food on the Pier. Avery loved the sea lions and the exciting ride on the trolley. The weather was beautiful! We had a wonderful visit and Avery especially loved all the time she spent with Grandma O.





I especially loved this sign that is posted as you start walking down the Pier.

After we returned home, Jaron enjoyed getting a belated birthday gift. I had originally bought him a smoker, but it was not quite the one he wanted so he returned it. Jaron's mom decided to give him the upgraded smoker, the one he really wanted, and mom and Jaron spent some time on Monday putting it all together. Jaron tried it out yesterday, cooking up a very yummy tri-tip.