escape to bako

Bakersfield has become my happy place. My sister likes to call it The New Palm Springs. Wendy and I planned a little summer retreat back in January. Well, I suggested it and she planned it. And when Wendy plans something, it may look like she has hired a team of professional party planners on uppers but it's actually just one person... Wendy.

Top 10 favorite things about ladies weekend 2017:

10. There were NO kids there. Love ya kids.

9. There were no boys there. Sorry boys, we totally love you too, we really do. But we were able to let our muffin tops out and our pasty thighs bask in the sunshine without worrying about how they may shock an innocent male bystander.

8. Animals roaming free in the backyard. There's something therapeutic about floating around in the pool and hearing the sounds of chickens clucking by or horses and goats talking to each other in their calming animal voices.

7. Slept when I felt like it. Stayed up late and slept in... like the weekend used to be like before kids.

6. Massages! Wendy arranged for a masseuse to come to the house. Rosie and her magic fingers need to move down to SoCal so we can hang out again.

5. Cocktails and food. Wendy made a menu including cocktails with every meal of course. This included mimosas and brunch when we arrived Friday. That crazy awesome overachieving sister of mine spent hours prepping Thursday.

4. Impromptu 80s and 90s hip hop dance party.

3. Cards against humanity. Best game ever.

2. Walking through the almond trees. That will always be at the top for me.

1. Quality time with some truly amazing ladies. I loved being able to catch up with old friends and family I rarely get to see.

There was much more that helped to make the weekend perfect like the crazy welcome baskets Wendy left on each of our beds, the gorgeous property, and details like pretty plates and fancy glasses. We got to explore downtown and shop a little bit too. And everyone got along and no one was high maintenance or caused drama. It really was the perfect way to relax.

And then BAM! Right back into it.

Thanks to my superhuman nearly 70-year-old mom for watching all four kids 2 out of 3 days! You're BEYOND amazing. Thanks to hubby too for saying yes to ladies weekend, and always taking care of the kids so well that I never worry about a single thing when I'm not there. And Mya, for pretty much running the show in my absence I'm certain. I'm not sure my mom and Dan would be able to find a single thing without her. She also tells the truth when asked what mommy usually does... Winter will tell a fun story but it's rarely correct.

reluctant photoshoot

Dan's birthday is coming up. He brought home a frame I gave him a few years ago to hang up at work, and requested some updated pictures for his birthday. He was like, No big deal, just take a few pics and put them in. You take pictures of the kids all the time. 

So of course I started stressing out immediately. For one thing, the kids are pretty much never wearing clothes these days. What's the point when it's 100 degrees and you live in the pool? So Sunday, I took advantage of the fact that the kids usually wear clothes to church... at least on the way in. I brought my super expensive camera with me that I begged Dan for and never use. That was like a birthday present in and of itself. He loves it when I take that baby out and get all paparazzi-like.

The big girls are definitely easier than the little ones. But they don't always cooperate like they should. If I can get all the kids in the morning when they are still in a good mood, chances are higher of actually getting some okay shots.

Mya is still learning how to smile for the camera. She immediately goes into deer caught in headlights mode. I always tell her to give me a natural smile and this is what I usually get. We're working on it. She's always very cooperative though which I really appreciate. 

Winter is a born model. She can so easily flash an effortless smile and it's totally frameable. I have tons of Winter pics to chose from. She's a feisty one, however, so sometimes she starts messing around and making horrible faces that are really not appreciated when I'm trying to take a nice pic for Dad. But usually I love it. 

Addie's 3 so she's bit bipolar so it's extremely hit or miss with her...

Pretty much all pictures I take of this guy end up like this... oh and he also HATES to be photographed. I tell you, he's like Dan in every way possible. 

But I actually got a few cute ones after taking pictures of them literally all day. And I forgot how much I love looking through the lens and feeling that satisfying click when I take the pictures. It really is kind of awesome. But I would make a horrible family photographer. I don't know what professionals do but I say fart a lot for the older ones and throw a couple of fart sounds in for the younger ones. Not sure how else to get them to smile. They find the most random things funny and are not amused by the normal funny things. So yeah, fun day.

I'll post the finished product after Monday since Dan looks at this blog and I want him to kind of be surprised even though he knows what's coming... and he knows what his kids look like. 

UPDATE: Here's what we went with. There were only 3 spots so I had to combine the older two. 

I love 3

Addie is nonstop entertaining. Her tininess adds to the cuteness. And it allows her to do pretty much whatever she wants. I really do need to punish her more and correct her when she yells at me... maybe soon.

The other day she asked me, "God and Jesus and Santa is friends right mom?" I replied, "Of course they are."

Hurry and take the picture, the sun is burning me!! It was like 74 degrees out.

This beautiful vibrant pinkish purple color came back up about two hours later. She got most of it in the toilet thanks to my ear for gagging and my cat like reflexes. It's not the first time I've heard puke warning noises coming from one of my dear little ones. But some of it did manage to leave a little drop on everything along the way from my bed to the toilet. Yep MY bed. She was watching TV in my bed when it happened. Par for the course I guess. After she was done puking she said, "I fink I'm sick mom!"

This is our Frankenstein couch. We paid a couch repair man to stitch this up. He warned us that it would be ugly but agreed to do it. Addie ran up to him while he was stitching and gave him a giant hug with her whole body, head leaning on his head and said, "Fank you for fixing our couch Mister Maaann!!"

He became very awkward and said "Umm haha I'm not really used to little girls." Not sure what he meant by that but I removed her from his side and he continued working.