Apple Picking

We went apple picking up in Tehachapi this past weekend with a few friends. It was lots of fun to see the girls get excited about apples. The first farm we went to, we weren't allowed to pick them, so this is a photo of Avery "loving' the apples.

These are our friends, the Morin's, with their cute little boy, Charles. They are French Canadian and Steve works with Darin.

We also went with the Palmquist's and their son Isaac. The girls just love these boys and are always asking for them. Here, Isaac is showing off his share of the harvest.

Feeding the Ducks

I have learned to be leary of geese as they can nip at you. So when we go to the duck park, I usually stay clear of them, but my mom was visiting and we brought bread to feed the ducks, so I thought we'd see what happened. We started throwing bread and the geese swarmed. Before I knew it they were closing in and we were surrounded by them. One goose took bread right out of Avery's hand. The girls loved it! Finally the geese backed down when we ran out of bread.

Ventura Beach- End of Summer

Darin has come to love Ventura Beach because there is never a crowd and it is somewhat close to us. We went on a Wednesday, after the Labor Day holiday and there was no one there. The girls haven't been enough to get used to the sand right away. They don't like the feel of it between their toes, but quickly dig right in.

Ventura is not like the Florida beaches I am used to. It is the Pacific, so the water is always too cold, it is very rocky, and there are mountains in the background, usually topped with palm trees. My favorite part is the drive on the 126. It is lined with orchards, vineyards and nurseries. These nurseries are where they grow the plants and trees to be shipped to other nurseries. So the scenery isn't obstructed with a lot of buildings. It is just beautiful. All in all we had a great time at the beach!

Caroline's Parents Visit

My parents came to visit at the beginning of Sept. This was the first time my dad had seen the girls since they were 2 months old. They absolutely LOVED him. We went to the Air Park Museum and saw the airplanes. This is my dad's forte and he gave us a very indepth guided tour, sharing his knowledge of airplanes from his Navy days.
We also cooled off in the pool, as the temps were in the 90's - 100's.

What won the girls over though, was my dad playing with them on the play yard in the backyard. He even got up in it with them. Avery loves to be outside, so having someone to play with out there made her day.

We left the kids and Darin at home and went to see Tehachapi and the famous train loop. Unfortunately, I locked my keys in the car and we had to call AAA. So we were able to see three trains go through the loop. This is a photo of the train. If you look just to the right of the tree that is in front of the engine, you can see the end of the train going through a tunnel.

The girls had a great time with the grandparents and continue to ask, "where is grandpa?" or "where is grandma?" Lucky for us, they will be coming back for Christmas!

A Hero

Arnaldo "Arnie" Quinones is one of the two firefighters that was killed in the Station Fire on August 30, 2009. I don't want to go into the story of how it happened, as they still don't know if all the information is accurate. Here is a link to a story about it.

http://witnessla.com/fire/2009/admin/firefighters-arnie-quinones-ted-hall-a-hero-story/
Basically he was a hero, saving the inmates that he trained to be wild land firefighters, before plunging 800 feet in his truck off an embankment. He was also my next door neighbor and the nicest person I have ever met. Most people say that when tragedy strikes, but I honestly mean it. He left behind a pregnant wife. The night of the accident, Sheriff's deputies and firefighters were posted at her home. They were there to keep out the "vultures". The police stayed until the memorial was over, but the firefighters are still posted outside her home. They said they will stay until they are no longer needed. They are there to protect her and help her with anything she may need.

This fire station is just down the street from us and is where Arnie worked for some time, before working at Camp 16 in the Angeles Forest. The night of the accident, they rushed to his home to mourn with and support Arnie's wife. It has been shown to me that Firefighters are a close knit bunch who are more like family and do whatever is necessary to support one another. My heart goes out to Arnie's wife and I hope that she can find comfort and peace.

Station Wildfire Aug/ Sep 2009

The wildfires this year started early with the Station Fire. This fire originated near La Canada, CA, near where my grandpa lives. This fire was unusual because it quickly spread without any wind. This area hadn't burned in 60 years or so, so there was plenty of fuel to allow it to spread. It was amazing how fast it was. Though it was about 40 minutes away, the smoke filled the air in our town. Ash began to fall and it was very eerie outside. The sun was obscured by the smoke which gave a yellowy tinge to everything.

It was interesting to see the smoke patterns. These hills are across the street from our home and you can see where the sky was very blue, and the smoke was slowly moving our way. They used old bombers to assist in putting out the fire and these planes would fly directly over our house as they were coming back to refuel. This fire spread in both directions from La Canada and started coming our way to Acton, but were finally contained before spreading further. It definately made this fire seem more real than just watching it on television. We somehow felt apart of the action/tragedy.

On August 30th we could actually see the glow of the fire in Acton over our hills across the street. I couldn't get it to show up on film, but it was very scary how easily it could be us. While I was out trying to get a picture, there was a knock at my door, and over the next hour or so, we got the tragic news.