Visiting Friends

For our final vacation adventure, we took the kids to a state they had never been to before - Nevada. We stayed with some good friends for a few days and had a lovely time. The second day we went to an interesting museum. They had all kinds of thing, including a bunch of animals and an old camera.

There was also a recreation of an old mine shaft that we got to walk through.

Hannah loved playing with their collection of calico critters. The big kids we were visiting did a great job sharing their toys and playing with our little ones.

Saturday morning we took a short hike to a nearby waterfall.

 We left Sunday after attending their church and stopped for ice cream on the drive home.

Camping in Sherwood

After a day at home to do laundry and repack, we hit the road again for a very short drive down to Sherwood Forest. We set up our trailer in Purpledale and loved camping right here at Calvin Crest.

The kids enjoyed the hammock we set up.

We had some relaxing time by the fire.

The kids and I went hiking the next day and discovered a tree had fallen across the trail.

Mary was on the lookout for ripe gooseberries and ate as many as she could find.

We planned to stay for two nights, but the second day the weather changed and things got stormy. We decided to pack up the trailer and go home a little early. It started to rain as we were finishing packing, but then stopped again so we stayed long enough to have breakfast burritos cooked over the fire and roast marshmallows.

The next morning it was quite rainy, and we were glad we were home where we could enjoy it.

Camping at the Coast

Our next adventure during vacation was a camping trip at the coast. We arrived in the afternoon and walked to the beach after setting up camp.

The kids were excited to roast hot dogs over the fire.

We returned to the beach the next day.

Joshua and the kids had fun running away from the waves.

Joshua taught us how to skip rocks.

Mary made a list before we went to the coast of things she wanted to do at the beach, including build a sandcastle.

Roasted marshmallows are always a hit.

One last climb in the tree at our campsite before we hit the road to return home.

Modesto

 

We started our fall vacation with a trip to see Dave and Gayle. It's always fun to see what they have growing in their yard and enjoy the bounty of the harvest.

A deer ran into our car a couple of weeks ago. Thankfully, we were all fine, but the car was totaled. Joshua and I took advantage of free baby sitting and an abundance car lots to look for another vehicle while we were in town. We were surprised and pleased to find a used minivan for a good price and bought it while we were there. The kids approved of our choice.

Mary punched out a bunch of butterflies and carefully colored them all for Dave and Gayle, then she arranged them on the table with some flowers from the yard.

First Day of School

We started school Monday and enjoyed icing our first day of school cookies.

Mary made happy first day of school cards and made up a little first day of school song.

First day of 2nd grade, kindergarten, and preschool.

August Happenings

We enjoyed settling into a quieter rhythm of life during August. Mary learned how to cook scrambled eggs. 

We went to a Fresno Grizzlies Game with Christina.

David lost his first tooth.

I made English muffins.

Mary drew birds and made a chore chart.

 And we picked, and ate, lots and lots of blackberries.

Iron Lakes

We enjoyed a day trip to Iron Lakes with the staff.

The kids had fun wading the in the water.

It was a beautiful day.

 After spending most of the time in the sun by the upper lake, we found a shady spot to play by the lower lake on our hike back to the truck.