Our Christmas

We stayed home for Christmas this year and it was nice. We missed family a lot, but had a great time spending time as a family. We woke up early, it was actually mom (Shar) and dad (Justin) who woke up first (6 am) and got the kids up to start the festivities. I was too excited for everyone so had to get things going. Remember, I am a morning person.
Anyway the kids saw that Santa left them Bakugans, Lego's, clothes, and treats. It was then on to creating Christmas carnage with the unwrapping of gifts that have sat under our tree for quite some time. We had through the month guessed what was in each package once or twice. We did this in order one at a time from youngest to oldest, next year I think we will do girls first. Anyway we thank family for the great gifts. There were transformers, a Play Dough Martian Maker, computer games, and the most exciting present of all was a box with a note in it. The kids went on a scavenger hunt to find the present from mom and dad which took them to the back yard to find a Trampoline. They were very excited! The rest of the day was nice and relaxing. We had friends come for breakfast and then just hung out the rest of the day watching shows, playing games, and building Lego's and other things that needed to be built. We also packed up the car to leave for Southern Utah and stay with the Turner Family at a cabin for a couple of days.

Me unwrapping gifts. Mackay gave me this lovely box to put treasures in. I also got an MP3 player and a gift card for KHOLS,
Justin got his favorite thing for Christmas - socks. He gets them every year and loves it. He also got a shirt and a new sleeping bag that will actually fit him.

I already mentioned what Tyler and Mackay got. This is them opening their Christmas PJ's on Christmas Eve. The picture above shows what their PJ's looked like so I won't add another.

Anyway it was a wonderful Christmas and the best part was talking to family later and also that everyone got along and there was great peace in the Turner Family for the day.

Wow time has flown...

Time has really gone by this last couple of weeks and there has hardly been anytime to do anything but just stay up with the goings on around here. A week ago we decided to take our annual trip to see the Christmas lights at the L.A. Temple. The pictures I took don't give it justice at all, but it was very beautiful and fun to walk around the temple and talk to the boys. We stayed overnight and Justin and I took turns going into the temple. It really is a great way to get some temple work done and the kids not getting too bored. We loved it and it was one great way to get the Christmas Spirit.
The next night we were suppose to go to our ward Christmas but Justin also had a work party so we made arrangements with a neighbor to have our kids to the ward party and we went to the work party. The work party was alright, but it is uncomfortable watching people get drunk and make fools of themselves. One of Justin's co-workers even fell while dancing I believe and hurt herself real bad, broke a couple of bones and will be out of work for a few weeks. It's not worth it people! We were able to talk to some friends their and that was nice.

This week was full of activities. Since Tyler is in a K-1 combo so he was able to do a lot of the things that the kindergartners get to do like: go on the Polar Express (his teacher got one in 3-D so the kids sported their glasses and had a good time watching the show), made gingerbread houses, and had a pizza party with the Student Body Officers at Burrows High School.

Both the kids also participated in their school Christmas program. They did a good job. Tyler's class sang "Do You Hear What I Hear" and Mackay class sang the song, "Let them Know It's Christmas Time".

Mackay's class had a Christmas Party on Friday and we made Rudolph Sandwiches. They were cute. The only problem we had is there wasn't enough bread, good thing I had cut out the shapes while they were in performing their song. Anyway I had walked to school so I ran home and grabbed the car and then drove to Walmart and bought bread and got back just in time to save the Christmas Party and have enough bread for everyone. Whew!

Now only 5 days for Christmas and it looks like we have a bit going on this week too. It will be a supper fun week, but I will write about that later...

Oh Christmas Tree

If there is one thing that I really love about Christmas it is a Christmas Tree. Ours has a lot of sentimental value. There are no fancy expensive ornaments, but all of them are priceless. My Grandma Mackay made us an ornament every year and handed them out to us at the Mackay family Christmas party. They now adorn our Christmas Tree. In addition to that there are many ornaments that the kids have made or that we have made over the years. So as I have mentioned before to me our Christmas Tree is truly priceless and this is what I will decorate our tree with for as long as I can.

Thanksgiving Break and Day and Weekend

After Thanksgiving we took off to Sea World and spent a day getting wet on rides and watching shows that have large sea creatures in them. It was so much fun. The kids loved being able to pet the dolphins, manta rays, and star fish. My parents joined us for Thanksgiving and went down with us to Sea World. We loved having them.
The day before Thanksgiving we took the kids over to the bowling alley and played one game. It was fun and the kids enjoyed it. I won with a whopping 99 points, but the kids did good too, thanks to those fabulous bumper lanes.

