Glam Camping!

This weekend we had a super fun time camping with my family.  A few months ago my dad won a weekend at Camp Loma, which is a camp up in the Corralitos mountains.  We got the fun of sleeping in the tent and having campfires, with the luxury of a huge kitchen, a dining hall, a pool and a field.  Plus, it was only our little group...so we didn't have to worry about the people in the campsites around us!  It was such a blast.  We played board games, went on lots of creek walks, took looooong showers (it was super cold at night and in the morning), played in the pool, slip-and-slided, and ate lots and lots of smores!  We loved it and told my dad we would put money in next year if he tries to win it again!

We found lots of banana slugs:)

This log was Seth's "party boat", which he named Sherlette the first couple days and then changed the name to RootBeer.  It usually drove to Florida!

Morning hot chocolate:)

The coldness of the creek water did not deter Seth!

 

Grammie Lori played in the freezing pool with the kiddos!

I was pretty much only in the pool long enough to be in this picture!  It was super cold!

Seth and Poppa Phil and daddy played some music for us:)

Auntie Melissa has been in Washington, so we were so happy to get so spend some time with her (and we really missed Uncle Nate and Uncle Judah, who are still up in Washington)

Tired marshmallow roaster!

Auntie Melissa brought a light up hula hoop!

The awesome kitchen (which was always warm, thanks to all the pilot lights on the huge stove)

First Day Of First Grade

Haley and Abby's first day of first grade seemed to be great.  Haley ran almost the entire way to school (.9 miles) and they both went right into their classes happy and excited.  Haley even gave her teacher some flowers that she found on the ground on our walk to school, which is big for Haley because she can be so shy with teachers.  When I picked them up from school they both looked wiped out!  Apparently being a first grader is really tiring!  I tried hard to not come at them with a million questions, and waited until we were at home.  Haley actually told me a lot of fun details about her day without any prompting...which was a fun treat from my introvert!  I didn't hear much from Abby, which is surprising, other than that she already misses Mrs. Garcia (her teacher) and that she can't wait to go back tomorrow!

So excited to go to school!

Yep, this is the only picture of the two of them!  I kind of wish it had the full-on pouty face that Haley was just starting to make!

Haley and some buddies in their classroom.

Abby at her spot in her classroom.

Summer Recap

Summer went so fast this year, and I think it was partially because we were so busy.  We went to Florida, then we went camping twice.  There were also lots of fun little day trips and activities that we enjoyed.

 We did a super quick trip to Newport Beach so that we could be at my uncle's wedding (when I say quick I mean that we drove down Saturday, went to the wedding Saturday night, and drove home Sunday).  The traveling was difficult, but the wedding was really fun.  The bride and groom were so happy to have the kiddos there and loved on them a lot!

The wedding was on the (foggy, cold) beach.

Abby and Haley with Grammie Lori

Abby LOVED all the attention she got from the bride!

Haley and Abby went to Vacation Bible Camp, which they've done for four years now.  This was the first year that Seth got to go to a VBC because a local church did one that was only for preschoolers.  All three of them loved their camps and we can't wait to do it again next summer.

First day of VBC

Haley really wanted to make homemade peanut butter, so we gave that a try!  It was delicious but not really much like peanut butter.

We went to a water play day at a local park.

Although there was a lot of fighting, the kids also spent a lot of time playing and enjoying each other's company:)

We got a new puppy, Banjo.

We went over to Los Gatos to play in these really fun fountains.  We actually did that a few times because the kids loved it and it was free and really nice and warm!

We also did a few trips to Happy Hollow, some playdates, the Capitola Wednesday night concerts and a few beach days (although not nearly as many as I had expected).  I can't believe it's all over and they are going to school in the morning!  Yikes!

Bass Lake

 A few weeks ago now (at the beginning of August) we went camping at Bass Lake with Carey's family.  We went to Bass Lake a couple years ago, but stayed in a cabin because we weren't quite ready to tent camp yet with the kids still waking up a lot in the middle of the night!  This time we were ready for the tent and we had so much fun. 

