5 Brown's Concert

Doug and I had the wonderful opportunity to see the 5 Browns in concert. I was so excited when I saw that they were coming to Fresno.
Tricia gave Doug a CD of their's about a year ago. Doug loves classical music. His Mother loved to play classical pieces on the piano. This is what started his love for this kind of music. His favorite pass-time was to lay on the floor and lead the symphony that was planning on their stereo.

The concert was so amazing! After intermission they had a place where you could put questions you would like to ask them. Then they each answered one or two of the questions. Watching them play they are so serious but they all have a very playful side. We were sitting right by the door so we hurried out when the concert was over to buy their book and CD. Each one of them autographed it.

They are all married. None of them have children yet. A question was asked how do they stay together. They said that their faith makes them strong and they try not to be critical of each other but they take their concerns to the Lord and he helps them to work it out.

It was fun knowing that they are LDS.

Their desire is to make classical music fun and exciting for all ages. On Wednesday they are starting to record an album of songs from popular musicals.

The performance was so uplifting.

Doug finally getting the opportunity to enjoy his Father's Day present

Doug ended up in the Emergency Room on Father's Day. Not a very fun day. What he really wanted to do this summer was go fishing. He has never had a California fishing license and this was the summer to do it.

He has been on a few short fishing trips this summer but finally he got his raft and was determined to enjoy his fishing adventure Labor Day weekend. We went to beautiful Huntington Lake. Doug was in heaven on the open waters.

Doug Fishing at Huntington Lake

Doug was in his highth of glory enjoying nature, fishing, and the open waters.

I would say that this was on his bucket list. One thing to check off but to enjoy again and again.

Doug's 60th Birthday Was a Fun One

I'm a little behind on blogging but I can't miss this day. August 25th Doug turned the big 60.

I put signs and balloons all over the house. My sister Cathy had all kinds of ideas for me from her 60th and her husband's. Thanks Cathy for the fun ideas.

It was time for some fun. Doug is a private person and doesn't like a big deal for his birthday. So we had our own celebration.

One of Doug's favorite treats that he doesn't get very often is cheesecake. So he got a cheesecake that says, "Aged to Perfection".

Since it was such a special occasion we went to Cool Hand Luke's for dinner. It is a Steakhouse that we have heard a lot about and the food is delicious. It was a fun day.

I'm so grateful for the 37 years that we have known each other. Doug never thought with his diabetes that he would live to be 50 let alone 60. I hope he has many more birthdays to come. He loved all of the calls from our children and grandchildren and the special touches they put to their packages they sent . He loves his children and grandchildren very much.

Hearst Castle, Big Sur & Monterrey Aquarium

Doug and I have planned to go to Hearst Castle several times but this time we really did it. This place is amazing! They have several different tours that you can go on. We went on the basic tour and hope someday to go back and take another tour of a different area. On weekends they have an evening tour I think that would be really fun to go on it,
This property was like a city within itself. Everything a person needed was available to them. The Hearst's even had a zoo their for several years.
Every detail was paid attention to. The architecture is amazing.

This is where the guests would come and eat. I thought it was interesting that with everything so fancy they would have catsup and mustard on the table in these containers. Mr. Hearst loved hamburgers and a relaxed atmosphere.

Can you believe these tennis courts? There was plenty for their guests to do.

The detail of every room was amazing even the ceilings. Every inch is decorated.

Here is Doug by their indoor swimming pool. They even had an area to dive off from into the water. This is a castle fit for a King.

The gardens were beautiful and many plants were shipped in from all over the world.

I remember several of our children going to this Castle on an 8th grade trip and being really embarrassed about the statues not being clothed. Looking at them quite a few years ago and now the statues are pretty mild to the side of the ones we might see today.
They had a huge indoor movie theater. Many movie stars and important people stayed there.

One thing I thought was quite interesting was that the movie stars were told that smoking was healthy for them. That is why many of them started smoking. It kind of backfired on them when they found out how unhealthy it was.

My pictures are out of order but I don't know how to move them around. We went to the Monterrey Aquarium and this time the highlight were all of the wonderful Seahorse Displays. They are fascinating creatures.

We loved driving up the coast to Monterrey. It is called the Big Sur. The scenery was amazing.

It was such a fun relaxing trip. Just what we needed before we headed back to school.

