Jumping on Beds..........

I Made Something! ;)

Went up to the Oasis!!! Got some goodies!

Life is Good!

More: Made on Saturday!

Tales from the Road....San Francisco

GOOD MORNING!!

TGIF!

I am still buried in laundry....I am ready to just give up and live with dirty clothes covering my downstairs! and upstairs since all the clothes we have worn this week are piling up!

I went out to dinner with some friends last night and I have to say, it felt so good to get out.  I didn't think I needed that but apparently I did.  After dinner, I said good bye and decided to walk around the Spectrum alone.  It was a nice summer night and I went into Old Navy and got myself a couple of shirts and 2 pairs of pants.  It was SO FUN to just shop by myself.  I am always going on and on about how much I love being with my family and I do but I couldn't help but realize how important it is to be alone sometimes.  I haven't been alone in a long time.  I contemplated going to a movie alone except there was nothing that interested me so I just got in the car and drove home at 9:00!  I got home in time to see everyone was watching the show Impossible Expedition....Cara loves that show.  

I decided I need to get out more with friends or by myself! I couldn't fall asleep last night, I stayed up till 12:30 or so. But I feel fine right now having showered and dressed. 

Anyway, that is my story for today! 

Looking back on the last day of our trip......

We headed to San Fran after the Snoopy museum.  Cara lost a tooth on the Golden Gate Bridge....this is unreal.......WHY???? Because when we were in San Fran in October, she lost a tooth on the Golden Gate...the last tooth she lost actually.  

See? This is October:

This is July:

So, to lose another tooth as we were driving over the bridge was uncanny....although Mannie suspected that Cara pulled it out just so she could say that she had lost her tooth there again! I am not sure but only teeth that want to come will come out so that is cool either way.

Then we went and checked into our last hotel of the trip!! YAY> a free night thanks to our Marriott points. It was within close proximity to AT&T ballpark which was our destination for the night. 

The city was buzzing with excitement for the game! Lots of people in Giant shirts walking around. 

We met up with family and headed over to the field to watch the Giants play the Brewers. Oddly enough, last summer we saw the Rockies play the Brewers in Colorado.

The stadium was really cool.  The fans are die hards....reminded me of being at a NY sporting event.  They have a kid area which is cool except it is a ballpark which is completely packed beyond belief.  But see the Coke bottle in the picture?
That is a big slide that people can slide down....we slide down it....here are my feet going down the slide! 

WWWWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

The kids had fun hanging with their cousins.  The weather started out sunny and warm enough but then the San Fransisco fog wafted in and it got dark and then .....holy cow it gets FREEZING!! Like, we got hot cocoa freezing!!!

We have been slowly hitting stadiums as a family as part of Mannie's "Let's hit every stadium in the country" tour  ....we have done Angel's stadium, Dodger's...Petco(except Cami wasn't born so that doesn't really count), Coors Field, Yankee Stadium....anyway, the point?  Well, we have been collecting the little ice cream batting helmets with the team logos on them and in San Fran? Well, I bet they don't even sell one...who knows because buying an ice cream was the farthest thing from my mind. 

Anyway, it was a fun night, neat stadium and we got to hangout with Gia, Gramps (who were up north visiting Shawn and Miro) and of course Shawn, Miro and the kids. 

Then we woke up the next morning and took the 101 home......thank goodness....I couldn't bear (bare?) the thought of the dreadfully boring 5!  Speaking of bear....here is Teddy the morning after the Giant game!

We hit our last Brewery of the "Brew Tour" for Mannie....his traditional Thanksgiving stop at Firestone Brewery....we ate lunch there....not impressed.  But he got his little jug that he always gets and we were on our way! 

That concludes the "Tales from the Road" series!! ;)

Now back to our regularly scheduled program of complaining about laundry, random pictures of our ordinary days and the occasional "I MADE SOMETHING!!!!" post!  I have been itching to scrapbook again and I have promised myself to get back on the Project Life train and catch up!!!!!