This is the cute decorations we made for our Thanksgiving feast. Tyler made the place cards by making turkey's with his finger prints and then we cut a toilet paper tube in half and used card sock to make the body, feet, and feathers for our turkey napkin holder. It was a fun craft to do on Thanksgiving Day.

Also on Thanksgiving the men got to work and started cutting down a huge tree we have on the side of our house. We are tired of all of the pine needles and a pine cone fell on the Trooper and broke the windshield so we decided to get ride of the tree. The only problem is we didn't have a ladder tall enough so we just cut most of the branches off and cut a little around the tree to kill it. We will take care of the rest at a latter day.

Hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving!

Have you ever wondered...

Have you every wondered if ...
1) you sound like the grown-ups on the peanuts cartoons that say blah, blah, blah... (or that is what the kids hear anyways) to your kids and that is why they don't understand what you are saying unless you have them look you in the eye. There is that connection once you do that and a spark of understanding. I always wondered why that was.
2) why you never get a telephone call from anyone, just to say hi and wonder how you are doing. Well I know the answer to this (for me anyway) is because I never call anyone either, or I am never home, or I just get too caught up in everything else that I am suppose to do that time just goes by too quickly.
3) why we don't have magical powers. I so want a magic wand or to be able to wiggle my nose and have everything be clean, or have my kids behave, etc. I know that doesn't happen because then I would never learn anything and become very lazy.
4) why the State of California expects our kids to be geniuses by the time they are in 3rd grade. I don't understand why they have the math curriculum that they do. Algebra in 3rd grade, you have got to be kidding me. It sometimes takes me an hour to do my sons homework just to explain it to him. He then has that deer in the headlights look and says he understands it, but I know he has no clue. Curses to the State of California Educational Program.
5) why people aren't happy all of the time. I, for the most part, am a pretty happy person, but I would like to be happy all of the time. I want my family to be happy, my friends to be happy, and everyone to be happy. Can you imagine how the world would be if everyone was happy. No wars, no crime, etc... In this case I know the answer too. If we didn't have opposition in all things we wouldn't learn, eh!
Well there is my little thought for the week. Completely random, but that is generally how my thought process is.
Any way to all I wish you a happy and stress free week!

Going with the Tude!

I have decided that this month I need to have a TUDE.

That is an attitude for gratitude. So I made this sign and hung it up in our home to remind me to be grateful every day. We try nightly to all list something that we are grateful for. It is fun to see what the kids say. I would make a huge list right now of what I am grateful for, but that would take way to long. So we will stick to listing one a day.

I am grateful for Mackay's Piano teacher though. He had his first Piano Recital and played the sone Dancing with Frankenstein. He even dressed up like Frankenstein. The kids were told they could dress up, but Mackay was the only one who did. Luckily he wasn't embarrassed. I at first thought I was mistaken because all the other kids showed up in Sunday's best and there sat Mackay in a Costume. Luckily his teacher assured me that they were suppose to wear costume and her and the other teacher thought it was great that Mackay did dress up and hoped the other kids would see that it was okay to do.

This is a posed picture after the recital. I couldn't get Tyler to not be in it, therefore he is in the background.

The kids also had there Primary Program. They did a great job with there parts and singing. Mackay especially belted out the songs and sounded really good. He is a great singer.

Way to go Kids!

Here is the star himself playing his song

Halloween

It was a fun week with a visit to the pumpkin patch with Tyler's class and fun festivities for Halloween in both of the kids classes. Tyler got the better end of the deal with being in a K-1 combo. They partied all day on Friday. Tyler was in heaven with all of the crafts that they did. His teacher is super great and fun. She is in the upper left corner with Tyler and dressed as a Pink Lady. It was fun to make goop, make spiders, play bingo and do all other kinds of things in his class. Mackay's class had an afternoon party after the school parade. They played Halloween Twister and Musical Chairs. I was in charge of twister so didn't get any pictures of the musical chairs, but it sounded like a blast. On Halloween we finally got around to carving our pumpkins. They turned out pretty good, the kids designed them. We went to the Ward Trunk or Treat then did a little Trick or Treating. The boys got a good stash of candy that hopefully won't all be gone in the nest couple of days.

