Family Pictures

This picture sums up the last few months.

Camping

Last year we went camping once.  It poured rain the entire time and after that I was a little paranoid about taking my baby out in the cold elements again.  I feel like we made up for it this year.  We’ve gone camping three times and each time has gotten better.  The first campout of the summer was over Memorial Day.  We used our gigantic tent.  It is huge.  My sister Sara came with us.  Theo did not sleep.  It was a rough night.  Too much excitement!

Theo did love hot chocolate in the morning.  It was a true roughing-it camp out.  I forgot to pack the frying pan for breakfast.  We used tinfoil.

Our next camping trip took us to Bear Lake.  We met up with some friends and their friends.  It was fun to play in the water.

The last trip we went to Palisades with our friends and Sara.  It was a beautiful camp site and it was the middle of July so we stayed warm or hot.  It was really hot, but we played in the water and that cooled things down.  I didn’t take any pictures though.  Maybe we have time for one more camp trip before it gets too cold.  I hope so!

A Road Trip to California

A quick disclaimer: picture overload to follow!

The beginning of June we went on a fun family vacation to Northern California.  It was the ultimate road trip.  We traveled a lot of miles, went through four states and had too much fun!

Our trip started out leaving Grace on Friday afternoon.  We mapped out our travel plans so we would be near sleeping quarters in the evenings.

Theo was sick the week before we left.  Like throw-up sick.  We were really worried he would be horrible in the car-throwing-up or being cranky.  Turned out being a little sick and tired created an excellent traveller.  He slept most of the long distances.  I did have the back seat prepared for the worse, towels covering everything, we didn’t have any of that to deal with.  Except at Olive Garden in Nampa and then at the hotel in Ontario.  But it was on the first day of the trip and he was fine the rest of the time.

Saturday we traveled through Oregon stopping at Crater Lake.  It was beautiful and magnificent.  There was still a lot of snow and Theo loved playing in it.  We spent most of the day traveling and spent the night near Grants Pass.

Sunday we made it to the Pacific Ocean.  We went to Trees of Mystery where we met up with my brother Adam and his family. 

The next stop was Fern Canyon.  There is a canyon with a little stream that goes into the ocean with ferns growing up the sides of the canyon walls.  Nature is unique and amazing.

Don’t forget the Redwoods!  HUGE!

Adam and Leigh-Ann were great hosts.  They know all the cool places to go when being touristy.  Top of the list for Monday was the Loleta Cheese Factory.  You could sample all the cheese you wanted.  It was very delicious.  Then we went on a nature walk, out to lunch on the wharf and after naps to the beach to play in the sand.  It was a little chilly to get in the water.

I’m not flipping the fisherman off.  Just trying to pick his nose!

Tuesday morning we went south to San Francisco.  We drove through the Avenue of the Giants and a tree.  The only nature made drive-thru tree.

We crossed the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco, checked into our hotel, took the bus to Ghirardelli Square, ate free chocolate, then walked to Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf to take in the sights and see the sea lions.

Wednesday morning we hiked up a hill, to Telegraph Hill and Coit Tower.  One time my sister and I watched a documentary about parrots on Telegraph Hill so I wanted to see them.  We didn’t see any.  It was pretty though.  Our whirlwind day in San Francisco started at Telegraph Hill, then we walked to China Town where we got some over-priced yet pretty chopsticks, then a ride on the trolley, a drive down the windiest road and finally a baseball game.  After all of that we drove to Monterey to see Paul’s brother, Christopher and his family.

Early Thursday morning we were able to attend Christopher’s Language Training Graduation Ceremony.  He passed the Chinese language program in the Army.  It was pretty fantastic.  After the graduation we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  Theo learned how to say “fish.”  It was fun to stay with Christopher and Savannah for a few days.  We met their new baby and had a good time playing Pinochle.

Friday we went to Pebble Beach and played in the sand.  Still too cold for the water!  The sand was perfect for building castles.  After the beach we went to the wharf where the restaurants give samples of clam chowder for free on Fridays.  By the time we reached the end of the wharf we had eaten a bowl of clam chowder with each bite tasting different.

Saturday was our big car day.  12 hours in the car across Nevada.  Don’t do it!  We couldn’t leave California with out stopping at In-N-Out. Yum!

Endless hours in the car results in creative cup play!  Theo was an amazing traveler.  We spent our last night in Elko, Nevada where Theo dropped the car keys between the wall and bench at Pizza Hut.  We had to remove the bench to fish them out. I think he might have been telling us something.  Sunday we finally made it home with a quick stop in Twin Falls at my parents for dinner.  That was just a start to our summer of fun.