So, now that we are back to our regular scheduled programming...here is what we did yesterday....Cara had brainstormed the other day about ways to "make" money to buy a horse.....we added onto her chores to give her a $1.00 raise and she wants to raise bunnies to sell....another thought was to rummage through the house and collect all the coins she could find. Then we took them all to the bank where they have a wonderful coin machine(they let you use it for free, no charge, you get all the money!) and she "made" $67.00 toward her horse savings! 

Not bad.  I think in a few months I will rummage through the house and get myself money to hit the spa! :)

That is all for today.....HAPPY FRIDAY!

 

Wet Wednesday!

We had a good day today!

I have been plugging away on the laundry front, still have lots to do though.

The kids played outside on the Slip and Slide as part of Wet Wednesday!  We also had a picnic in the backyard.  

It feels so nice to be home with the kids.  I have been staying close to home since we came back b/c of the laundry situation but also because I am just seriously enjoying the time with the kids at home. I am in my little antisocial mood just needing time to get organized and sort of rested after being so busy for 2 weeks.

I want to cry when I see the Back to School stuff.  We still have a whole month and I am trying to remember that and just keep on loving each second of summer.

I am also really enjoying a new book.

It was recommended to me by a friend and it is a TERRIFIC summer read.  Just passing it on in case you are looking for something.  I have seen her books for years and passed them up but I have to say I think the characters are interesting as well as the plot.  It also doesn't hurt that alot of the places mentioned in the book are familiar to me as they are set on the east coast....NY/CT/Cape Cod area. 

But don't read the summary, just buy it and read it (if you are interested)....that is what I did and so the story has been a surprise! Which is cool. Just go on my recommendation and see what you think! Let me know if you do! Disclaimer: I have not finished the book ! ;)

I am always so happy to find a book to love and now knowing I may love her other books just tops it off! 

Hope you had a great day! 

Happy Summer Reading and Backyard Water Fun to you!!

P.S.....funny quote from today!

Cami:  "I got a birthmark on my leg when I was 3 years old!"  Funny girl! 

Tales from the Road...Redwoods and San Fran

Hi there! 

Happy Wed.! 

I am posting more on the Redwoods but not at camp...we only got to stay there one night and then we packed up and headed south to San Fran.  We stopped along the way at the Trees of Mystery! Then we hit the visitor center of Redwood National Park to earn the Jr. Ranger badges for the kids....it was a very easy one! Then drove and drove and drove and decided to stay overnight in Santa Rosa which is just outside of San Fran. 

The Trees of Mystery were fun! There is the giant Paul Bunyan and his ox out front.  I didn't realize that Paul talks to you and can see and hear what you say.  It was cute because on our way out of the park Mannie said to me, "I wonder where the guy sits who talks for Paul?" and Cami looked at him with this bummed out look and said, "What do you mean, he isn't real?"......it was so sad!!! I think sometimes we think Cami is older than she really is......what a lovebug! So then Mannie tried to cover it up with an explanation.  I need to remember that she is still a baby in many ways.....I need to hold onto that too!!!

one family shot:

So, after visting with Paul, you go for a little walk through the woods and then we took the gondola up the mountain and I am afraid of heights so, the family relishes in tormenting me and laughing at my pathetic panic attacks....here are a series of bad pictures but it shows the laughing and taunting I get!!! I am, however, not too scared and paralyzed to NOT take pictures of course!!!  But I will say, you really get up there in the trees and it is a long way down!!!

Mannie stood up to really freak me out~

Then we got off the gondola, checked out the "view" which was covered in fog! Then got back on to go downhill.....this time, they roared with laughter because I managed to step in dog poop during the 10 minute time period we were up there....there were 2 dogs up there with us.....Cupcake and Vanilla!! Damm you Cupcake!!!!!  So, the minute the gondola shut closed, we all just looked at each other and laughed, who had stepped in the dog poop????? Me!

The gondola smelled so bad and the next family that got in after us, immediately plugged their noses. 

One last one....photo by Cami Adams!

So, we left there.....headed to the NP visitor center.....earned badges....
 
continued on our way......saw, of all things, a whale and her baby in the Klamath river.  We went whale watching a few years ago and there was not a sign of a whale and here we are on our road trip and we see 2 whales in a river!!! Crazy.....Cool....Amazing......the best part of a Roadtrip are the moments that you can't plan for and would miss had you flown to your destination! 

