Big Trip, part 7--Pool Time!!!

One of the nice features of the apartment complex where we stayed was the fact that there were two pools there.  Although the weather while we were there was very nice for the most part, there weren't a lot of days that were really warm enough for swimming.  The first time Matt brought the kids to swim, we went to the main pool (which we thought was the only pool) and it was not heated.  But there was also a hot tub, so the kids were able to play in there.  They had been so eager to come to our "hotel" to swim, so that at least gave them a taste of it.

But then we discovered that there was a second pool, which was heated.  So one day we brought the kids over there and had some time in the pool with them, without Matt or Cheryl.

And no, we didn't make them sit on the steps the whole time.  We each took one of the kids into the pool with us.  But I don't think that Grandpa and Grandma are nearly as much fun in the pool as their Daddy is.....as witnessed by these next pictures.

This is Evan's "Ready!" pose.

These last pictures were taken on our last day in California.  It was a beautiful, almost hot day, so Cheryl and the kids came over in the afternoon and Matt joined us after school.  The kids had a great time! 

There will be at least one more California post, and maybe two, depending on how many pictures I find.

Big Trip, part 6---A Visit to a Farm and the Ecology Festival

One Saturday we went on an outing to a farm near Ontario.  Jill Leonard and her girls went with us.  There were lots of animals to look at and some that we could pet and even feed.

Feeding a carrot to the horse

Josie and Kenzie REALLY liked the bunnies!

Evan found a place where he could dig in the dirt.

I think this was his favorite place. 

On another Saturday we walked over to the University of Redlands campus because there was an Ecology Festival going on. (I know it had a different name, which I don't remember, but it was all about ecology.) There were a lot of booths to check out and most of them were giving things away, like pencils, little balls, and even candy and cookies!  Evan and Josie both went home with some treasures in their bags.  But their favorite thing was......the Bouncy House!!

I'm not sure what this was supposed to represent.

Something "green" I'm sure.

Josie seems a bit apprehensive about the whole face-painting thing.

On our walk back home we passed another festival going on, a Native American Festival.  We watched some of the dances that were being performed.  Josie wondered why the men were wearing dresses. :)  We also sampled some Navajo fry bread.  It was so good, we had to go back for seconds! We thought of Auntie Abby as we ate our fry bread.

Next up----Pool Time!!

Big Trip, part 5--Fun at the Park!

Going to the park was a favorite activity on the days when we were babysitting.  There is a park and a school playground (two, actually) within walking distance of Matt and Cheryl's house.  And we also checked out a couple of the other Redlands parks.

These kids definitely love to swing....

....and climb....

...and slide!

One of the parks that we went to had a pond, and there were ducks on the pond. So of course when we went there we brought some stale bread to feed to the ducks. Apparently a lot of people get rid of their stale bread by feeding these ducks, because they were never very hungry. (Sadly, some of my cutest duck-feeding pictures were among the pictures that I lost.)

No, Evan isn't really stepping into the water. :)

And a few more playground pics.

A side note:  As I have been going through my pictures I've noticed that Josie is wearing the same dress on a lot of the pictures.  That does not mean that those pictures were all taken on the same day.  It does mean that this is Josie's very favorite dress!  I think that if she had her way she would wear it every day!  Unfortunately, I don't think it is going to fit her much longer--it will be a sad day for Josie when she can no longer wear it. :( 

The next post will take us to a farm!  Stay tuned!

Big Trip, part 4--Children's Museum and Dance Class

On one of Cheryl's days off from work, we took the kids to a Children's Museum in Hemet, called "Fingerprints."  We went with Jill Leonard and her 3 girls. I lost a bunch of the pictures that I took on this outing---they just sort of mysteriously disappeared. I have no idea why that happened.  But I was able to take some after that happened (and I didn't lose those) and I also got some on the tablet. 

The kids had a lot of fun---the museum is set up sort of like a little town, with a bank, grocery store, vet's office, dr's office, etc. etc.  And there are some full size vehicles, like an ambulance, that the kids can sit in. The 5 little girls kind of moved through the place together, and Evan, being the only boy, kind of explored on his own.  I spent most of my time following him around, and that is probably why most of the pictures I have are of Evan.

Evan did some major grocery shopping!

And then he did some cooking--if you look closely, maybe you can see the ice  cream cone that he's baking in the oven. 

The person in charge of the museum told us that we had to clean up after ourselves as we moved from one area to another. Evan apparently took that seriously.

Josie checked out the back of the ambulance. She and her friends spent a lot of time in there with the animals from the vet's office. 

Driving the garbage truck

Head first down the slide

 

Evan checked out the boat to make sure that it was seaworthy...

 

and then they all went for a boat ride.

 

Since Josie got a little short-changed on the pictures at the museum, I thought I'd add some pictures that I took at her dance class.  She goes to dance class every Wednesday morning, and I think we took her there every week except for one. Her class is an hour long and it is half ballet and half tap. It was so much fun to watch her dance. :)

 

 Tap dancing, as you can tell by the shoes.

Our little dancer!

The last time we took her, she was chosen "Dancer of the Day."

Isn't she just adorable in her little pink leotard?  I'm pretty sure she was the cutest one of the bunch. :)

There will be a few more posts coming.  The next one may be about our visits to the parks in Redlands, or maybe a trip to a farm. You'll just have to wait and see.

Big Trip, part 3---Sea World!!

The first week that we were in California, Matt was on Spring Break so one day we went down to San Diego and spent the day at Sea World.  I think the last time I had been at Sea World was when I went on the 5th grade field trip with Abby. Let's see, that would have been about 18 years ago.  So things had changed a bit during that time.  They had moved things around a bit, so I definitely needed to rely on the park map. But some things still looked quite familiar. One difference was in the Shamu show---no trainers in the water with the whales. Of course they still have the "splash zones" at the shows, which we managed to avoid. 

Visiting the dolphins

Another big change was in the kids' play area.  They have added some Sesame Street themed rides, which Josie and  Evan really enjoyed.  Oh, I think Cheryl and Grandpa enjoyed them, too.

There's  also a place where the kids could make music.

I think Evan's favorite thing in the play area was the bouncy house.  They had a special bouncing pad for toddlers, but he absolutely wanted no part of that one!  He wanted to go in the big bouncy house! I think that the girl in charge actually sort of bent the rules for him, because he didn't quite meet the height requirement.  So she let him keep his shoes on while she measured him, and that gave him just the edge he needed.  I think he would have been happy spending the whole day there. When his time was up, he'd get out and race right over to get back in line for another turn. Fortunately it wasn't too busy, so he got lots of turns. I didn't get any pictures of him in there, though---he moves way too fast!

We ended our day at the tide pool, which is one of my favorite places.  I love looking at all those sea creatures, especially the starfish and anemone.(or is it anemones?)

Next post---the Children's Museum in Hemet. I have to locate my pictures first, though. That was the day of the camera malfunction, so some of my pics are on the tablet and some are on the iPad.