Mansius Family

Tehachapi

No trip to California would be complete without a trip to Tehachapi to visit the Fitzgerald family. We didn't get to stay long at Mom and Dad Fitzgerald's but Amber plus 3 cute kids, Scott, Tiffany, and Kory were there too. We celebrated my Dad's birthday and just sat and talked all day. The kids loved seeing their cousins and their Aunts and Uncles. We really didn't want to head home the next day.

Almost to Grandma's and Grandpa's!

Uncle Kory is a Big Tease but she loves every minute of it!

Best Friends & Cousins. Wish these two lived closer to each other!

Winter Trip to Disneyland

Day 1 Disneyland:

Okay so it's not actually day one. The first day we spend 10 hours in the car driving down. I don't know why this trip seems to get longer every time we make it but it seems too. We picked up Mom and Dad Mansius late Tuesday night and then Lee early Wednesday morning then we started at Disneyland.

Joshie was not only put in charge of watching out for whales but became a Star Ranger to stop the Evil Zurg. He wasn't so good at look out for whales though because we were swallowed by one.

I think they put this family in the right cage. They are a CRAZY bunch of MONKEYS!

Lilly was FASCINATED with EVERYTHING! She starred wide eyed everywhere she went and wanted to stop and look every second to look at something. It wasn't her first time here but she was very little last time. Another favorite of hers was to pick up leaves and give them to everyone as a present. Normally I'm the only person that she wants to snuggle up with but on this trip whenever Grandpa Mansius was around he instantly become her favorite person. She wanted him to carry her if she was tired and wanted to go on every ride with him.

We even got to hang out with Uncle Lee for a couple days. We hadn't seen Lee in about 4 years. Eliza became his little buddy! It was great seeing him and hopefully soon we will get to meet the rest of the Lee Mansius clan.

Day 2: California Adventures

On both days Aubrey was tall enough to ride a ton more rides and for the most part loved them. She did not love the Cars ride. She said she didn't like the bumps and decided she didn't want to go on it again. She also doesn't like the Pirates for the same reason. She didn't like the steep drops. For some reason that I don't get she loves Star Tours. Usually anything with a lot of motion she doesn't like so I figured she would not like it. She went on it THREE times. Her favorite part was when the pointy space ship goes crashing through our front window in 3D.

Eliza wanted to ride all by herself for the first time!

Day 3: Both

PHOTOS FROM ANOTHER CAMERA THAT I FORGOT TO ADD

Joshie Receives His Wolf Badge

We are so proud of Joshie for working so hard to get his Wolf badge. When he first started Cub Scouts his was so excited but over time lost sight of his goal. When he got close to finishing he got that spark back and started working like crazy. Then when all his Wolf requirements were finished he was excited to discover the Arrow Points. Next thing we knew we would catch him working on his book late at night in his room. Great job Josh!

Last night he received his Wolf Badge, 1 Gold Arrow, 3 Silver Arrows, and his Artist Belt.

SUMMER TRIP TO CALIFORNIA

We don't make it to Tehachapi/Bakersfield often enough but when we do we have a lot of fun! One of the biggest reasons for going on this trip was the Color Me Rad 5K Fun Run. I'm not really a big runner. In fact I avoided most sports that involved running most of my life. I had been running recently in order to stay healthy and it's true on the days that I do run I have more energy. Both my Mom and my sister, Amber, were running in this Fun Run and somehow they convinced me to run in it as well. I thought I was ready for it and I was but I got so nervous and didn't do so well. I did finish and it was fun!!! Throughout the race there are people throwing color at you and by the end you are VERY COLORFUL!!!

Afterwards we save a few of our color packets and attacked the kids!

That day we also had a birthday party for Penelope (my adorable niece) and I. Then later that night went to an activity at a nearby park that had a bounce house, water slide, and face painting!