Camping at Burney Falls, CA

I'm a little behind again, but what a busy summer it's turning out to be! Over July 4th weekend we went camping in Northern California and had a blast. Check out our gear.....

We met some friends at the campsite, which is always a good thing for Owen. He and Brock really play well together.

We did a little fishing (with no luck)

This stream was icy cold, but it didn't seem to bother Miss Adler. She loved it!

Here's the gorgeous falls.

Staying cool on Lake Britton

Campgrounds are the perfect place for bike rides. Owen took full advantage of this. Here's Micah biking over to our friend's camp site, washer boards (and Adler) included!

Our friends were camping with several other families, with a ton of kiddos. Here they are searching for cool insects.

Owen Funnies

Owen has been saying the funniest things lately. Here's a few of his funnies:

• On becoming a Vegetarian: At the dinner table one night when we were serving fish Owen stated, "I don't eat meat anymore. I'm never going to eat meat again." About 5 minutes later he ate his fish.



• On Relationships: "When I grow up I'm going to have 3 wives: Sofia, Scarlett and Adler." Then I had to explain why he should only have one wife, and why that person should definitely not be his sister.



• On Animal Kindness: While protecting an ant on our back patio Owen announced, "Don't kill the ant! It is a living creature! But Grandma kills wild pigs because they are bad and tear up her fence. That's OK."



• On getting older: "When I turn 20 I will drive a car and go to college!" I really like this one.....I hadn't realized we had already brainwashed him about college.



• On Death: It seems like every time we watch TV lately Owen asks this about the people we are watching, "Is that person alive?" Not sure why he's asking us that so much. I wonder what's going on in that head of his.



• On School: "I'm going to be sick next Thursday. I'll have to stay home with you, Mom."

Summertime.....finally!

I honestly thought winter would never end this year. Now that we've had about 2 weeks of warm, spring-like weather, I'm celebrating summer! Here are a few things I love about summer:


Family bike rides (every day now that Owen is riding a two-wheeler)

Farmer's Markets

delicious fruit

blue skies

picnics in the park

getting dirty

playing in the grass

spending time in the yard

dinner on outdoor patios

Ahhhh, summer.......you've been away too long.

Brownies!

What does Owen love more than brownies????

Brownie Batter!

And then he went straight to the bath!!

Happy Father's Day!

My kids have no idea how lucky they are to have Micah for a father!

We didn't do a lot today for Micah's special day but I think we did what he wanted, which was to work in the yard and garden. We took a fun trip to Hungry Mother Organics to pick up some extra plants and mulch. Of course the kids had to check out the tractor.

Books for breakfast!

This photo was taken a few weeks ago and I love it. On this day Micah really wanted to mow the yard but Adler wanted him (not me). So this was his solution. Everyone happy.

We all love you, Micah, and I am especially grateful to have you as a partner in this parenting experience!

A little behind.....

I'm playing catch-up on the blog, so some of the photos in this post are weeks old. But I wanted to share them anyway. Just some cute stuff.

Kirby dog is getting old. She can't really hear anymore and I'm not sure she can see very well either. Poor girl. She's still the best dog ever though (especially compared with Sandy)!

On this particular night the kids wanted to wear BIG shirts to bed, like Mommy does. I often sleep in Micah's t-shirts, but I don't think I look this cute in them.

The kids seem to get a burst of energy after bath at night and like to race up and down the hallway. Normally they are naked during their races though.

The kids take over our bed every now and then. It looks like I'm about to roll off the bed, but they sure do look comfy.

I think this was Adler's first time on a carousel. She loved it, although this picture doesn't show her excitement!

The Bike Rider

So we were at the kids' school on Saturday working on the school garden. While we were busy gardening, the kids were playing on the playground and riding bikes. Owen has been riding a bike with training wheels for a while now and that's what I saw him do while we were working.

Then I hear Owen say, "Hey Mom, Look at me!" And what is he doing??? Riding a 2 wheel bike with NO training wheels. He was a little wobbly, but definitely riding the little bike loop around the play structure. WHAT??? We were completely shocked! And notice, he didn't even have on a helmet (I think the school should probably invest in helmets)!!

So we went home and took the training wheels off his bike. He rode all day yesterday around the neighborhood, making turns, and even standing up to peddle. It's amazing how fast he can go now. He's quite impressive and very proud of his new skill.

Capitola

This past weekend we escaped the cold weather in Nevada to warmer weather on the coast (although not quite warm enough for a Texas girl). Our friends Enid and Cory invited us to their beach house in Capitola for the long weekend and it was a much needed get-away for this family.



We spent two days on the beach and touring downtown Capitola. Adler wasn't a huge fan of the sand and stayed on the beach blanket most of the time. She's going to have to get used to the sand between her toes because I'm counting down the days until the Tahoe summer begins!

Owen getting some air off his sand hill.

Brock found a starfish, which the boys were fascinated with.

Just taking a stroll.......

Adler is such a little cuddle-bug.

Check out these sunburned kiddos after day one at the beach. BAD mommies! We were actually cold all day because the wind was strong on the beach and sunscreen rarely crossed our minds.

This is a mom's dream.....I love to see my kids snuggling together.

On our second day out, it was a bit warmer so Micah decided to do some surfing.

I fell in love with Capitola! Such a cute beach town.

Many thanks to the Jennings Family for inviting us to hang with them for the weekend!