Pool Days in the Mountains

This looks all coordinated, but it was just a coincidence that I put Zita in the same suit that her cousins were wearing, and the blue polos are also just coincidence. It's crazy that 3 grandchildren are missing from this photo.

 

Big Trees State Park

Visiting big redwood trees was the whole purpose of our day until we got distracted by our river excursion. By the time we got to the main part of the park where the big trees are, we were one tired, hot, and hungry bunch. When the park guide said that it was a 2 mile hike to the very biggest trees, we were content with our imaginations and posing next to these close by giants. They don't look so big unless someone gets in the photo for perspective.

I love that everything is so casual and relaxed in California, and people think nothing of children wandering around in swimsuits with no actual body of water nearby.

Re-Cap of First Days Home

 

We've been home long enough to get unpacked and settled in at home, but not long enough to feel ready for normal life here other than swimming the day away.  We've conquered jet-lag if one considers children going to sleep every night at midnight and waking up at 10am normal Summer hours.

I just had a routine ultrasound that revealed a large, active baby boy who continues to be a picture of great health. I always hold that anticipation is worse than the actual event, but that was not the case with my recent glucose test. Times have changed and the standard is now three blood draws at 1 hr. intervals and a drink indistinguishable from cough syrup. Who agrees with me that doing that test jet-lagged on an empty stomach gives me naming rights to the baby?

Moojie has started every single day by walking down to the beach to meet friends and usually returns sometime around 6pm when his  pocket money runs out and his hunger revs up. He's not one to re-apply sunblock, but I've got a system down that so far has prevented burns. I put baby cream SPF 50 all over his back, shoulders, and chest and let it sit for a bit, and then follow that up with spf 50 spray. There's no science behind it, but we're going with what works.

Zita and I are in a full on nesting phase, which will be a separate post since it involves cute baby clothes.

Freddy is rediscovering all of his toys and has been working hard on setting up a new lego area in his room.

I haven't taken a pictures since we've been back, so I'm putting up the ping pong shot to record Freddy and Zita's discovery of ping pong this Summer. It's the perfect game for a pregnant Mummy who doesn't much feel like active sports. 

More on July 4th

To kill time before the 4th of July parade started, we took the kids panning for gold.  I went to Murphys to  on a field trip in 4th grade to learn all about the Gold Rush period and I remember vividly panning for gold with my classmates in the very spot that Moojie, Zita, and Freddy are panning for gold here.

It was uncomfortably hot so we were more than happy to settle in this shady doorway with a partial view of the parade instead of being up on the front lines.

Getting two tables at the restaurant for lunch was genius on the part of my sister (brother-in-law?). Instead of dividing the adults, the kids fended for themselves at their own table and behaved beautifully.

Zita was missing her clarinet more than anything. I thought she might snatch this man's right out of his hands.

Freddy has such a gentle touch with babies and they love him right back.

We didn't have fireworks this year, but roasting marshmallows and making smores was all our bunch needed.

More on Lake Mont

So here are the rest of the pictures I promised.

Swimming from the dock to the float was great entertainment.

Moojie decided to row up to the girls and torment them, but all in good fun.

Moojie and his uncle Justin enjoy peacefull fishing away from the splashing and chaos of the other kids.

Could Freddy by any luckier to have Moojie as a big brother?

Sometimes Freddy looks a lot more like he belongs in my sister's family than our own. I think it has something to do with their blue eyes, pasty white skin, and lack of visible eye brows.  These two have cheeks full of granola in the above picture.

They spent ages on the dock trying to catch a fish with just that black net. Another little boy finally caught one, and watching that poor fish swim around in a bucket was as good as Christmas morning for the little ones.

4 Cousins Checking Out the Lake

 

This was our very first morning. The kids all jumped out of the car and then just stopped in their tracks to admire the lake before them. Every day after that was filled with someone begging to go back to "the lake with the floats."

We had an hour to ourselves before crowds and perhaps the most annoying life-gaurds in the entire world descended on the place, but it was a great day nonetheless. 

I have loads more pictures from our morning at the lake, but they'll have to wait until I'm back from my ultrasound.

Beaver Creek California

On one of our last days up in the mountains we visited Big Trees State Park. Instead of hiking through redwood forest, we decided to take a small detour and have a look at Beaver Creek. That little look turned into spending most of the day there, exploring the creek bed, collecting the miniscule flecks of gold that shone between the rocks, and swimming in what deep water we could find.

The tress along the banks of the creek are just baby toothpicks compared to what we saw later in the day.

What's not to love about Freddy's willingness to strike a pose?

I felt like the whole creek and mountains environment called for braids. Zita's mulling it over.

Despite initial insistence that fishing is boring, Moojie became quite a fan by the end of the trip.

an iPhone photo....