Here is the mamma.....

Baby is out there by the boat......

We almost stayed in another cabin but it looked like bedbug central but we did hike ALL the way down the hill to the river, I could have swarn that I heard a bear breathing....it was around dusk again and I seriously was having a heart attack that we were going to get eaten by a bear....this looked like the perfect spot for a bear to eat and there were no other humans to be found...the hill was so steep and I barely let us hang out by the water before making everyone huff it back up the mountain....it was a huge workout for lazy ole me, thigh burning....here is where we almost got eaten by a bear! ;)

So we continued on to Santa Rosa which is in wine country and stayed in a Hyatt at a wonderful price (breakfast included....a good one too, we got to order anything we wanted!!!) thanks to AAA membership!! I kid you not, I fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow.....I was so exhausted and had the best night of sleep! So much better than the bed bug cabin! 

The next day, we hit the Charles Schultz museum! Love him!!! He knew that he wanted to write a daily comic strip when he was 10 years old and look how he made his dream come true!! Amazing and inspiring....I am hoping the same for my kids....to make a career out of something you are passionate about....that is awesome! 

Small museum but very inspiring...the kids got to make their own comic strips too! 

Actually.....Mannie and I made our own as well!

After, we headed to San Fran to meet up with Gia, Gramps, Shawn, Miro and the kids!! Last vacation post to come! Thanks for following along!

 

Tales from the Road...Redwoods

Hi there!

We are slowly getting stuff done here! 

Cara is on this buying a horse kick today so I am taking advantage of this opportunity.  We went to the library today and the kids got books out about an animal they would like to research! 

So, while they are busy in the playroom writing animal reports, I am going to take a minute to write about the Redwoods and more animal adventures! 

We stopped at another animal park....this one was in Bandon. 

It was a cool petting zoo! 

Lots of deer, goats, llamas, ducks and a donkey walking around.

Some caged wild cats(lions, tigers and bears....oh my!....no, seriously they had all those!) too! 

Kids loved petting the baby tiger. 

But their favorite part was just being able to hang out with the animals on the loose.

That deers antlers felt like velvet btw!

but the animal poop?  Um yeah....that gets in the grooves of the sneakers....so that meant, more laundry for me!!! 

We headed off to Cresent City, CA....to a WONDERFUL KOA campground!!!!! It was set in the redwoods...I could have stayed a few days.  I can't say enough about the KOA campgrounds....the clean cabins and facilities....our cabin was just $80!!!! Can't beat that! Well, actually we did beat that last year in Durango for $50 but that was a 1 room cabin.  We stayed in a 2 room cabin this time!

So quaint and adorable.  The kids made fast friends which is good and bad.....good for them, but then we didn't see them much! Bad for me! 

But they loved it so much!! Great memories! 

Here is our little cabin....
not great lighting for pictures....the redwood forest is dark as you can imagine! 

Heaven!

Here is our little site: Thank goodness Mannie grew up camping because I would be at a loss if I was alone...he is our expert fire starter and cook on these trips!  He did, however,  only pack himself 2 sets of pj's on this trip and managed to lose them both early on in the trip!  Maybe not always prepared but he can make a good fire!

cool trees to climb!

Did you know that the redwoods are filled with banana slugs???
Yes, they are and guess who's kids spent all night with their new friends collecting them??? And guess what?  Banana slug slime is really hard to get off your hands! Yes, it is gross and you have to wash your hands like 10 times to get it off! 

We had hot dogs and  corn for dinner....then went for a walk....Did you know that Bigfoot has been known to roam these parts??? :)

S'mores for dessert.....have I mentioned that I don't like s'mores? Neither does Mannie.....most overrated dessert but a must for camping.  We did see one thing that could make s'mores more interesting for Mannie anyway......graham crackers, marshmellow and Reeses peanut butter cups! 

Terrible picture but it tells the story, part of the story I love....cozy in the cabin! 

