Sights, Sounds, and Smells of the Central Valley

People often turn up their nose at the vast swaths of farmland in between Southern California and the Bay Area, but there are actually lots of fun places to stop and visit in the Central Valley.

Heading up on our usual route up (The) 5, we stopped at Harris Ranch, which is the largest beef producer and ranch in the Western U.S., and the birthplace of many racehorses including Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner California Chrome.  Ava had a tasty tri-tip lunch, and we enjoyed the country store and holiday decorations.

On the way back, we took State Route 99 (formerly known as the "Golden State Highway" or "The Main Street of California").  Our first detour was to Hilmar, home of the Hilmar Cheese Company.  Hilmar allows you to look into the cheese factory from windows on the second floor, and had lots of great exhibits for kids of all ages - not to mention cheese samples a cafe serving grilled cheese, cheese soup, and other cheesy treats.

Going off the beaten path, we ended up at Buchanan Hollow Nut Company, where we sampled locally grown almonds and (of course) purchased some to take home with us. 

Just off the highway in Kingsburg is the Sun-Maid raisin plant which has a fantastic market selling lots of dried fruits and nuts you can't find in stores.  More importantly, it's the site of the world's largest box of raisins (12' high!), which was once filled with 16,500 pounds of raisins.

Staying off the main highway, and travelling past plenty of ranches and small farms, we ended up in the quaint town of Hanford.  Escaping the cold and the stench of cattle brought in by the winds, we had a real treat at Superior Dairy Products Company, which makes its delicious ice cream in-house and serves ginormous portions.

Ava couldn't come close to finishing her one-scoop sundae, and Abby and Chris hardly made a dent in their three-scoop banana split.

The last stop of the day (and our main event) was at the Rabobank Arena to check out Bakersfield's new AHL team.  The AHL is just a step below the NHL and the Condors are the top affiliate for the Edmonton Oilers.

Ava got to meet Baby Cal, one of the Condors' three mascots.

We enjoyed a high scoring Bakersfield win including two goals from defenceman Brad Hunt, who was called up to Edmonton the next day.

The next morning we started at a coffeeshop for breakfast.  Ava's feast consisted of a Mickey Mouse shaped pancake with whipped cream, mini-M&Ms, bacon, and eggs. 

After a pitstop at the outlet mall, Ava curled up into a ball to catch up on sleep as we drove home. 

Fall Frenzy

Ava has thoroughly enjoyed going back to school and becoming a third-grader.  

School remains fun and Ava's love of reading continues to blossom.  Her eyes are fine but she sometimes likes to read wearing fake glasses.

Ava's extracurricular activities continue including meetings, projects, and trips with her Girl Scout troop.  They recently made animal toys and donated them to the Irvine Animal Care Center where they took a tour and learned all about pet adoption.  For those of you looking for a pet, the IACC offers adoptions seven days a week and has a special "Home for the Holidays" adoption fair on December 6.

While Ava doesn't have any pets at home, she sure has a lot of Beanie Boos, and she gets to play with her tortoise Divot when she visits Grammy and Poppy.

Other than Christmas, Ava's favorite holiday is Halloween.  Not only did she get to carve pumpkins, but she got to trick or treat at both Disneyland and in our own neighborhood.

Thanksgiving isn't too shabby either as Ava loves cranberry sauce and is able to help more and more in the kitchen. 

Ava has been able to spend time with cousins in both Northern and Southern California this fall, some of whom are more enthusiastic than others when it comes time to take pictures.

Ava still has time for friends - after school, on the weekends, and when distant friends come to visit.

With Christmas quickly approaching Ava better be on her best behavior as Santa is watching.  Check in next time to see how she does.

Campeones, Campeones! Ole, Ole, Ole!

This fall Ava's entire team returned for Icebreakers 2.0.  Despite facing injury and illness, the Icebreakers ran the table and finished as regular season champions going undefeated in all 9 games.  In the post-season tournament the Icebreakers made it to the finals before losing a heart-breaker 1-0.  Most importantly, the Icebreakers played with heart, determination, and good sportsmanship, and had fun doing so.

For their efforts, the team was presented with "Champions" t-shirts at their year-end party.  The girls are looking forward to one final go-round this fall at the La Jolla Rec All-Star Tournament before re-teaming in the spring for Icebreakers 3.0.

Summer, summer, summertime ... Part 2

Ava was a busy bee this summer with lots of camps including tennis, gymnastics, and science camps all here in Irvine.

A little further away from home, Ava attended Camp Torrance, which included a trip to the Griffith Observatory, sweet treats, playing with her tortoise Divot, and lots of practice taking selfies.

Even further away from home, Camp Oakland included a camping excursion to Hendy Woods complete with s'mores, local wildlife, floating on the river, and scootering.  Ava also had the chance to visit Auntie Hannah, Uncle Rob, baby Henry, and (most importantly for Ava) cousin Gil.

Ava is looking forward to more camps next summer but needs to survive third grade.  Will she able to make it?  Keep following along to find out. 

Summer, summer, summertime ... Part 1

This summer has been extremely hot, but that didn't stop Ava from spending loads of time outside.

She found ways to cool off at the park, pool, and beach.

Ice cream sandwiches and air-conditioned movies helped Ava beat the heat as well.

Our sports focus for the summer is always the national pastime. 

But Ava still makes time for soccer too. 

Our big family vacation occurred over spring break but we were able to take a short trip to San Diego for laughs, some history and culture, and blushies.

Ava celebrated her eighth birthday this summer with lots of great presents and a very special dinner at Selanne's. 

The biggest celebration, however, was a Beanie Boo themed gymnastics birthday party.

After jumping and tumbling around with her little friends Ava still had time for her older friends. 

Ava's summer was capped off with a much anticipated visit to Claire's where she got her ears pierced.  Despite a bit of anxiety the ear piercing went smoothly.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of Ava's summer adventures . . .