North Coast

I am pretty sure I will never be able to catch up so here's to starting somewhere and moving forward.  Seriously.

I love this trip.  It is so far but totally worth it {up the California coast almost to the Oregon border}.  Open invitation to anyone for next year.

Stop one:  Trashy swimming hole complete with cliff jumping.

Stop 2:  Agate beach. We always find critters {alive and dead}, hunt for the ever elusive agate and just love the moodiness.

Stop 3:  Smith river.  Last year it was over 100 degrees.  Perfect weather for freezing water.  This year it was about 82.  Bummer.  Way too cold for most of the grownups.  The kids had fun anyway.

Thanks to the Reese's and Callaway's for another great year up north.

Katsup

Must.  Catch up.

So my MathWiz won the team Math Olympiad.  Way to go Maren.

Clay had a birthday.  Raspberry Cream cupcakes.  Yummy.

Then we bought a house.  And there went our summer.  More on the house later.  We were so happy to stay in the same school boundaries, but sad to have to change wards (congregations).  I am sure our new spot will be great!

Capital haircut

This ain't no trim, baby.

We are hair farmers. This was Neve's third and Maren's second donation of 10+ inches of hair to Locks of Love. The last month or two is definitely the hardest for me, but who can deny the kids the opportunity for service.

Morning primping time has been almost eliminated. Brush, brush and it is done. I love the haircuts. Thanks Jessica!

Kiera's birthday party

I love parties.



We always spend a considerable amount of time brainstorming for party themes, but this year I was just out of time and energy. Kiera came up with this one. Have you read any of the Elephand and Piggie series by Mo Willems? They are my favorite books right now. Se clever and funny. The two characters are so endearing in their BFF relationship and interactions. Love Mo Willems. I want to be like him when I grow up.

Anyway, we decided to make one of the books into a movie for the party. We had the party guests play the role of Elephant and let the birthday girl play the role of Piggy. The gist of the story goes that Piggie is invited to her first party. She has a bit of naivety and Elephant is the old sage. He suggests first that the party might be a fancy party, so they quickly ready themselves. He goes on to suggest other party options and they get ready. Piggie's patience is tested a bit, but she trusts her best friend. Remember, Elephant knows parties.

The small screen debut of "I Am Invited to a Party"



We are wild and crazy with our parties. Our neighbor rang the doorbell incessantly until we came to the door. She complained about the obscene amount of noise (coming from a five year old party with 10 children) and proceeded to tell us she was going to call the cops on us. At 3:45 in the afternoon. We wished her luck with that.

Black Rock Memorial Day

Summer kickoff.

I know it has almost been almost a month since, but this was such a fun trip I didn't want to pass it up.

We are going to keep coming to this amazing place as long as we are invited. Please don't sell soon!





This time we went just down the road to Sutter's Mill (where gold was found in California in 1848).  It was fun to see because the fourth graders in the bunch spent the year studying CA history. 



It was also neat to watch the movies about the Mormon settlers who helped establish Sutter's Mill and stayed on to finish the job they committed to,  even when everyone else left to find their fortunes in the Gold Rush.



The rest of the weekend was filled with the usual Black Rock activities.  Four wheeling.



Mule rides.  Canoeing.  Swimming.  Laughing.  Eating. 





Thanks to the Edgren's for another great weekend.  What a great way to start the summer.

Big Five

I am drowning in my life again, but I didn't want to let this pass by (by more than the 6 days that have already passed). My little Kiera is five. Happy birthday my little sugar plum.

I asked told her that she could do anything she wanted for her birthday as long as I could go to the gym for one hour. She replied, "Can we go now?". So off to the gym we went. After the workout, she requested a dounut. Absolutely. Next, she wanted to watch movies all day and be in charge of the DVD player. Check. After school she got the run around to swim team (the sweet photo shoot location) and to dance rehersal. We let her pick where to go for a late dinner (Panda Express much to Maren's chagrin) and ended up her day at 31 flavors. Poor kid. The life of the third child.

Preschool Field Trip

I can't believe my little one is almost done with two years of Preschool. I have loved our little group and am going to miss all these little ones. Watch out Kindergarten, here she comes.

Papa's Birthday party

Happy birthday, Dad. Still not an ol' geezer yet. Woohoo!

California Poppies

Love this time of year (except I am getting a little tired of the 60's, bring on some mid 70's please).

Yosemite NP

This place never gets old to me. I have been visiting the park since 1985 and it is still one of my favorite places on earth. Have you ever been? What is your favorite place in the park?