First Fishing Trip of the Year

This past Saturday, we left in the morning to try out fishing in Lone Pine. We stopped at our favorite Tuttle Creek, but unfortunately, other people had the same idea, so it was very crowded, and the only 4 unfortunate fish that we saw were trying to be caught by all of these people.

So we had our lunch:
and headed off to the Tuttle Creek catchpond, but it was full of algae and the people we saw who were fishing weren't catching anything. We hung out there for awhile and just enjoyed the day and then headed to the Lone Pine Film Museum that we have never been to. The amazing Alabama Hills are in Lone Pine on the way to Tuttle Creek, and many, many a movie has been filmed there. Recently, Jeff and Isabelle watched "Tremors" together, so it was fun showing Isabelle the spots where it was filmed. And, here it is in the museum:
Melina's favorite part of the museum was the 2 horses outside. She has a very loud "whinney" that we hear every time she sees a horse.

To end the day, Jeff dropped me off at the Pizza Factory, while he took the girls to the park (the parks are always so much better than in Ridgecrest--and not just because they are new and different--they really are better!). I waited for our pizza, called Jeff when it was ready, and then we headed back in the direction of home to explore Ash Creek, where we ate our dinner and briefly explored the area.
Then we headed home! A great day, but I was tired!

Mischievous Mellie is 20 Months Old

Melina turned 20 months old last week. One word that best describes her: MISCHIEVOUS!! (even though she looks like a sweet angel in this picture)

Friday Wildflower Hike

We went on a hike with friends this past Friday morning to Short Canyon (about a 30-minute drive) to see the wildflowers. Usually poppies will cover the sides of the hills. Either we were too late, or perhaps too early??, or perhaps no poppies at all this year, a big difference from our hike last year:


Regardless, we did enjoy a beautiful day and the kids had lots of fun. Isabelle ended up hiking with the big kids--they went about half an hour beyond us (the moms bringing up the end of the trail with babies on our backs (or fronts). I was so proud of her!! She did fantastic. Here's a picture of Isabelle scaling the rocks with some of her friends:
I can't say Melina enjoyed being in the front carrier very much. She really wanted to be out running with the other kids.

Farmer Boy

We finally finished reading "Farmer Boy" the other day. Isabelle didn't seem to care for this one as much as the other books in the series. She eagerly asked me to start reading the next book this morning, however, and so we have begun reading "By the Shores of Silver Lake." We've read the first 2 chapters so far, and I had to tear her away to leave the couch.

Isabelle's 1st Sport

Isabelle's very good friend, Riley, (they've been friends since they were babies), wanted her to play basketball with him. She agreed, so they played on the same team for 7 weeks starting in January. She had lots of fun and wants to play again next year. Grandma Clark would be so proud!!

Isabelle's Latest Eye Exam

Isabelle started wearing glasses back in June of last year right before she turned 5. We took her in for an exam because she had been looking at us cross-eyed. Her optometrist said that she was very farsighted, and possibly her vision could correct by the time she is a teenager and she wouldn't even need glasses. He did say, however, that it may take a few weeks or months for us to notice a difference with her crossing her eyes, and that he would probably need to change her prescription at her next exam.

Well, at the beginning of this month, I took Isabelle in for her second exam, and to the optometrist's amazement, he recommended NOT changing her prescription and not doing an exam again for another year! He was very pleased with her progress and very proud of her. She needs no prompting to put on her glasses. She puts them on immediately in the morning and if she has taken them off for something (like roughhousing with her sis or Daddy), she puts them back on right away.

Isabelle has adjusted very well to her glasses! Yay!!

This is for you, Rachel!

I first remember reading about the Twilight series on my childhood friend Rachel's blog, quite a long time ago. I quickly said, "well, that's not for me," and that was that. Never even gave it a second thought, until probably a year or two later when I found out that many friends were either reading the series or had finished it. I still didn't think it was for me, but then I would read about it on a favorite blog or hear about it some other way and I began to give it some thought. One day I opened the mail and found $20 that an aunt had sent me with instructions to buy myself something. So, I ran to WalMart and bought the first two books in the series:

I was immediately drawn from page 1 of the first book and was hooked! I couldn't put the book down and finished both books within a matter of days (reading while putting Melina down for a nap and after the girls were in bed). During the day, I was drawn to the books, wanting to abandon motherhood and just read. Somehow I made it through my days though, and read, read, read at night (thankfully this was in the first couple weeks of my pregnancy, so fatigue and nausea hadn't hit yet).

I borrowed book #3 from my friend, Sher, and finished that one also in a couple of days.

I still have #4 to read. It's the last one though--I do WANT to desperately read it; however, I know I'll race through it and be done in a couple of days again, and then it's over...no more. I guess I could do what lots of my friends have done and just read the series over and over, but that doesn't appeal to me at this point.

I have not seen the movie. It is in our Netflix queue, but I tend to be disappointed by movies after I've read the book. Still not sure if I want to watch it yet or not.

So, there you go. If you're looking for something new and exciting to read--this is it! Go get the Twilight series--you won't be sorry!