July 4th In Ripon

We went to Ripon, Ca again this year for the 4th of July to visit Shannon's parents. . Ripon allows fireworks to be purchased in town and ignited on city streets so we have a large party at Shannon's parent's house. During the day, we light the smoke bombs which make large clouds of colored smoke. The kids like running through the smoke.

 

  

Ben had fun with the sparklers.

Though,  most of the day is spent in the back yard and doing things outdoors.

 

 

 

Grammy came along from San Luis Obispo.  Here she is with Sarah's friend Monique

 

 

We got a large box of Fireworks for the evening. 

Ben liked the box, and the red vines.

Come night fall, we lit off the fireworks!

Hope everyone had a great 4th of July!

Taking A Break At Bravo Farms

We headed up to Ripon, Ca. for 4th of July this year. On the way up,  we wanted to have a nice stop so we stopped again at Bravo Farms.  What an amazing place!

We brought the Mustang on our Journey. This was a bit bold because it had not yet been tested on a road trip.  Though, it seemed like a good opportunity. We'd be taking two cars so I had backup if things went wrong.  The weather was hot so Ben and Brandon wanted the top up to stay out of the sun. We had a few problems but the car made it.

Bravo Farms  is a great relaxing atmosphere after a long drive.

 

  

 

 There are goats and chickens to feed.

 Lots of things to climb and play on.

 

 

This was pretty neat, they had a little shooting gallery which had an animated car.  It would move and talk when you hit the target.

  Ready to hit the road again!

Lompoc Flower Festival 2012

The Lompoc Flower Festival is an annual event for us.  My dad lives in Lompoc so it is a chance to visit as well as a chance to enjoy the event. This year's parade was a bit cooler than others since the fog did not burn off till a bit later in the day.

There are always a few old cars to see.

 There was a whole club of vintage tractors.

Caught a picture of my dad watching the parade.  Dad turned 80 this year.

Not too many horses in the parade this year.  

This sailing ship float is in the parade every year.

 I don't remember seeing this group in previous years.  They are the Northstar Penguins.

 Random Sacks Of Kindness is a regular participant in the Arts and Crafts Show so we bring our booth as well. 

 We also brought the tent this year.  When the wind picked up, it gave a nice shelter to have lunch.

 I remember these guys.  They used to like to come out at lunch time when we were kids.
 I don't see them where I live now.

 Lompoc has City Wide wireless. You can get weekend access for $5. My dad enjoyed reading about obscure vacuum tubes. 

 My brother Mark came down and visited as well.   Overall, a fun weekend!

Grandpa Bob turns 90!

All of the family got together to celebrate Grandpa Bob's 90th Birthday!

back row: Aunt Faith, Uncle Gary, Jeanne, Brian, Stan, Chris (covered by Karen)
middle: Shannon, Trish, Ben, Zachary, Karen, Anthony
front: Matt, Emily, Sarah, Jason, Grandpa Bob, Brandon, and Allie.

Brandon asleep again...

He even can sleep on his sister!

Brandon's Chuck E Cheese Birthday

This year Brandon has a Chuck E Cheese Birthday party. He had a blast!