The Jellyfish are some of our favorites at the aquarium.

We loved watching the Sea Otters. The children around us loved watching them. I have never seen so many very young children taking pictures. With the digital cameras even the little ones can take pictures.

Below are Elephant Seals on the San Simeon Beach near Hearst Castle. The seals were entertaining to watch. I'm glad these videos turned out.

We really enjoyed this short, fun trip.

Fun at Knotts Berry Farm it has really changed in the last 20 years

Tricia and her family were on vacation at Palm Springs while Janessa her daughter's and Elizabeth Heather's daughter were at our house. Tricia and Janessa planned for us to meet them at Knotts Berry Farm. Mark came over from Diamond Bar and joined us there. We had a great time. It wasn't the Knotts Berry Farm that I remembered taking our children to but it was an awesome park for family from all ages. There was a lot for everyone to do.
One of my favorite rides was the Pony Express. It is a fast moving roller coaster. We had no idea what we were in store for when we got on this ride. Ashley and I were hanging on for dear life. Tricia was waving to her children. You can tell she is an experienced roller coaster rider.

Parker and Carter had a lot of fun pushing and pulling these carts around the track.

Johnathan and Lindsay getting a little snack break.

There is always time for a picture, I think so anyway.

Byron, Parker, Tanner, and Carter ready for the log ride. It was refreshing to get a bit wet.

We were so glad that Mark was able to join us for awhile at the park.

Tanner

Ashley, Janessa, & Hailey waiting for the Snoopy Ice Show.

Most of the Beck's ready to watch the show.

The Snoopy Ice Show was really good. We loved the air conditioned room! The skaters were really fun to watch. They had a fantastic couple who did some amazing lifts.

Lindsay, Ellizabeth, and Camille. This was one of the few times during the day when most of us were together. The older children spent most of their time on the bigger rides.

A few minutes to regroup. I love all of those smiling faces.

Bradley and Mark

Tricia, Bradley, and Parker on the Merry Go Round.

Hailey was so sick the night before we were to leave for the LA area. We wondered if we were going to be able to go. She wanted to go so badly and so we chanced it. She slept quite a bit on the way down and quite a bit of the morning but in the afternoon she was smiling and having a great time. We were so glad she got to enjoy part of the day.The bumper cars were a lot of fun.

I have a cute video of this ride but I couldn't get it to work. It still is a fun picture of Ashley and in the back Janessa and Hailey. We had a great time. It was fun to see the children having a great time and enjoying being together.

I was really impressed with a program they had that was an Indian Legend. It reminded us of the importance of teaching our families about their ancestors and appreciating the contribution they made to our lives.

It was a wonderful place for a family to hang out and there was something for everyone to do young and old. I'm sure that Carter and Parker would love to have gotten rid of those height restrictions. They tried to be good sports about it.

One amazing day.

Huntington Beach has Gone to the Dogs

The day after Knotts Berry Farm we wanted to go to the beach. Here is Hailey enjoying being in the sand.
I remembered going to Huntington Beach shortly after we were married and remembered it was a really fun beach.
The area we were in was a dog beach. There were dogs everywhere. I enjoyed watching them. It reminded me of the movie "Marley and Me".

Janessa and Doug relaxing.

Elizabeth, myself, Ashley, and Lindsay enjoying the water. It was really high tide when we were there so the girls really weren't able to surf but they had a good time except for the sand that went into their swimming suits.

Ashley the sunbather.

A Fast Dinner with Elizabeth

It was so much fun having Elizabeth come with Janessa. While Janessa and her girls were at her in-laws, we enjoyed dinner with Elizabeth at Sizzlor. It was fun to have some one on one time with her.

Trip to Riverdale where Janessa's in-laws live

Janessa's in-laws own a lot of property and are near some really fun back roads. In this picture Chris (their Couch cousin) is taking Ashley and Hailey on a 4 wheeling ride. I think this picture looks like they are posing for an advertisement. It really is a cute picture that Janessa took.

Elizabeth was in heaven driving this 4 wheeler. Too bad it had to be a short ride because they had to get on the road to get to Sacramento that night.

Isn't this a beautiful area? The Kings River is behind Doug and Hailey. This is Janessa's Father-in-Laws haven near their home.

Janessa was a great driver. It was fun going along the back roads and enjoying their new hang out.