Our pumpkin master pieces

Trunk or Treat

Pumpkins final product

Carnival, Air Show, and Apple Pickin'...oh my!

Pumpkin Patch in Tehacchapi
Air Force Base

This weekend was busy, busy, busy. I spent the whole day Friday getting the Fall Carnival ready for the kiddos at Gateway School. Most of the morning was spent blowing up balloons, and moving tables and chairs all over campus. I then went home and cooked and wrapped up 100 hot dogs to sell at the carnival and rushed back to get the food booth ready. I then sat in the 90 + degree weather and melted while I sold water, hot dogs, and large otter pops to those who came by. It was actually kind of fun, but I was so hot and tired and felt bad that I didn't get to go around the carnival with my kids to take pictures, Waaa!

Justin got us up before the sun was even up the next morning and had us drive down to Edwards Air Force Base to see the Air Show they do down there every year. This is the first year we made it. It was totally worth going early to beat traffic and we had a blast. The kids got pictures of themselves in space suits. Mackay is going to Mars and Tyler to the moon. We also got more posters and fliers than we know what to do with. The kids even got to sit inside a couple of the planes. We watched the planes in the sky too, amazing! We left a little early, to beat traffic again and headed over to Tehacchapi to pick apples. The place we usually go was all closed up so we weren't able to pick our own apples, but bought some at another farm. We got some fantastic apple juice too. We then headed to the bakery to get a treat before we headed home. The place used to be a gift shop, but now is a clothing shop. They were having a grand opening so we had hot dogs, chips, and a pop there and then went and got our treat.

It was a great weekend, but our house is now paying for it. I have my work cut out for me tomorrow!

Real Mom

Just last night my kids out of the blue asked me, "Mom where is my real mom?" I really didn't think I would get that kind of question for quite some time. Anyway, I didn't know what to say so I just replied, "What do you mean, I am your real mom". They said, "No mom, we mean the mom that had us". We had a talk about how Heavenly Father had prepared a way for us to be a family. He knew that dad and I wanted to be parents really bad but for some reason weren't blessed with having them on our own. I told them that their birth mom prayed about what she should do because she wasn't ready to be a mom yet and because of that she was lead to us. I also told them that if I was able to have kids I bet they would have been a part of our family anyways.
My question to you my friends is, how would you reply to this and what would you say? It makes me sad sometimes that I couldn't be the one who brought them into the world, but I am so glad that they became a part of my world. I don't really want to know how life would be without them. From the first day that I held them in my arms I knew that they were mine. We don't always agree and as they get older they make choices that make me sad, but that is just part of life, isn't it. Anyway I am so grateful for the sealing power that we receive through the temple and the blessing that we have of having our children sealed to us just as though they were born to us in the everlasting covenant promised to us by our Heavenly Father. What a blessing that is.

O is for October

On the 1st day of October I decided to make the kids doughnuts to celebrate October - because O is for October. Anyway here is a very tasty recipe for doughnuts (almost like Krispy Kreme)

Donuts:

2Tbsp yeast

1/4 cup water

1 1/2 cup lukewarm milk

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup shortening

5 cups flour

Vegetable oil for frying

Glaze:

1/3 cup butter

2 cups powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

4-6 Tbsp hot water

Donuts:

Dissolve yeast in water. Add milk, sugar, salt, eggs, shortening, and 2 cups flour. Beat on low, scraping the bowl, for 30 seconds. Then beat on medium for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in remaining flour until smooth. cover and let rise in warm place until double (50-60 minutes). Turn onto floured surface. With a floured rolling pin, gently roll dough to 1/2 inch thick. cut with floured donut cutter (I used a cup and then made a hole in the middle with my hands.) Place on baking sheet, leaving room for donuts to rise. Cover and let rise until doubled (30-40 minutes). Sides must not touch! Using a wide spatula, slide donuts into hot oil (350 degrees); turn was they rise to surface. Fry until just golden, about 1 minute on each side. Carefully remove and drain. Dip in creamy glaze, cool on rack and glaze again.

Glaze:

Heat butte3r until melted. Remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Stir in water 1 Tbsp at a time, until desired consistency is reached. (For chocolate glaze add 1/4 oz of milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips with butter and continue with glaze recipe).

They were delicious! The kids loved them.

