California Science Center

Today Mom, Emma, & I headed out to LA to visit the California Science Center. This place is so much fun. There are always so many things to see and do here, we end up spending an entire day. We also met up with Sophia, Erin, & Nancy in the afternoon and the girls had fun playing together - especially when Erin soaked them with the water wheel! We got to see the Endeavour Space Shuttle today and that was awesome, although I think Mom and I enjoyed that part more than Emma did. She just wanted to go back outside and play with Sophia some more!

Cool as can be...

After we left horse camp this morning, Emma & I met up with Sophia & Erin for a little ice skating fun. This was our first time at this rink and the girls loved it. Another groupon-type deal success! I am amazed at how quickly these kids pick up on new things and are willing to try everything. After an hour or so, the girls were even out there (off the walls) in the middle of the rink, participating in skating contests and limbo games. Emma got eliminated for using her hands when seeing how "low she could go" but she still did better than I ever would!

Twilight Horse Camp

Emma went to her first official girl scout camp this week. It was just a mini kind of camp, for the younger ones, but she enjoyed it. On Tuesday and Thursday morning, we drove out to Perris so Emma could learn about horses. A few of the girls in Emma's troop had signed up as well and she loved having friends there with her. Personally, I was less than impressed. The girls spent  lot of time doing horse themed crafts and walking around the farm visiting with the horses and other animals. The only riding they did was for about 5-10 minutes on the second day, and it was in a ring, being led around by a trainer. Um... yeah, that's essentially a pony ride. Oh well, live and learn. Emma still had fun.

Wonderful Wednesday

We had another fun, and cheap, day today! First up, it was time for the weekly $1 movie at the theater. We saw Yogi Bear and even Grandma liked it! Then we spent a couple hours bouncing at Pump It Up. After that, we HAD to stop by Bass Pro Shop so that Emma could show Grandma all about her favorite store. We even stopped for a bite at the on-site restaurant - not impressed, but we got the kids to try fried alligator. :) Expand those palates, kiddos! :)

Small Town Fun

Today we spent the morning exploring downtown Redlands. I took the little ones to storyhour at The Frugal Frigate and then we participated in a "Where's Waldo" scavenger hunt all around State Street. The kids had to go into various stores and look for a small cutout Waldo figurine so they could get a stamp in their book. Once we were done, we took the book back to the 1st store and they got a little prize! We also picked up a couple Waldo books to take home. Then we stopped by Target for a few things and went to Barnes and Noble too where the kids were each able to select a FREE book for their summer reading reward. We love free! We finished up the day by taking Grandma to a doctor appointment and going out to dinner together at the Market Broiler (Grandma's fave!). It was a fun day.

Lake Arrowhead Village

Jon & I took Emma up to Lake Arrowhead for the day today. It was a beautiful day out. We stopped on a turnout on the way up so Emma could check out the view and she thought that was really neat. Then we spent the afternoon walking around the village. We fed the ducks, Emma got to ride some kiddie rides in the Lollipop park, we had ice cream cones, and played on the playground. It was a wonderful day! I love our life!

Starting July off the right way!

I love being off on vacation with my little girl! We had a wonderful first week of July. On Monday I took Emma, Mikayla, & TJ to meet up with Sophia & Erin at the skating rink. These kids all love skating and they are getting pretty darn good at it! Plus, the rink is so nice and empty on a Monday afternoon (as compared to a Saturday birthday party), the kids end up having the rink pretty much to themselves.
On Tuesday, I dropped TJ & Mikayla off at the waterpark with Erin & Sophia while I took Emma back in for ANOTHER dental appointment. This one went MUCH better. The dentist was wonderful (Dr. Yarber) and I have requested that we only see her in the future. Emma sat still and was calm for her whole filling which means that, yes, she earned her "positive incentive" (aka: bribe) that we had bought after the last traumatic visit. You can see her rocking the new 1Direction jammies above. Doesn't she look proud of herself? After the dentist we met back up with everyone at the waterpark for the rest of the day. Fun!
Thursday was the 4th of July. As has become tradition, we went over to Tim & Jenny's to hang out with family & friends. Jeff brought board games, we swam, at yummy food, and just enjoyed each other's company. I kind of forgot to take pictures though, so all I have is the one of my little watermelon eaters and the one Mikayla took of Emma & I watching fireworks. Oh well.
On Friday evening we went to the 66ers baseball game. Hayden was singing the national anthem AND it was "Princesses in the Park" night. How fun was that!?! And guess who got to be official princesses at the game & pose for photo ops? Katie & Hannah! Too cool. We had a lot of fun! :)