Road Trip 2012 Memory List

1. Asher- What are those black things?    Us- Those are cows city boy!

2. Flying Red Jacket, Angry Mom and Dad

3. Us- Hey kids, look at that view.     Kids- (in patronizing voices) Oooooooo.  I could live here.

4. Melted red taffy in Josey's hand.

5. Delicious relaxation time reading under the redwoods at the campground in Humboldt.

6. Crazy Long Distance Bicyclists

7. Asher lost his camera, wallet, and jacket.

8. Cute Coffee/Gift Shop in Florence- Got my gift shop fix in 7 minutes.

9. Beautiful Scenery in Northern California

10. On Columbia River Bridge: Josey- I'm freaking out right now.  Eden- Are they working on the bridge right now? That makes me uncomfortable.

11. Korey (once we crossed the Oregon/Washington border)- Good. Now I can pump my own gas.  That's a weird law.

12. Disturbing Names Like: Lost Man's Creek, Dead Man's Cove, Cape Disappointment

13. Korey adding the letter "y" to words to turn them into adjectives: oaky, piney, wetty.

14. Bikini Coffee Bar in Anacortes.....Creepy

15. Listening to Everyone's Beautiful Memories about Mema: My Favorite- She washed Rhonda's feet.

16. Eden skipped a rock into Asher's face.  Trip to ER....not broken....relief.

17. Crazy Day Trip to Canada: a bus, running to the stinky sky train, Asher almost got off the sky train by himself at the wrong stop, we made it to the train station....relief, wait.....not relief.....last call to get on the train and we're not ready.....phew, we mad it.

18. Abby walked to the train door.  It opened automatically.  Anthony- Oh Crap!!

19. Trail Mix + Fruit Bars = Contraband

20. Du Bomp Bomp, Chick Chicka Chicka

21. Bowling Alley Fish and Chips.....Yummy

22. Lots and Lots of Beautiful Views: creeks, rivers, trees, coast.....love, love, love!

23. Korey- I actually like country music.....I secretly listen to it.

24. Eating so Much Crab that it Made me Full

25. Undergrowth- Thick Ferns, Lush Clover, and Washington Wildflowers

26. Trip Music: Fun.- Some Nights

27. Humboldt Gift Shop- Abby fell in love with a big stuffed bear.  She kept pointing at it and saying, "Bear, Bear."

28. Giggling at the parents who were pulled over cleaning up the mess their kids made after getting car sick.  Fast Forward 15 minutes, not giggling anymore as we were the parents cleaning up the mess our car sick baby made!

August 2012

Welcome Home David

First Day of School: Eden-5th Grade, Asher-2nd Grade

Camping at South Fork



 



July 2012

Bike Rides

A Trip to the Zoo

Beach Trips (My Favorite!)

 

A Tea Party

 

More Camps: Eden-Surf Camp, Asher- Rock Star Camp

 

Asher's First Concert- Big Time Rush



 

One Amazing Road Trip- More on that Later

 



June 2012

A Visit from The Craigs

A Father's Day Hike

A Father's Day Cabbage Ball Game

Forest Falls

 

Summer Camp: Eden- Sports Camp, Asher- Game Camp

Camping in Green Valley Lake with Friends



 

 





First Family Camping Trip

OK.  So I promised more info on our first camping trip.  Here it is.  We had so many things go "wrong" on that trip that it is now such a great story.  I wish now that I had taken pictures of our issues so I could post them here.  Oh well, live and learn.

#1- Car Sick Dog: Daisy gets car sick.  So, on the way to the campground, Eden had to catch her...ahem...vomit in a plastic grocery bag and hold on to it until we arrived.

#2- Asher almost lit the Cleveland National Forest on Fire: Oh yes he did! Once we got our camp set up on the first night, Korey lit a camp fire.  The kids were playing in it with sticks.  It was all fine and good until Asher lit the end of his stick and proceeded to walk around with it, right by some trees.  Woo boy.  Our voices raised in unison over that one.

#3- Our Air Mattress had a Leak: That made for an interesting first night of sleep...or lack of it.  First, the mattress kind of turned into a taco shape, with Korey and I smashed together in the middle.  Then, Daisy proceeded to get into bed with us and bounced us all around.  Finally, we woke up in the morning with Korey's side almost flat, and Abby and I raised up really high.  Looking back, it was quite comical.

#4- Vomit Covered Baby: Our second night there, Abby got a little sick before bed.  I didn't think anything of it.  We put all the kids to bed, then hung out by the campfire for another hour or so.  When we went into the tent to go to bed, I turned on the light and glanced at Abby in the playpen.  She was covered in vomit.  Apparently, she got sick and rolled around in it.  It was EVERYWHERE; matted in her hair, covering her clothes, everywhere.  Lucky for us, the campground had free, hot showers. 

#5- Car Sick Dog, Take Two: Daisy got car sick on the way home, too.  Unfortunately, Eden didn't catch it that time.  We were literally pulling into our driveway at the time. 

The really crazy thing is, that we truly did have a great time and can't wait to go again.  Here are some photos of our good times.

Hiking

Tree Climbing

Playing

Cooking

Sitting

Reading

April 2012

 Sick Kids....lots and lots of sick kids

Easter (we look so raggedy in this picture!!)

Visiting with Mema and Papa

Abigail Turns 1

Joseyah's First Trip to the Ballet (Cinderella)

Side Note: She talked the whole time: both during the card ride, and the ballet.  Oh, and every sentence started with mom-meeee.

Asher's First Grade Field Trip to the Zoo

First Family Camping Trip

We had a blast, even though we had some disastrous moments. 

But, more on that later.

Summer Fun Part 2

BEACH TRIPS!!

My very favorite place to go is the beach. It is the only place I can fully relax. This summer we took quite a few beach trips.

I went when Korey was working.

We went as a family on the weekends.

We went with friends and family.

The best part is that the kids always have a great time. There usually aren't any time-outs on the beach. Everyone is happy and at peace.

I feel so blessed to live in a place where I am close enough to drive to the coast.

Oceanside Beach Week

So.....

after Korey's graduation, we spent a fabulous week in Oceanside with family.

We rented this gorgeous beach house.

We filled it with 18 people.

We relaxed and played on the beach.

We hung out on the deck.

The kids played, and played, and played.

And, we had a photo shoot on the beach courtesy of my niece Keely and her amazing photography skills.

It was an absolutely perfect way to celebrate with family.

Cruise Day 6 & 7

So, I decided to put days 6 and 7 together because we spent both days in pretty much the same way. We were at sea both days, on our way back to Los Angeles. We took advantage of the fact that we had no children to wake us up, and we slept in.

The weather was pretty overcast and chilly, so we bundled up and sat by the pool and read.

It was great. I finished 2 books on this vacation.

One evening, we had another formal night.
We also made sure we went to the various shows and live music venues.

We especially enjoyed the piano bar.

We tried to take full advantage of our last couple of kid-free evenings.

We had a wonderful time together. It was a great way to celebrate the sacrifice and hard work that has defined the last 6 years of our life. Now we're on to a new adventure!