WOW

While at the Relief Society Broadcast last night I had the word WOW pop into my head. It was totally random and so unrelated to what was being talked about, but as an acronym so many possibilities came into my mind. WOW could mean:
Women of Wonder - there are so many women who I wonder about and am amazed with.
Women who Work - lets face it, we are mom's work all of the time.
Women of Wisdom - there are so many woman who are smart and have wisdom I want.
I could go on but my mind is drawing a blank right now. Anyway all of you women out there you are wonderful in my eyes. Thanks for being you!

New Windows

After
Before

I know you have been waiting forever for this post. These are the new addition to our house and we love them. I believe that they are really keeping our house cooler. Hooray for new windows!

Hair Cut

A few days before the hair cut.
Tyler decided to cut his own hair when mom got distracted from the job. She was talking to a friend and showing off the new windows and doors we got.

This is now what he looks like. I have to admit I like him with hair that is a little bit longer.

1000 Flags

I took the kids to the 1000 flags ceremony on Saturday. (Justin stayed home with the guy that was putting up our windows (I will post more about that later)). It was actually a neat experience. It is a very short parade and then they put all of the flags in the back of the city building. The kids got a little bored so we didn't stay for the whole ceremony afterwards. My one wish is that I wish people had as much patriotism as many did after the 9/11 attacks. It seems like to many people fight against the values on which our country is based on. This is just the happy medium in me, but I wish that everyone could just get along and be happy. (That is what I tell my kids all of the time)

Two down and many more to go...

See this...this is a smiling mom with her two great kids. Now why is mom smiling, well, her 1st had a great week at school. We are so proud of him and now know that he can do anything that he sets his mind too. (Our first week was a little ruff.) Anyway, Hooray, Hooray, Hooray! Now we hold great hope that the rest of the school year will be just as great.

As for the 2nd son - he always aims to please so does very well in school!

Happy 6th Birthday Tyler

My baby turned 6 today! Where has the time gone. He is getting so big and so independent, it makes me sad sometime, but the upside is he is getting to be so good at helping out and doing things on his own.

We started the festivities of his birthday early in the morning with opening presents. He got an LMax (Leapster), Legos (of course), and a game for his LMax. He was happy so all was good.

These are the cupcakes we made for his class. We saw the picture of them on the back of a cake mix box so Tyler decided that is what he wanted.

Tyler decided that for his cake he wanted all of the candles right by each other like dynamite. It looked pretty dangerous and we are glad he didn't burn himself while we were singing to him.



So Happy Birthday Birthday Tyler! We love you very, very much!

First Day of School

Mackay's teacher is Mrs. Beeson and Tyler's is Mrs Karakus

Today was the first day of school. I don't think my kids were too excited though because I couldn't get them going this morning. I had to drag them out of bed and even get them dressed. Once that was done things got a little better.

Here they are in their classrooms. Don't they look so handsome!

On our way to school!

Anyway things went pretty well at school! Tyler's teacher just found out she was teaching this particular class on either Tuesday or Thursday of last week and so she felt totally disorganized, but I am sure she will be just great. She said Tyler had a great first day. Mackay when I asked him said that he got his name on the board. Can you guess what for? Yep, talking. This kid is just way to social. It will pay off I am sure someday.

Here is what the kids had to say about their first day:

Travels

We decided to take off to Utah for a couple of weeks. It was nice, definately cooler than where we live. We started our trip in St. George, thanks to Justin's sister we dropped the kids off at her house and went to dinner at the Outback and then to see Footloose at the Tuachaun. The food we had was so so and our play got cancelled after the intermission due to rain, wind, lightening, and thunder. We were pretty bummed, but on a positive note we got to watch a fantastic lightening show.
We then headed up to my parents home near Salt Lake City. While there we decided to go and visit the visitor center at the Kennicot Copper Mine. It was interesting and the kids had a lot of fun. They even found a grass hopper to torment, as shown in one of the pictures below. It was also fun to see how deep the mine is, play in the old mine cart, and view a movie about the history of the mine.

On Sunday we headed up to Lyman, Wyoming and spent a couple of days with Justin's twins family. We went to church with them and went in search of fossils (no digging though, because that is against the law). The next day we rode a motor scooter and hiked the Uintah Mountains. It was so beautiful. We hiked 6 miles in all and the kids did great, even better than me. Our last day there we just hung out, the kids swam, jumped on the tramp, rode a zip line, floated down the canal on tubes, and just had fun. We also went out for pizza. We had a great time with them!

