Bear Valley Springs, California

Jill's Journal: I’ve been so enjoying my three weeks of blog-posting hiatus and plan to enjoy some more after today! For us, the month of December has been filled with marvelous, fun-filled days of family, Madelyn’s birthday, loads of schooling for the girls, and lots and lots of grandparent time. And there’s more to come! The upcoming weeks promise more family, old friends, and of course, the holidays.

We’re staying on my parents’ little acreage in a mountain village of sorts called Bear Valley Springs. It’s quiet and just perfect for us after six months on the road. About 10 miles away is the small town of Tehachapi in Central California. This is not the sunny Southern California I grew up in, but definitely a place with four seasons and an elevation of 4,200 feet. In fact, on our first weekend here, we were “blessed” with more snow than we’d seen anywhere else on this journey! We did find it pretty humorous that we came all the way west for a warm winter only to find snow.

Our plan at the moment is to spend the rest of December here, January on the Central Coast, and then who knows? California has so much to offer. We’ll spend the next month or so “settled down” a little bit, but I’m sure we’ll soon be chomping at the bit as the road beckons again.

Grandpa and Beppy (Grandma in a dialect of Dutch) with their adoring granddaughters. These little girls love, love, LOVE their grandparents. The feeling seems to be pretty mutual. :)

The girls hadn’t seen their Uncle Adam, my darling baby brother, in two years and took right to him like it was yesterday they'd last seen him. As my Mom says, “He’s such a good boy!” Ha ha! Sorry, Adam. :)

We were so fortunate to have my awesome sister and her fun husband, the girls’ Aunt Kristi and other Uncle Adam, living in Kentucky near us for the first 1 1/2 years of their marriage. They officially returned to California about a month before we left Kentucky also and the girls have missed them something fierce. I have too!

Our December birthday girl! Madelyn turned five and picked out a very fancy birthday dress for her special day. We spent the day at a local farm in their corn mazes, petting zoo, and corn pits. She didn’t care one iota she may have been slightly overdressed! The crumbs from the s’mores we made over the farm's bonfire blended in nicely with the bright pink of her dress. :)

We visited a local ostrich farm and got a fantastic tour. Who knew there was so much to learn about these prehistoric-looking birds? Most interesting facts: they can tear apart a lion, can run as fast as a Thoroughbred, and do not really stick their heads in the sand. This particular farm has been featured on both Dirty Jobs and Fear Factor.

Each girl got to feed some ostriches, much to everyone’s great laughter. Those birds are voracious and messy eaters, much in the same vein as Sesame Street’s Cookie Monster.

Beppy with her trimmed Christmas tree, compliments of Rob!

A very kind neighbor, Warren, who learned we are Thoroughbred people and invited us over to see his racing Emmy (one of two he’s won!). He was the cameraman behind the iconic 1990 Kentucky Derby scene which captured trainer Carl Nafzger acting as eyes and ears for his 92-year-old Derby-winning client. It’s a moving and unforgettable scene, which has probably received more airplay than just about any other Derby moment and is firmly planted in racing lore. At nearly 80-years-old himself, Warren cracked me and Rob up as he regaled us with his Derby tales and then reenacted Nafzger and Mrs. Genter’s poignant moments. And by the way, those Emmys are heavier than they look.

We spent one afternoon at a local gym watching a 28-member Danish national gymnastics team put on a dazzling show. The girls ooohed and aaahed and were mesmerized (and so were Beppy and I!).

Erika on Grandpa’s horse.

Victoria meeting a goat.

A Tehachapi sunset off my parents’ back porch. Yes, we are having a grand time, indeed.