Finally......the camping breakfast of champions!!! We all had a sugar crash just a few hours later...can't remember where we got lunch that day....one of the days we hit a drive thru Subway......much better idea in theory!

That is all for today! Have a good one.

Tales from the Road...Bandon

Good afternoon!

Waiting for my kids to finish cleaning so we can run a couple of errands.

Still buried under laundry.

Looks like a pretty day today! 

Thought I would post up some pics from Roseburg and Bandon.

In Roseburg there is a safari drive thru....we went on our way from Sisters to Bandon.  We also drove through Eugene. 

I posted on Facebook about Charlie showing Teddy the bears....he is such a sweetie!

The drive thru was cool. 

Lots of wild animals to check out. The kids loved it naturally.  I think we saw just about as many animals as
one could think of. Alot of them roam free but the predators are in cages but they are still cool to see in person.

We saw another covered bridge!

Then we continued on our way west to the coast. We spent a night in Bandon...we went to the best beach I have ever been to.  It had beautiful tidepools,
huge rocks with HUGE sea caves. Simply amazing. I think Oregon must have the world's best beaches! 

Tales from the Road....Bend

Hi there!

Today we celebrated the life of Uncle Dick, our very own family American Hero! Always sad to say good bye.  He lived a very full life though.  He was in the Navy and on board the USS Hornet when it was attacked by the Japanese KK planes during WW2.  He fell into the ocean and floated in the Pacific for 8 hours watching shipmates get eaten by sharks.  To think of the horrors he saw and heard.  He was paralyzed as a result but that didn't stop him from having a wonderful life filled with family, many travels and successful business ventures.  I know he is in a good place now though, with his sweetheart who passed back in 2001 to cancer....running free again in  heaven.  They played taps at the burial today...gave me chills and a big lump in my throat....a heroes burial. 

We also got Hopper back today!! She is such a cutie!  Hopper's mommy may be pregnant again and if so, we will be adding another little adorable bunny to our family!!! I can't wait.

Thinking back on my trip again! 

Still loving being home.  Sometimes after a trip, I get bummed out being back to reality but after this trip, I couldn't be happier to be in my own home.  Yes, we had fun but eating out and being in a smelly, crammed car gets old.  I am feeling tired today, after being at a funeral, the emotional part, and I am again so thankful to be able to sleep in my own bed.

Bend was wonderful as I wrote yesterday..if you ever have the chance, check it out. Hopefully the weather will be better for you. 

Our hotel had bikes that you could ride (for free).....I haven't ridden a bike in a while and I felt like a little kid whizzing around the pathways.......wwwwweeeeeeeeeee! Makes me want to get a  bike except we have too many hills around here and the part  I loved about riding was it was all flat! 

So, Cara and I had fun riding bikes.

Charlie and Cami had fun exploring. 

All 3 had fun exploring....

We went on a little hike...

We went and saw Zookeeper at the adorable barn movie theater...this counts as Cara's "Thrilling Thursday" since she is scared of the movies!  The girl who collects the tickets also stands in front of the audience and welcomes you to the movie, then announces that she is going to turn the movie on! So cute.

This is how you check on movie times...

Mannie enjoyed the brewery at our hotel....we ate just about every meal here....really great food!

We went out for donuts and explored downtown Sisters!

Goofed off in town:

Played chess:

And stayed up late watching our family fave for summer....Dual Survivor...actually any of the survivor shows on the Disc. channel are our favorites!

A really nice stay in Bend/Sisters! 

I am feeling tired so I think I will write more tomorrow....time to go clean up from dinner and then relax.  Have a great night! :)

 

 

Tales from the Road....Bend/Sisters, Oregon

I am on a roll today! 

I may get our whole vacation done today! Well, maybe not.

Bend, Oregon:

What a beautiful town....everything is new, thoughtfully planned out...looks like the kind of town where everyone who lives there spends most of their time outdoors hiking, kayaking or biking.  

It looks like the town was built by REI and so not surprisingly, there is an awesome REI right in town, in the signature building....the Old Mill.