The day after we returned to Salt Lake we went to Hogle Zoo with my sisters and their kids. It was so much fun. We were able to see so many baby animals too. Our favorites were the new baby giraffe and the meerkats. The kids loved being with their cousins and were very fascinated with their new cousin Cooper. He got a lot of attention. They got a chance to pet a snake too, ew! We also watched a bird show that was very cool. The birds fly right over your head and you feel like they are going to land on you. Mackay won a ticket to ride the train by answering the question "Which bird is the most expensive bird" The answer was a chicken. Thanks to the cheat sheet that someone holds up over the wall he got it right.

Other things we did while on our trip were attending a Mackay Family Reunion, which I forgot to take pictures of, went school shopping, the kids had a sleep over at my sisters house, we went through the Oquirrh Mountain Temple, the kids built a club house in my parents raspberry bushes, and we visited Parowan for a couple of days. Wow! We did a lot! It was fun and we are glad to be home. This is the first time that we returned home and wished that we lived closer to family. We miss them so!

Today we watched "The Errand of Angels" about a sister missionaries experience. It was an okay movie, but in one part it was raining and Mackay said, "When Heavenly Father is sad his tears are the rain aren't they". I thought that was cute. Later his head was hurting and he said, "I am having brain damagged because my head hurts". Poor kid, hopefully he doesn't have extensive brain damage.

Big 13

Happy 13th Anniversary to us! Justin and I are celebrating our 13 years of being married today. Actually our true celebration will be tomorrow when we go to the Tuachaun and see Footloose and out to dinner. Justin did surprise me with taking me out to lunch today while a friend watched our kids. It was very nice.

In the 13 years that we have been married and am so grateful for a husband who loves me and knows when to give me a break, cheer me up, or just make me feel special. I really appreciate all of these times. He also is mostly great with the kids and provides so well for all of us. We are able to do so much together and with our family. It really makes living here on this earth wonderful and fun. Thanks you sweetheart for all you do and here is to many more years together learning and growing.

Ho, Hum!

My wonderful husband decided that I needed a break today so he is off with the boys and I get to do whatever I want. So I thought what should I do. Well, I don't know! So I am here reading blogs and writing my own. Pretty lame eh!
Well, there are a lot of things I could do but just don't feel like it. I did look at my lesson for nursery tomorrow, I need to organize my file cabinets, I could read the book I am reading, I also could clean my closet out. Oh the garage also needs to be cleaned, but it is too hot to do that, good excuse eh! Anyway, I am sure something will come to me.
As for this week, it sure did go by fast and we were so busy with visiting teaching, a birthday party, swimming, and of course doing a craft with Tyler. We can never get away from doing that. We made cookies with the frozen colored cookie dough. It was fun, but they don't taste that good to me. We also did a bit of yard work, boy did our back yard need it. After all it is pine needle season. They were everywhere. It is crazy how many needles those trees can drop and still have needles on them. We also had a window place come and do a quote on all of our windows and doors. We are now trying to decide if we will do them or wait. All we know is Home Depot is way more expensive than getting them down through a place out of town. I am sure it would be cheaper if we were doing them ourselves, but we want to make sure something like that is done right the first time. Anyway, maybe we will have some new windows and doors here in a month or so.
We are now just gearing up to see family in Utah. We are excited for our upcoming trip and hope it will be as fun as we expect it to be.

Ratatouille

Have you ever thought of making the dish that Disney named one of their movies after. Yes "Ratatouille"! http://dinner-recipes.suite101.com/article.cfm/ratatouille_recipe Well last Sunday when we were trying to decide what to make for dinner I said well how about Ratatouille because I had eggplant, zucchini and tomatoes from the garden. The kids thought that would be great. I told them everything that was included in the recipe and told them they would have to eat it if I made it. They were persistent about me making it so we did. It was actually not to bad. The kids didn't like it of course (way to many vegetables for them, also I added a chile pepper so it was kink of spicy). They promised that they would eat it so they sat at the table for quite some time and were told that they couldn't leave the table until they did. It was a quiet afternoon for Justin and I. They did finally did eat it though.

Also some quotes from the kids for this week:
Mackay was doing some school work during the week and started to space off, he exclaimed, "My mind just got subtracted."

