A Week of Firsts!

So I have a lot to share about this past week. The Losins have been busy!

It started with Emma's first Golf Lesson.

With Dave's obsession with playing golf growing by leaps and bounds, Emma has taken a special interest in it as well. So I signed her up for a golf lesson. It was called "tiny tees". She learned how to correct a divot, golf course etiquette, how to putt and hit a few balls off the range.

I believe her favorite part was her new friend Erika.

Next was the girls first trip to Sonoma.

Miss Kiara was brave enough to take another quick trip with us. I am so grateful because it meant I did not have to spend another night away from them. I had already traveled to Clearlake earlier in the week.

Sonoma is known for its wine but did you know that they have a place called Train Town. If you ever travel to wine country with kids, this should make the list of stops. Not that wine country is a place you visit with kids nor is it set up that way, as we found out.

Ellison is much braver than Emma when it comes to trying new things. So she got a ride on the scrambler and Ferris Wheel. While Emma reserved her riding for only the Carousel and the train ride around the park!

We stayed at the Fairmont thinking that it was more resort like and the kids could swim and order room service and what have you. They were able to this but there were a few differences.

The pool was a mineral pool. I guess super fancy water is more for the adult lounger. Room service was good but no plain chocolate ice cream to be found at the hotel restaurant. Only chocolate with some other fancy ingredient, not prepared with a 5 year olds palette in mind.

The next morning we hit a triple D recommendation ( Guy's Diners, Drive- Ins and Dives), The Sunflower Cafe. The iPad has changed the way we entertain the kids. Now they can watch My Little Pony while they wait for their food and it keeps them less noisy for the hungover wine tasters.

The Sonoma square had a great park and pond so we checked them both out! All in all we had a great time, but probably will not bring them back with us to wine country for a vacation.

Third on the first list was Emma's first 18 holes of golf with her Dad.

After her lesson she has a new found interest in the game of Golf and Dave wasted no time in getting her going. So they hit the course and played this past Saturday. Emma had a great time, she putted, used her little hybrid club to hit a few off the tee box and helped Dave fix his divots. Most importantly she was a good luck charm for her Duckers because he shot his best round of golf. An 84!

Fourth was a trip to the State Fair.

This was both the girls first time to a fair and I can not remember the last time I went to one. I am pretty sure it was with my grandmother and somewhere in North Dakota or Wisconsin.

It was HUGE! We did not even make it to half of it and we were there for almost 5 hours. I will say that California puts on a great Fair. It was clean, full of things for the kids to see and do. They even have a wine tasting tent,where I found a Blackberry Merlot Slushy. I think 7 eleven should look into this one. But one thing is for sure.... Get your wallet ready. A hundred dollars does not go to far. Crazy, I know!

But I would pay any amount again ad again for this picture right here. Emma was in heaven.

What a week. I need a vacation!

Bitter Sweet!

We officially no longer live in Georgia. I know technically that we have not lived there since January 1st, but this past Friday we sold our house.

I say bitter sweet for a couple of reasons.

Sweet because Dave and I are relieved that we do not to have to worry about managing a household 3000 miles away and paying bills for two homes. Also, the stress of getting that contract and working out all the details, has finally come to an end.

Bitter because I think Friday when I got the call from our Realtor, that everything went smoothly, it hit me. We no longer live in the place where our family started. We are officially Californians, in every sense of the word.

It meant for me, that the chapter of our lives in GA has officially closed and we have moved on. I know it sounds silly, but our house was always a little ( or a huge , depending on how you looked at it) tie to everything that made Dave, I and our girls who we are today.

Our family and friends are all still there but now when we visit we will be true visitors.

I hope the family that bought our home is as happy as we were there. They sure got a great deal and left Dave and I feeling a little sore to sit down, if you know what I mean! Ha. Ha!

But I do wish them well and Dave and I are excited about finding a home here is California and start writing that next chapter in our families life.

And The Dolphin Award Goes To....

Super Swimmer Emma Marie Losinberger MacGyver!

This Summer I can officially say that Emma is a swimmer. She was there at the end of last summer but still a little timid. This year it is Game On!

We are so proud of her and she is proud of herself. She will swim the length of the pool, get out, push up her goggles and give us a big thumps up and a smile!

At her last swimming class at the Rhyan swim school they asked that she come fully clothed, shoes and all. They want to make sure the kids would not panic if they were to fall in and can swim to the side and get out on their own. She did it with flying colors.

Again, she says " They do not call me Awesome Emma for nothing!"

They're Here!

Yes, I am happy to report that Ellison now has 4 teeth. The first top right bucker breaking the skin this past weekend and the arrival of the left one on Tuesday!

All in all she has done great! A little bit more cranky than usual, but give her some food, Motrin and Nelda and she is a happy girl.

