MOAM Movie Premiere

Bakersfield's historic Fox Theater with "The Measure of a Man" on the marquee.

A look at the crowd/paparazzi as our limo arrived.

Andrew and I getting out of the limo.  

The entire HDM crew on the red carpet.  Notice our company logo on the backdrop.

 The kids getting out of their very first limo.

My niece Blythe who played childhood Lizzy in the film.

Evelyn posing on the red carpet with her daddy.

Elizabeth and Grandma Bailey

 The El Camino featured in the film parked out front.

 The Measure of a Man cast.

A shot from the red carpet of the paparazzi.

The Fox Theater lobby.  The vintage looking pictures were done by Uncle Sam.

Uncle Dan with Danny (Cole Sand) and Uncle Sam with Sammy (Jadon Sand)

Uncle Mark with his acting counterpart played by Jadon Malashenko.

Greg, Elizabeth and Andrew on stage after the movie.  Andrew gave a really great speech.

The cast on stage during the Q&A.  They later brought up Andrew's grandmother, the real Emogene Bailey, who received a well deserved standing ovation.  It was a very touching moment.

 

The 3 generations of Emogene's in the film alongside the REAL Emogene.

The after-party was held at the Bell Tower Club just a few blocks from the theater.  Actress/ Singer Alana Lee who played Mary in the film sang her hit song "Butterflies".

The Measure of a Man in the News

Dewar's Field Trip

The kids in front of the notorious Dewar's sign.

Nothing beats a Dewar's peanut butter chew except a peppermint ice milk!  Mmmm...  Being a staple in Bakersfield living Evelyn's preschool class got to take a tour of this delicious-making establishment. 

 Evelyn's preschool class minus one.  Preston (unofficial member), Meghan, Zane, Evelyn & Mia.

For the first part of the tour we all got to wear these nifty hair nets. The funny thing is the only kid that cared about wearing one is Preston. He was worried it didn't make him look "cool".  I eventually talked him into wearing one only to have him hid behind me so no one could see his embarrassment.  

 We got to watch a machine stretch and pull the white part and then they added a massive log of the peanut butter part to assemble a GIANT peanut butter chew... If I remember right I believe he said this weighed about 35 pounds and made 15,000 chews!  

 Then it was moved over to another machine that pulled the giant chew into a very long even snake that then got cut and wrapped.  We even got to try a sample! 

Then our guide showed the kids where they make and store the ice-cream. And we learned the difference between ice milk and ice cream. Ice milk has half the fat but double the sugar! 

 "Who wants ice-cream!" asked the tour guide.  "Me, me, ME!" shouted the class.

 Afterwards, the kids got to choose their own flavor ice cream (chocolate, vanilla or strawberry)!

Preston picked chocolate and Evelyn picked strawberry.

 Zane and Troy

 In case you're interested the tour is only $4 per person and includes a scoop of ice cream and a $1 off coupon for your next visit.  Check out their website for more information. 

William S. Hart Museum

This past week on our way home from dropping off Andrew at the airport I happened to see several signs for a park just outside of Valencia.  Thinking it might be fun I pulled off and followed the signs.

The park turned out to be a museum dedicated to American silent film actor William S. Hart (pictured above).  Granted I had never heard of the guy it still turned into a nice little trip.

  The first thing we did was take advantage of the beautiful grassy area.

The museums big claim to fame was that they owned this herd of bison that were supposedly given to William by Walt Disney himself.  In the picture you can see one way way in the background.

We then took a guided tour of Hart's ranch home.

Newhall, California

And checked out the small collection of animals they had just down the hill.

My Special Day

For my birthday this year I was so blessed to get to spend some much needed time with my family! Andrew and I along with Evelyn and Preston made our way down to beautiful Long Beach to visit the Aquarium of the Pacific. It's no big secret that for a huge majority of my life I've wanted to be a Marine Biologist so the aquarium plus my favorite people in the whole word plus a beautiful day at the beach and a walk by the lighthouse made for one perfect day!  Here are some picture of our day...

Preston put his hand in up to his elbow and touched a little shark.  I was proud :)

This guy was probably my favorite of all the animals at the aquarium.  He circled around numerous times, trying to impress us or eat us I'm not quite sure.  Just look at those teeth!

There was a mini outdoor water park for the kids!  It was a little chilly so we passed on getting wet but apparently during this picture the kids were in the "splash zone".   

I love this smile!  Evelyn was watching the sea lions up close when she turned around and noticed her dad taking her picture.

Evelyn was touching a star fish and Preston and I were "getting a hug" from the sea urchin.

Evelyn and Preston watching the birds.

The looks on the kids faces are easily what I loved the most.

 Andy and the kids listening to the sweet sounds of the whales.

 So shoot me, I couldn't resist!  Evelyn shows off a little crack.

 The kids were fascinated by all the little Nemos.  We spent a good amount of time at this one.

A little known fact about me is that my favorite fish is the one Evelyn is looking at in this picture.  

It's called a Copperband Butterflyfish.

Preston was asking me if fish have noses.

Mommy and daddy seahorses.

A Leafy Sea Dragon

Afterwards we took a short walk over to the lighthouse to enjoy the view.  We stopped for a quick photo op.

The kids took off running up the hill.  That's them to the right of the lighthouse.

The Lion's Lighthouse of Sight in Long Beach, CA. 
Feb. 26th, 2011