Our weekend at the desert.

We just got home from a fun filled weekend at the desert.

We broke in the Rhino on this trip and we loved it!

We arrived Friday and it was a tiny windy, but it was beautiful.

Emma felt right at home in her car seat.

She was so excited to go for a ride in the Rhino.

Friday night was a little crazy...

EVERYONE did a beer bong.

For some reason Bill thought that shots of Patron and beer bongs sounded like a good idea.

Funny thing was none of us disagreed.

Good morning little desert girl.

She loves going to the "dirt" (desert).

She especially loved this trip because her good pals Jillian and Rachel came out to visit on Saturday.

We took lots of rides with the girls and they all seemed to love the Rhino.

It got SO WINDY that we ended up all inside.

The girls hung out on the bed and enjoyed snacks and Blue's Clues.

Before dinner we visited Bill in his trailer.

He gave Emma a big cup full of M&M's and she loved them and loved him for giving them to her.

Since it was still really windy we all crammed into Nana and Grandfather's trailer and ate dinner.

Then enjoyed some poker.

This morning Wendy drove Emma to the Blue Inn for a big stick.

Emma LOVES Wendy and she had such a great time playing with her.

Then we went on a long ride to Pumpkin Patch.

Emma had such a great time and even wore herself out and fell asleep for half of the ride.

We had such a great time.

We were so lucky to have Jason, Kristyn, Jillian, Heather and Rachel come out and join us.

Sorry that it was so windy.

You guys will have to join us again!

I love this girl!

Emma's personality is showing more and more each day.

She is a pretty funny and imaginative little kid.

She loves to play with her dress up stuff. When she puts on a necklace or headband she says, "Mama I pretty... I princess."

Princesses are the new rage around this house.

Man she misses Lolo and Benny!

They have been gone for weeks now, but Emma can't stop talking about Lolo and Benny.

She asks to check out their blog daily. She is obsesed with their Justin Bieber dance video.

She asks for them to come over and play daily.

She wants to watch tv with them daily.

I guess we should book our trip up to see them.

Lolo and Benny... Emma sends you a big hug and a kiss!

Douggie got a new toy!

Okay... I am being a complete smartass.

I am sure you saw the pink golf cart looking thing below.

It is for sure not Doug's. He will proudly be riding his manly black quad still.

Emma and I will now be riding in our new Rhino!

We found a crazy good deal for a used Rhino, and we couldn't pass it up... even if it is pink.

We do plan on changing the color at some point, but we aren't in a rush.

I will be selling my two quads and this will now be the family ride for us.

Emma has a car seat that gets put in the back seat, and we can all go for a ride out at the desert together.

She loves it and asks to go out to the garage so she can sit in it. Then she has to have her helmet and goggles. Safety first! Even when you are just sitting in the garage.

We are so excited for the Rhino, and can't wait or our next trip!

A visit from Chuck & Tess

Last Saturday Doug's Uncle Chuck and Aunt Tess came for a visit.

They were on a little road trip and drove down from Washington.

Sunday we took them to Orfila Vineyards.

We had a little picnic, courtesy of Major Market.

After lunch we went inside for a little tasting.

Emma loved saying "cheers" with her water cup.

After a little clothing change and about a half hour too much of tasting she was pooped.

She ended up falling asleep in my arms.

Douggie, Chuck and Tess.

After naps, we headed for dinner at Phils BBQ.

Emma discovered that ribs can get caught in your teeth.

She didn't like that feeling one bit.

Lucky for her, daddy helped her with a tooth pick.

We had a great visit with Chuck and Tess.

You guys are welcome back anytime!

Emma's 2nd session of Gymnastics

Emma loves running school (gymnastics).

We signed her up for a 2nd month of her class that started this past week.

She could hardly wait for class to start.

I have tried to explain to her that if she sits quietly and listens, her teacher will call her name.

If she doesn't listen, then her teacher will think she isn't ready to start the next trick.

For some reason she still isn't great at grasping this concept yet.

Stamp time at the end of class is always so much fun.

Rocket Soup

Emma has recently fallen in love with Little Einsteins (cartoon on tv).

She has watched it before but over the past few weeks she has requested it often.

One of the episodes is all about gathering ingredients to make some rocket soup to feed rocket.

The ingredients are cheese, peas and magic jumping beans.

She loves that episode!

Last week we decided we needed to make our own rocket soup for dinner.

We used peas, mac and cheese and baked beans.

I got all of the ingredients ready...

and Emma mixed them all up.

She really liked it and has even requested it for dinner a few times since then.

Welcome back Kok Family!

Sunday February 26, we got together at my folk's house for lunch.

The Kok family drove back from their fabulous week in Palm Springs to join us.

My Uncle Ron and Aunt Tracy drove from OC to come as well.

The kids all had such a great time playing together.

Sunday evening we went to dinner, and after dinner we met up with cousin Claire for some frozen yogurt.

She plays for her college golf team, and happened to have a tournament in San Marcos.

Her coach let her escape for some family time with us.

Claire with Lauren on her lap, Val with Benny on her lap and Marie with Emma.

We were very sad to see the Kok family leave, but we loved every second of their visit with us.

Emma is still asking about Lauren and Benny daily.

Desert family dinner and poker night.

The weekend of Feb. 25 - 27 we had a desert trip planned.

The darn weather decided to make us cancel our plans at the last minute.

It rained the entire weekend.

Since we had all made lots of food for our Saturday night dinner out there, we decided to still get together for dinner.

We also celebrated Melissa and Grandfather's birthdays.

Emma was in heaven with her "Happy Cake."

We broke all of the rules and let Emma stay up past her bedtime.

There was also a big poker game...

and Douggie won $8 in change for Emma's piggy bank.

On the way home from Valley Center, it snowed.

Just for a few minutes during our drive, but it was still pretty fun.