We also attended a BBQ at one of Dave's co-workers this past weekend. They live in Walnut Grove and it is in what is called the Delta. It was such a neat town. People drive their boats up to the marina and get out and walk the town for groceries and dinner after a little skiing.

Mary Beth's house is across the street from the Sacramento River and is a refurbished 1921 house. It was something right out of a movie and we all had such a great time, especially in the pool and tree swing.

I also took note that they do not have AC. What????

I could not imagine, but I was told it really never gets warm enough for them to have one. They get a great Delta breeze at night.

The girls also met a new friend Jenny, the dog!

Happy 4th of July!

Our first 4th of July as Californians!We started out our weekend with a Saturday trip to South Lake Tahoe. We had yet to go to the lake and thought we would check it out. It was full of campers and boaters. The drive getting there was completely different in the summer vs. the winter. Here are some of the sights...

When ate lunch at the lake and the girls got to play at the beach for a little bit. Ellison again going for a taste of sand. We then headed over to Heavenly Village and thought we would be able to take the gondola up to the top for a grand view. What we did not expect for the ticket salesman to tell us, was that we were not dressed for the occasion. At the top they had tubing in the snow and recommended more winter gear than flip flops and sundresses. Note to self: Summer in Tahoe is different than Summer anywhere else. Yes, those are snow capped mountains behind the girls. You can not make a better backdrop!

Sunday, Emma and I went to her friend Melodie's house for a swimming play date. We got our first meeting with two hens. Melodie's family has two hens that they raise in their backyard; Pac-man and Beauty. They were very friendly and also gave us a fresh egg to bring home. I had no idea that hens lay one egg a day in the spring and summer months. I told Dave, I now understand the phrase" what came first .... the chicken or the egg?" Really... which was it?

After Ellison went to bed, Dave, Emma and I watched the fireworks from the Town Center on our balcony. It was perfect! Not quite the fireworks show from Uncle Dan's old place but pretty good for us! A glass of wine, Emma in her PJs spreading her "magic rainbows" with her wand and all three of enjoying the view from our house!

Our actual 4th was spent on Folsom lake, a 15 minute drive from our house, with the Gardens. They were kind enough to invite us out for a day on the lake, and we had a blast! Emma went tubing, Duckers went skiing and I even got spun around the lake on the tube. Surprisingly, Ellison loved it, especially when we would start going fast.

I am now trying to put a bug in Dave's ear for a boat ( not sure that I will ever convince him, maybe a wave runner first).

It was a great weekend and I am so happy that I got to spend it with my family discovering new things that California has to offer.

Monterey, Take 2!

I had to go back to Monterey for work this past week and decided to take the kids and Miss Kiara with me. We loaded up the Malibu for another couple of days on the Coast.The weather was not great on the first day. Farmer's Almanac, Dave, shared with us that is had not rained more than 4 days in June for 150 years. This past Tuesday was day number 5. Plus it is always 20 degrees colder in this area, hence the sweaters. The best months to travel to this part, if you want warm is September, October and November. That did not stop us from having good time.

The girls hit the Aquarium again and we managed to walk through the rain to Old Fisherman's Wharf for dinner.

We stayed closer to downtown Monterey this time and is was great. They had a Farmer's Market going on in the rain, too. It also had a crepe shop that served breakfast. I think we all loved it. Who Wouldn't? When you can have chocolate and strawberries rolled in a sweet crepe for breakfast.

One thing I forgot to mention was Emma's new obsession with Cars 2. Now she wants this to be the theme of the 5th birthday! Holly Shiftwell enjoyed her vacation as well. I also discovered that Emma's feet had grown 2 sizes since she las had her Vans on. Thank goodness for Walgreens.

Wednesday before heading back towards home, we made another trip to Dennis the Menace park.

From there we made a quick stop to what I now call my new favorite place, Carmel-by-the-sea. This place is UNBELIEVABLE!!!! It is quaint in all the right ways. It has small boutique shopping, no commercialized hotel chains just small bed and breakfasts and at the very end of Ocean Drive is this amazing view. You can see Pebble Beach on one side and the mountains on the other. I can not wait to go back. Anyone coming to visit for a period of time, needs to make this place part of their stop. Ellison also got her first real dose of playing in beach sand and how it tastes.

From there we stopped in Gilroy and the kids went to Gilroy Gardens. We wish we had more time to explore, but we needed to keep on going. Gilroy Gardens is a theme park that is set to represent the area. Gilroy is the Garlic capital and so the rides were shaped liked Garlic bulbs and of course they had Garlic food ( none of which the girls ate). Also, Artichokes and strawberries are big in that area.

It was a full two days but I was so happy that I did not have to spend a night away from the Girls and that they could enjoy more of California. Our adventures keep on going!