Calaveras Big Trees State Park

Our goal of going out and doing something every Saturday was overlooked last weekend when we had our Pioneer Day celebration. It went off without a hitch and the kids seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves.

We woke up yesterday and were out the door within the hour, on our way to Calaveras Big Trees State Park. I understand there are a few places throughout the state and west coast that provide a similar experience. But LaVor was set on taking us to Arnold.

We twisted and turned our way through the central valley. There were so many cute, old towns that we would have loved to stop in had we had the extra time. But we wanted to see the trees so we pushed on through.

Once we arrived, we all jumped out of the car to stretch our legs and begin our adventure. (I have to admit, the smell of trees doesn't make me as happy as it does LaVor. He has memories of spending Christmas in Tahoe and I have memories of food poisoning.)

We couldn't believe the size of these puppies! Absolutely amazing that Heavenly Father created something so huge (and living)!

The first major attraction we saw was the Discovery Tree. After being cut down, the stump was used as a dance floor (none of my boys wanted to take a picture on it).

The trail took us around trees, through them, and also under.

Nature is an amazing thing and the only thing we could think of that could cause this hole in the top of the tree was a lightning bolt. Fascinating, huh?!

And check this one out - it appears to have scoliosis or somethin'.

Before we knew it, we were at the end of the trail. A re-fill of our water bottles and we were ready to make our way down to the river!

LaVor was the brave one to test the temperature. I think his face is a pretty good indication of how cold it was.

The Lime jumped in and then back out. He loves swimming but wasn't so sure about it this time around.

Doodlebug also went in for a second then came out. I asked him if he wanted to go back in and this is what I got...

The Lime decided to go back in for a few moments before settling in the sand with Doodlebug. LaVor didn't mind hanging out by himself and swimming as hard as he could against the current.

Everyone got their fix of the river and we decided it was time to pack up and head on home. But first, we had to stop for some ice cream.

With full bellies, we continued on home. What an eventful day it was! We are thoroughly enjoying our weekends exploring the wonderful state we're blessed to call home.

Birthday Bash

I don't know what the odds are but in a weeks time, six of my family members have a birthday. To make things easy and fun, we gathered yesterday to have one giant celebration.

We were almost an hour behind our original arrival time but that didn't have one negative affect on the kids. They jumped right into playing the second we got there until the second we left.

My parents ordered sandwiches for everybody and we gobbled up chips, fruit, and pasta salad. Unfortunately, The Lime is a stinker when it comes to his pastrami and apparently Togos has the best. So we took his sandwich home for someone else to enjoy. Everyone did enjoy the chips, though.

A little more playing took place and then it was time to open presents!

Another round of playing after presents and then it was time for cake! My niece is allergic to eggs so my sister made eggless cupcakes for her. If you can't tell by the pictures, they were yummy!

The kids flew a kite while the adults talked for the remainder of the time.

What we thought was going to be a sweltering day turned out to be gorgeous. The park had lots to offer, was a central location for everyone, and the company was pretty dang good. The boys and I left the park feeling extremely grateful for the family we were sent to. Especially these folks who are one year older.

On our way home, my dad asked if we wanted to stop by a local base and check out their museum. Our neighbor works there and The Lime has had a desire to visit for the last three years so we took my dad up on his offer.

When we pulled up to the entrance, the guard had to check each driver's identification. My dad was in the car in front of me and handed the guard his military ID. He checked it, handed the card back to my dad, and saluted him. They do that for everyone in the military but I found it extra special and moving that my dad was the recipient.

The museum wasn't air conditioned, so it was a little miserable, but the cockpits were enough of a distraction for the boys that they didn't realize how sweltering it was.

My dad tried really hard to give The Lime his first flying lesson but his six year old mind was drawn to other things; like all of these buttons. How can you remember what each one does?!

When it was time to go, we heard a trumpet sound and wondered what in the heck was going on. My dad advised us to stop where we were, take our hats off (he and The Lime), and turn towards the music. They were retiring the flag for the evening and we were so lucky to be a part of it. We placed our hands over our hearts while The Star Spangled Banner played over the loudspeaker. This country is in a mess, and I'm afraid it will only get worse. But that minute and a half or so that we stood there, honoring that sacred flag and thinking of the men and women who have died for that flag and our freedoms, was one that I will never forget. I would have taken a photo but it was too special and I wanted to be in the moment and just have the memory in my mind.

My parents treated us to some ice cream before we parted ways.

On the way to the party, we drove by a field of sunflowers and I told the boys we'd have to stop on the way home so I could take some pictures. So that's what we did.

I ended the day with nothing but gratitude for the family I have, the freedoms I'm blessed with, and the beautiful creations Heavenly Father has provided for us. It was a wonderful day.

Lake Tahoe

My sister and niece are up in Lake Tahoe this week, along with my parents, and invited us to join them. The last time we were up there was right after Doodlebug was born, and it was for a wedding so we didn't get to do much around town.

The boys and I met up with everyone around 12:00, just in time for lunch. To nobody's surprise, The Lime suggested pizza and it was just his luck there was a pizza place nearby. Everyone was starving and filled their bellies before we made our way to the top of the mountain. I've been to Heavenly Village numerous times and have always wanted to ride the gondola. Thankfully, my parents have too so they treated us to this special experience.

The Lime wasn't so sure (another big surprise...he's afraid of most things, just like me) as we made our way up.

"What if it's too windy?" "What's that noise?" "I think we're going to crash!" He couldn't get out of the car fast enough when we reached the observation deck.

Holy cow, was it beautiful up there! Lake Tahoe is absolutely gorgeous and even more so when you're thousands of feet above it.

We walked around the deck and found this tree that was 250 years old! Even older than the United States! Amazing.

When we made our way back to the gondola, we heard a sort of alarm type sound. "What's that?!" The Lime wanted to know. So, being the guy that he is, my dad found an employee and asked if there was some sort of emergency. "There's a fire at the base of the mountain," he said. We had to get back on the gondola and get off again at the very top of the mountain.

There was a line already forming when we got there and the employees were packing everything up. (Side note: we were so impressed by how organized the staff were. Everyone was calm and knew exactly what to do and where to go.) Rather than standing in the long line and hot sun, we hung out underneath the park ranger's tent. My dad struck up a conversation with an employee who recently retired from CAL Fire. I noticed a familiar city on her name tag (all the employees have where they're from noted on their name tag, sort of like Disneyland) and told my dad to take a look. She said she was originally from Southern California but retired to Nevada. "Do you by any chance know Jesse ________?" my dad asked. She responded with "I know his parents. They live down the street from me." We were amazed! Out of the thousands of people on the top of that mountain, we conversed with someone who was neighbor's with an old family friend. Small, small world!

We were probably waiting for close to an hour before they deemed it safe enough to take people back down the mountain. In my dad's true fashion (he was always the last one off a flight because he'd talk to the pilot), we were the last ones to board the gondola and even got to have three employees join us. They were from Idaho, Kentucky, and Los Angeles. All very nice, even though they looked like prisoners in their orange shirts.

We could see the helicopter gather water from the lake and then drop it on the fire below us. As we got closer, we saw the grounds crew and more on the way.

Once at the bottom, we met back up with my sister and all headed to my uncle's house. They recently purchased a home in the area and it was lovely and soooooo peaceful. Doodlebug and I sat on the back deck while he napped and the others went for a walk down to the lake. All The Lime wanted to do all day was go in the water, even though I warned him it was icy cold.

My aunt prepared a delicious meal for us before the boys and I headed back on the road for home.

It was an exciting, eventful day and made me appreciate, even more, this beautiful land our Heavenly Father created. We're so blessed to live here!