When we first got there, I thought I was going to throw a screaming, two-year old type tantrum.  Carey and I were trying to get the tent set up (I forgot to bring directions), all three kids were wanting different things and going through our stuff that I had neatly packed, and was really hot and everyone wanted to go to the lake!  But, my wonderful mother in law took the kids to her site (or maybe to the lake, I can't even remember.  I just know she took them away!) and we were able to get things settled and a Mike's Hard Lemonade into my hand!

We had delicious food, lots of s'mores, and so much fun playing at the lake.  The first morning I took the kids and the dog down to the lake around 6:30 (hoping to not wake everyone in the campground) and it was so gorgeous and peaceful.  And there was something really cute to me about the kids playing around the lake in their pjs! 

The little cove of the lake where we set up our "beach camp" had a big rock on the other side of it, which the kids loved swimming over to and jumping off!  They sure are adventurous.  I did it a couple times, but I was much happier staying in the water and catching them as they jumped!

On Sunday, my awesome and generous father in law rented a party boat and we all loaded up on that for the day!  That was one of the most fun days of our lives.  The kids loved being on the boat, as well as jumping off the boat!  We all got to go tubing, which was a big hit.  I went with Haley and she just giggled and giggled the whole time.  It is a really special memory I have with my sweet girl:)  Abby wasn't so sure.  She really liked floating on it, but wasn't a fan of the boat moving and pulling the tube!  Seth loved it and even went on it with his cousin, Max (which, if you know Seth, you know it's a big deal for him to do something like that with someone that's not mom or dad).  The boat had a barbeque on it, so we pulled over into a cove for lunch and had yummy burgers and hot dogs, and did our best to keep them away from Banjo!

Oh, another highlight was in the evenings, when we were all sitting around chatting and eating dinner, Haley, Abby and Seth decided to put on some "shows"!  They did "the ugly duckling", "little red riding hood", "the three little pigs", and "Goldilocks and the three bears"!  Quite amusing versions they performed!

Snacks at the beach

enjoying the sunshine

Haley used towels to make this "couch" for us

Loving the lake life!

ready for s'mores

hanging out with Max, Uncle Rick and Aunt Kelly

Look at that s'more!

Ready for the boat with the wristbands to prove it!

Haley and Grandma Jackie

The kids were so happy that Banjo went in the water.

Seth and Max

Abby and Grandma Jackie

Grandpa Steve let all the kids (including Carey) have a turn driving the boat (Carey didn't have to sit on Steve's lap, though!)

 a little "down time" around the campsite

Fun At Lake Del Valle

This past week the kids and I joined our neighbors on a camping trip at Lake Del Valle in Livermore (not a long car ride at all).  We were supposed to go up on Monday afternoon and meet them.  We left here at 1:30 for the hour and a half car trip, and made it to Los Gatos at 3:00!  I figured at that point that we would be in traffic the whole way to Lake Del Valle, so we turned around and came home (with surprising little tantruming).  The car was all packed and ready, so we left on Tuesday morning instead and made it up there nice and quick, giving us all day Tuesday and Wednesday to be there.  The lake was really fun, complete with lifeguards and shady trees.  The campground had a big grassy field in the middle that was perfect for flying kites, blowing bubbles, playing ball, and, at night, catching frogs!  Our campsite was on a big loop, so the kids could ride their bikes all the way around and we could see them pretty much all the way around.  They did a ton of bike riding!  They also did a ton of bottle cap collecting!  The kids were on a mission to find at many different ones as possible.

I just have to publicly say that my neighbors are THE BEST!  I got to the camp and Mike and Michael set up my tent.  Sarah had all the food taken care of.  I really didn't do anything.  They are so awesome.  Thanks so much, guys!

Carey came up to visit us on Tuesday night:)

The kids loved climbing this tree and dropping acorns down into a bucket!

Michael helping Abby fish for her first time!

First time fishing for Haley, too!

Seth didn't fish for more than three minutes!

Mike took all the kiddos out on his kayak!

Bottle-cap collecting!

Michael and Mike fixing Abby's flat tire.