Tyler was frustrated about something one day and said, "That makes me annoying!"

Today Mackay and I were talking and he said, "Why is it that parents are sometimes always right." I told him if he took the sometimes out of that statement it would be a correct statement.

Beach slideshow

Boogie Boarding, collecting shells, playing in the sand, and more

We just spent 7 fabulous days on our family vacation to Refugio Beach near Santa Barbara. My husband was so excited to get there that we left at 6 a.m. and found our spot and some friends who were already there. Lucky for us the people who had our site had already vacated so we set up our home for the week. We were all set and went down the the beach with the Agren's for a few hours. It was a bit chilly but we enjoyed our time down there then headed back up to camp to shower and welcome all of our fellow campers. We had the Agrens, Jensens, and Carricks who all used to live near us and the many of our ward members who also joined us for our fun filled week. It was said that there my have been about 130 or so of our group camping there. Yea, we pretty much ruled the campground.
During the week we enjoyed :
being buried in the sand, more than once
morning walks to collect seashells and look at the tide pools
sand castle building
searching for sand crabs
Boogie Boarding (Justin more than the rest of us)
Hanging out with friends
Campfires with tons of marshmallows and dough boys
Going on a date with other couple to a nice steak restaurant
Getting sunburn more than once
Lunch with the gals to celebrate Kathryn's Birthday (she said it was for mine too, but it was really just for her)
Sleeping in a tent full of sand
Visiting the Natural History Museum in Santa Barbara with our favorite exhibit being a room full of butterflies.
Eating at a fabulous Italian Restaurant
Lots of time at the beach
Lots of girl chat time
Watching the Surfers (Way to go Brent and Taryn)
There was much, much more I am sure. It was so much fun and now we are back in the hot, hot desert we would like to go back.

Turner Family Reunion

I has taken me awhile to get around to posting this. Last weekend we spent a wonderful weekend in Zions National Park with Justin's Family. It was relaxing and fun. We hiked part of the Narrows, played in the pool, went tubing down the river, and just enjoyed each others company. The kids had so much fun with their cousins and they miss them when they are away from them. Anyway, Horray for family!

Inkubook Photobooks

Thanks Dads!

We just got back from a short trip to Zions National Park, Utah where the Turners have their annual family reunion. I will post more about that later, but for now wanted to tell how much I love the Dad's in my life.
First of all my husband! He is a wonderful man and so thoughtful and hardworking. He takes care of our family in many ways. I am so grateful that he provides for us and wants me to be at home with the kids to take care of them. He always tells me that he knows that is so important and wouldn't have it any other way. He also keeps me updated on the outside world. I don't like to read the new too much because it overwhelms me so he fills me in on the important stuff. I also appreciate that he know I need a break every once in awhile and takes the kids off my hands and lets me do something for me. It is great to be cared for.
Second, my own dad. He is a great caring and giving man. He loves his little girls and always wants to take care of us. I also love that he is so handy. We put him to work every time he comes to visit. He knows how to fix everything and has taught me so much. I am also so blessed that he instilled many values in me growing up such as honesty, hard work, and generosity. Thank you so much dad!
Third, my father-in-law! He is a great man! Very caring. I always watched him and how well he took care of his wife while Justin and I were dating. I thought wow he is so caring and loving and always helping her out so his son should be just the same. It is nice that Justin did inherit a lot of those great qualities from his father.
Anyway - Happy Father's Day all of you wonderful and great fathers!

Fruit Pickin'

My kids were excited to start swim lessons this coming week so we got them new goggles. They were so excited about them the had to wear them to breakfast the next morning. They are so lucky they get sugar cereal on Fridays.

Produce from our garden. The kids were so excited that we have things growing in our garden. The only problem is they don't let them grow to full maturity. These are the only two carrots that came up of the many that I planted. We have also gotten many tomatoes, an egg plant, a few zucchini and some cilantro.

It has only taken us 9 years to find this out, but we discovered a place only an hour and a half away to go and pick fruit. The kids had a blast picking and sampling fruit at Murray Farms, which is just a little west of Tehachappi off of highway 58. We picked some strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, apricots, nectarines, and pluots. The kids also had fun playing in a little play ground, petting animals at the petting zoo (mainly goats and chickens, and eating all of the samples in the gift store. It was so much fun and a beautiful day. I think it is going to be our new family tradition to go down there once or twice a year.