4th of July 2012

Since the 4th this year was on a Wednesday, we had to celebrate it the weekend before.  We headed up to Merced to our favorite 4th of July spot.  We had a weekend of fun ahead!

This year was themed Red Solo Cup! 

This was the weekend fun planned!

Mary was a fish in the after after having four weeks of swim lessons.  It was awesome! 

 This is what the pool looked like all weekend long.  Someone was always in it having fun

 Kevin was our fisherman catching all the cat fish.

 Teresa even got her pole out and sat for a bit

 Then Kevin was to gut the fish he caught.  They wanted him to skin them, but he didn't know how to skin that kind of fish. 

 One breakfast got a little 'dirty'.  haha  Not planned, maybe.  haha

 Our host of all hosts.  Beverly and her husband, Bob, are great to open our house to all of us crazies.

 The three best buddies for the weekend.

 Then the day before her birthday she finally lost her front tooth.  She had been holding onto it as long as she could.  The vacation tooth fairy gave her three dollars for it.

 Then it was time for the Tittykaka 4th of July parade.  The annual parade.

 The three previous queens.

 And 2012 Tittykaka queen Kelly.

 And here are all the queens so far. 

 When it came to firework time, Teresa did not want to be outside for it.  So, her and I stayed inside teh motorhome to watch.  She said she was safe there. 

 HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY MARY ROSE!  Monday morning we had a birthday breakfast for Miss Mary.  She associates her birthday with this place.  So, we can never not celebrate it there!

 On the way home we stopped at Bravo Farms.  We always see all the signs off the fwy and have never stopped.  This year we did.  There was a lot to see.

Our next stop was the Riverland RV Resort for two nights.  It was a really nice place on the Kingsburg River. 

We had a camp spot right on the lake there with a doc to fish off of. 

Mary reeled in her first fish

And here is what she caught.

Kevin won the most tiny fish caught.  I do not know hot this thing even got it's mouth around the hook.

It was a fun relaxing weekend with the family.  The kids did great.  Not too much complaining.  They did sleep in eery morning until 7:30, which was great.  We wore them out.  They even slept together in the big overhead bed in the motor home too.  It was so nice. 

Bowling

Michelle and I put the kids into a 4 week bowling class.  They are having a great time.  It's so cute to watch them try to get the ball down the lane.  Mary does pretty well.  Teresa has gotten the ball all the way down, most of the time.  brooke has done real well too.

Swimming Classes

We have done one week of swim lessons so far.  One more week to go.  My goal is to get those both comfortable being in the water by our 4th of July trip.  Through my friends, I found a private instructor.  One on one time is best for my kids.  It's working out great.

Mary is SOOOO close to it on her own.  still a little unsure on her own, but she will be there.  She is just unsure of herself.  Does not like to open her eyes under water, or get her eyes wet.  Working on that.  But she loves to swim.  She has mommy's fish gene in her. 

 Tere is a little bit more unsure than Mary.  Has a big trust issue with the water.  Miss Jenn, the instructor is working on it.  She is a great instructor.  Teresa does OK with Jenn, but not so much with me in our park pool. 

 Our good friend, Brooke, is also doing swim lessons right after our times.  She is a little fish so far.  Much better than Teresa.  She's only 8 months older than Teresa, but it really makes a difference.  She's ready to do it!!

So, we have one more week to go of lessons.  Then to do it on our own.  I hope it all works out well!!  We'll be a family of fish in three weeks in Merced!  Can't wait!!!

Saying Goodbye

Friday June 1st, we put my 90 year old grandma to rest.  She lived a long life.  We all loved her so much.  She definitely knew how to have fun.  Which is were my mom gets it from, and was passed down to me too!  She loved to dance and sing anywhere she was.  If she was in a line at the store and heard a good song, she's start tapping her foot and bopping along to the beat.  It made everyone smile. 

 We had a very nice memorial for her at the grave site.  the priest made it so nice with such nice words. 

 After the memorial we went to her favorite Mexican restaurant across the street from the cemetery, El Presidente.  We have ate many many meals there together.  We always had the same waiter, Martin.  He is still there too.  So, we had to have her serve us. 

This is her house she lived in, in Granada Hill.  Many many sleep overs and fun times there. 

It was hard to say good bye, but it was time for her to go.  We will miss her in so many ways.  But now she is up in heaven with grandpa and all her other friends.  She is up there dancing and singing again. 

Love you Grandma!

May Days at Disneyland

 We headed for Disneyland on Sunday for an overnight er with Kevin.  The girls and I have been 3 times without him.  We missed him joining us, so we decided to go for two days together.  It was fun.  The weather was a bit warm, but still fun. 

The girls are ready to go.  Teresa had her pirate face on!!

 Mary was excited to have her pineapple frozen yogurt while waiting for the Tiki Tiki Room.

 Teresa loved saying hi to Mickey.

 And Pluto, our FAVORITE!! 

 Mary loved the clam chowder in the bread bowl, me too.  That's what was left when she was done. 

Teresa and Mulan.  Never seen the movie.

 Teresa was WORN OUT from the fun day.  This was about 2pm. 

 So we headed to the pool at the hotel.  The girls love to swim.

 That evening Kevin and Mary went back to the park to play.  Daddy got Mary a churro.  YUM!

Flying on Dumbo together.

 

The girls could not wait to go see Minni and go in her house.

Teresa loved to play on Minni's computer.  I could not get her away from it.

Goofy was being super 'goofy' with Teresa.  She loved it.

Our favorite dog again!  We can't pass up any pictures with him. 

You can see me hiding behind Mary.  I didn't mean to, just happened. 

What a fun trip as a family.  Our passes are blocked out starting the end of May until the middle of August.  So, we'll make another trip then and be ready for more fun.

Lincoln Lovin'

 Oh, how we love our little Lincoln.  He is so adorable.  Mary got to have some quality time with him the other day.  She loved it! 

 She read stories to him.  He was so very interested in it.  Very helpful at turning the pages.  So cute.

He is such a sweet baby boy.  We love you our Lincoln!!!