Micke grove with my Sister

My sister Julie is moving to England for 3 years!!! Her husband, James got an assignment there through the military, so off they go. They took a tour through Cali, visiting all their friends & family before they left, and we were one of those stops. (not quite in san jose though)

We met them in a little place called Lodi, CA. There is this zoo called Micke Grove, and its just perfect for all our little toddlers. We used to go there when I was growing up, so it brought back a little nostalgia. They have this beautiful Japanese garden, that I remember my Grandpa Klingman loved when he came to visit.

Here is our day:

The Japanese Garden

The Zoo

The Kiddie Train




( I love this pic of my sister and me. I'm closing my eyes, and Jules doesn't look quite ready, I had to post it, because its the only pic of her little guy Carson)

It was such a a fun Day! I'm glad we got to spend one last day with them before they left. We're going to miss their family for the next 3 years!!

My Riley

A friend from the ward took this at an activity and I just thought it was so cute, I had to post it. We adore this little girl.

I love this guy

Who else would want to spend eternity with ME??

Independance Day 2010

I'm not putting my pictures in any order. I'm just going to "journal" what we did this past 4th of July.

July 3:

Went to see Eclipse, the big movie! We thought it was pretty good.

We drove to Manteca (have you heard of that place before?) Its a small town in the Central Valley. My sister Traci, said there was a good fireworks show. So we met her for a delicious dinner at Red Robin. Then we headed over to the stadium for some fireworks. It was a pretty cool setup, they had all the regular concessions, kettle korn, shaved ice, hot dogs, margaritas - no thank you for obvious reasons :)

Anyways, we just had a blast hanging out, playing, and talking.

The best part of our night was Chloe. She is sooooo afraid of things. The kids were all playing a little way off and it was getting dark. They let off a firework to let the crowd know the show was starting, and all the kids screamed an ran back to their parents excited to see the fireworks.

Poor Chloe had no idea what was going on! She burst into hysterical screams, not sure where to go with all the kids running everywhere. When she got to us, her little heart was beating out of her chest and she was just shaking! She kept saying " wanna go home, wanna go home"

Oh my! She finally calmed down, and by the end was saying oooh and aaah like everyone else.

We made it home safely at midnight!

July 4

Made it to 9:00 church after getting home so late. Had some great lessons. As I get older I appreciate more and more just how lucky we are to be in this country! I was touched by the words of the songs Star Spangled Banner and America the Beautiful. It is so wonderful to be in a country where I can make my own choices and believe what I want to believe!

Went to a rad BBQ with some friend in our ward. Good food and good laughs, you can't beat that!

July 5

My first nephews birthday! I just had to say that! Happy Birthday Conner! Went to a ward pancake breakfast. Riley decided it would be fun to kiss a boy on his cheek. twice. Seriously?

Anyways, we had an awesome weekend of celebrating America!