Aruba - Part Three

When we found out we were going to go to this beautiful place I of course did a little Pinterest research.  While I found amazing photos of beautiful Caribbean beaches, what intrigued me most were these Dutch inspired buildings in the bright colors.  It became my mission to find these buildings!  Thankfully, they weren't too tough to track down and we were able to spend a few hours exploring the shopping and city of Oranjestad while I snapped a few photos for myself.  

Aruba - Part Two

As I mentioned in my previous post, John and I are not world travelers.  Really, I feel as though California offers so many awesome places to go, I rarely feel the itch to get away.  After this trip, I can honestly say I feel differently... not about California (I love it here)...but about my opinion on travel.  There are so many interesting things out there, and I am excited to make plans to explore a bit more.

Aruba is most definitely designed for tourists, but we did manage to get away and explore some really wonderful places both on and off the resort.  

This right here was my view for the first few hours of our first day... we spent the morning relaxing out under a hut umbrella.

Then we moved to the pool area (we stayed at the Aruba Marriott: Stellaris Casino for the first few days of our stay) where we sampled a few beverages from the swim-up pool bar.

We also had several encounters with some reptilian friends... This guy was pretty small compared to some of the others, but he wanted to bug us during breakfast so I had to take his photo.

We decided to rent a car and explore a little on our second day...

We headed all the way to the south end of the island to Baby Beach... so, so beautiful!

John stacked some rocks :-)

Firestone Walker | Brewery Tour

We are big beer people.

Not like Bud or Coors or even Corona... we are beer-tasting, can-tell-the-difference-between-an-IPA-and-a-brown-ale, appreciate-the-artistry-in-it... craft beer people.  Some people are like that with wine, we just happen to like beer better.

So, we decided to take a little field trip over the Christmas break to Paso Robles for the day and check out the Firestone Walker brewery.

There was a great little half-hour tour that taught a lot about the beer making process as well as what makes Firestone Walker a unique brewery.  We also had the opportunity to taste several of the draft brews that they don't bottle, so they were only available there.

Fun (kid free) times with some wonderful friends! 

Premiere Bridal Fashion Show | Gaga Chic

This was a fun event for the girls and a few of their friends...

Actually, Claire was the one asked by a local children's boutique, Gaga Chic, to participate in the Premiere Bridal fashion show featuring their clothing.  Once we went in for our fitting, Hannah was also given the opportunity to be involved in the day! The event was held at the Convention Center and there were several hundred people watching each of two shows that day!

Both of their dresses were beautiful ivory gowns and they had their hair done to include some vintage hair pieces... so fun!

I personally LOVED Claire's hairpiece... so pretty!

Claire, doing a 'pose' on the runway... yes it is her...even if you can barely see her, lol

And Hannah is doing a twirl here, again barely visible, but she is doing a great job!

Who knows if they will ever have this opportunity again, but they had a blast getting all dressed up for a fun Fashion Show!!

Snow Day!!

We were hoping for a lot of snow for the day snow trip we were planning over Christmas vacation.  Last year we stayed at a cabin in Shaver for three days and the was absolutely NO SNOW... it was a major bummer!  So, when we had a nice storm the week before our planned trip, I was pretty excited!

Chains were required at the top of the four lane (for future reference) and we John and Brian did what we thought was a great job putting them on in just a few minutes.  There was even a 'mountain man' walking by with his dogs that looked at their handiwork and approved.  Off we went!

We found a spot to get out and look at the view when John saw that one of the chains was gone... what?!?!

How do you lose one chain and not even hear it?  Needless to say, we did just fine on the snow with just the one chain, however for sanity I wouldn't suggest it to anyone.

Off again we went to look for an acceptable snow play area... my criteria: not too busy, but not too deserted either, and a safe distance from the lake.

We found a good spot and were ready to go!  We had four snow toys between the six of us, so we shared and paired up with the girls, there was even a good area where we made our own little sled run.

After awhile, we stopped for a lunch break and headed down the road a little more towards Huntington Lake (sp?).  We found another area to play, but it seemed so much more chilly!  We didn't last in that area long, the snow was so cold when going down the sled run that it burned your face and both girls ended up in tears.  It was even too powdery to make any sort of acceptable snowman so we decided to call it a day, head home, and warm up our toes :)

Because of the crazy burning snow in the face, the girls say they don't like going to the snow now.  I know I can change their minds, however one snow trip per year is generally my limit.  While I think it is super beautiful and even fun to play in once in awhile, it is still frozen and tough to move in - not exactly something I would want to live in forever.  So, changing their minds might have to wait until next year!

Claire and the Ear Piercing

Claire decided she was ready to get her ears pierced!

This was a bit of a decision for her because Hannah had been very honest in telling her that it kinda-sorta hurt, but it wasn't so bad, :)

When Claire was four we told her that whenever she was ready, we would take her to have it done.  She kept saying that she would be ready when she was five... and then when she turned five, she still seemed a bit apprehensive so I didn't push the issue.

Well, the day came that she said she was ready!  We were heading out for a family dinner and decided to stop off at Claire's (the little jewelry shop) and get the show on the road!

John got a video of the action, but here is the after shot:

She rocked it!  You could tell after the first one that she wasn't too comfortable, but she didn't complain and let the girl do the next one.  She didn't even cry after the second one.  When asked if she would ever do it again: Nope! (Haha)

Now the hard part: Remembering to clean and twist them every night!

Trick-or-treat!!

The girls had so much fun Trick-or-treating last night!  They are at such fun ages that makes this whole Halloween process so much more fun!

We went to Auntie and Uncle's house first for some treats in their neighborhood, then we came back home and went around much of our own neighborhood with some friends while my parents handed out candy at our house. 

The girls came home with full bags, tired feet, and smiles on their faces :-)

Single Palm Pumpkin Patch

'Tis the season for the Pumpkin Patch! 

Hannah needed a little trip to the patch too, so we headed to our favorite patch in town.  Single Palm Pumpkins is located 5 miles west of HWY 99 on Barstow.  We went there a few years ago, and I HIGHLY recommend it!!

• Pick Your Own Pumpkins...directly off the vine!
• Hay Ride
• Mini-corn maze
• Haunted house 
• Animals
• Story area for little ones
• TONS, TONS, TONS of photo opportunities!! ;-)
• Local, family owned and run.  (It is literally set up in their yard!)
• All this for $5 per pumpkin... that's it...everything else is completely FREE!

We had so much fun!  I am a huge proponent of buying local when possible, this is one of my favorite places in town to support!