Allie's school got to go to BizTown. It's this really cool place where the kids learn about finances and running a business. They get to apply for jobs, work jobs, earn a paycheck, deposit money into the bank and buy things. I got to go chaperone and snapped a few shots of Allie.
Allie got to be the CEO and editor of the Portland Business Journal. Her main task for the day was to produce a newspaper, sell it and pay back their business loan. They succeeded! ( I "bought" 4 copies with the "money" they gave me for being a volunteer.) It was a super cool experience. She really liked her job. She had a lot of work to do and was busy the whole time.
Allie didn't want to pose for a picture--she was too busy working so I got some action shots.
In front of the office On an important call
Working with her reporter (and friend). Yes,
they are on opposite ends of the height spectrum Shopping at Fred Meyer
I got to go with Kate's preschool class to the zoo. It was a little rainy, but really cold. Kate was miserable and let me know about it. I took loads of pictures and she pretty much looked like this in all of them. It's so funny I had to post some of them.
I think in every preschool class picture I have, one kid is picking their nose. I'm glad it wasn't Kate.
Finally at the end when we were leaving she was happy. She asked me for water and opened this water and she took one tiny sip and used it for her weeds.
Allie's class presented some Greek plays. Allie played Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty and love in two of the plays.
She has such a great group of friends--we will miss these girls!
Kate started swimming lessons which is nice because she it getting tired and sitting through Allie and Luke's activities. She loves the water but didn't like putting her face in at first. She just started her second session and is much more comfortable in the water. At first I thought she would give herself whiplash when they asked her to put her eyes in the water. She would stick them in and then quickly whip her head back. Now she goes under so long that I start to worry that she is drowning, but then her cute little head pops up. You can tell she feels grown up getting to go to swim class.
Now that basketball is over, Luke is busy with baseball. This year is machine pitch and Luke is pretty good at making contact with the ball. It's fun to see how his skills have improved from last year. Here are some of my favorite pictures so far....
Luke had his last basketball game a little while ago. I will really miss basketball. It's super fun to watch and the weather is always perfect inside the gym. Luke really put on a show for his last game. It was probably because Pete, Julie and Connor came to see the game. It was so fun to have them there! He had 8pts, 10 rebounds and 2 assists. Of course the stats are thanks to Pete. It was hilarious to listen to Michael and Pete during the game.
I have a feeling I'm going to be watching a lot of basketball games the next 10 years!
Allie is doing tennis and swim team this spring. It's her first time on swim time and she really likes it. These pictures are from her first meet. She swam some relays and individual events.
Luke loves Cubs. He won this one night and it was so gross to watch him eat it. That is a real cricket! He didn't eat that part, but he did put it in his mouth.
Leaving Bakersfield is always hard. Luckily we got to stay and watch the first session of General Conference with everyone before we hit the road. The kids played outside on the grass until the last possible minute. After we got in the car and were about 5 minutes down the road Kate asked where we were going. She didn't know we were going home. After I told her Portland, she started crying and said she wanted to go back to Grandma and Grandpa's house. She said she wanted to stay in Bakersfield forever.
My Dad has the best lawn and yard in all of Bakersfield
We miss these cousins so much!
These Hell's Angels bikers followed us for a long time. I'm pretty sure they thought of me in my super cool minivan as their leader.
And just for fun...these pictures were discovered on the iPad when we got home. I guess someone was bored.
This one is my favorite!
No trip to Bakersfield is ever complete without playing on Neil and Jill's slip n slide. We almost didn't get to do it this year--but we sneaked it in the last day. Jill was so cool to put it all together--it made my kids' day. The big news this year was that Kate actually did it and liked it. All the other years she screamed when we threw her down it. Allie and Luke also got to wear their new swimsuits that Jill and Neil got them for their birthdays.
One of Luke's requirements for cub scouts was to plan, prepare and clean up an outdoor meal. It didn't really sound fun to wear our coats and eat outside in Portland so Grandpa helped Luke with this requirement while we were in Bakersfield. They spent ALL day putting this feast together. Luke planned the menu- Chili dogs, chips, salad, and soda. They made a grocery list and went shopping and since they were gone for four hours shopping we think they had some extra fun. The whole family came over and it was a fun meal. We think Luke and Grandpa should always cook a meal for us--they are really good at it.
Dale and Mimi
Kate and Andee
Lucy
Kate thought she was so funny to steal my cup.
Cody isn't so sure about me--but he really likes Luke
Super fun Aunt Jill and Allie
Beautiful Gracie!
Neil and Luke played a great game of "hoopless" basketball. Even though Neil was super busy at work he came home and played with us.
And of course back to the dirt pile.