We rented tubes and the kids and Mannie went floating down the river.  I opted out for 2 reasons....1. too cold and 2. rather not say!  But it was a good reason to stay out of the water! ;)

This made me the family photographer! (surprise!)

And I enjoyed a few quiet moments on the Deuschutes River waiting for my family to float back to me...it was nice. 

I love BEND.  I wish the weather was better.  I want to go back on a sunny day and float with the family! and maybe kayak.  Cara was really wanting to paddle board but we wanted to keep it simple and everyone doing the same thing.

Then the kids naturally "fell in"......some things are just too hard to resist!!! wet soggy kids and more smelly river clothes....fab.  Here is right before they fell in:

Notice Charlie's boat is upside down! :) Hmmmm...it wasn't that way when they left the river bank!

We stayed at a wonderfully adorable lodge.   Love the craftsman style.
It was outside of Bend in Sisters, Oregon.

I want to go back someday. 

The first night we had this amazing room in the lodge.  It was 2 floors.  
The price was great too. Again free happy hour and breakfast included.  We had a fireplace which was perfect for the gloomy, rainy weather.  We had a big, cozy bed
and a pullout couch for 2 of the kids.  The tub was the best though....the water came down from the ceiling.
 The kids thought this was the greatest thing ever and took baths both nights we were there. 

The second night we switched rooms to a cabin.
 No couch but Cami and Charlie fit on a rollaway.  The inside looked very similar to our room in the lodge.

This post is going to have to be 2 different posts because there is too much to say!

So, I will go for now.....probably be back tomorrow with more on Bend and Sisters.

Happy Sunday!!!!!!!!! 

I am loving being home btw!!

I made a huge dinner.  We are all so thankful for a homecooked meal! Chicken, rice, pasta, broccoli, salad, carrots and green beans! Of course some bread as well! We even had some homemade lemonade to go with it! Perfect to be home! :)

Tales from the Road....Crater Lake

I am on a roll today....laundry, blogging, laundry, blogging.

Mannie has already played in a baseball game and come home.  They lost today.

The kids are spending every second with the birds. We still don't have Hopper.  I think we pick her up tomorrow. I have to email the bunnysitter.

We hit Crater Lake on our trip. 

We left Grants Pass and headed toward Crater Lake NP.  

On our way, we stopped in Union Creek for an ice cream and a look around....they give gigantic scoops!
 

There was a music festival going on too.  We walked around a bit.

We walked by the creek, climbed a few trees.

We were very excited to see snow at Crater Lake.
 It was cold up there....but that didn't stop some excited kids!

 

I have to say that CL is my least favorite NP.....of course, that is probably not fair because we were pressed for time so I didn't give it a fair chance.  However, it was cold and there wasn't much more other than the lake as far as what to see.  We didn't see much animal life either which is always our favorite attraction at the National Parks.  

So, after we checked it out, we left......no Jr. Ranger badges either...didn't want to take the time.

We headed up to Bend.  

First stop, dinner at a brewery.  I had checked out some breweries ahead of time.  I knew Mannie would appreciate that.  We ate at a neat spot but the food was so so.  Mannie got a beer sampler...Mannie said the beer was okay. He used the journal I got him for his birthday....I guess he would be considered a "beer geek" according to the website.

Then we checked into our hotel and I was able to get some laundry done.

Tales from the Road....Grants Pass, Oregon

We spent a few days in Grants Pass at the cutest inn!

We pulled in and knew immediately that this place was special!

We had a little cabin that overlooked a little creek and a view of the Rogue River. 

On our way from Sac to Oregon, we made a detour in Chico so Mannie could check out the Sierra Nevada Brewery.  He got himself a couple of new beers to try.  Some people like wine tasting, Mannie likes beer tasting.  

Here we are relaxing on the balcony....love these times on vacation, the downtime when the kids just play and Mannie (tasting the newly purchased beer) and I can relax and talk.  The view was peaceful, nice memory.

Oregon is full of rivers....of course you can see that if you look at a map but I didn't really look into that when researching so it was a surprise to see how much water is everywhere you go (creeks, rivers and lakes I mean)....gorgeous scenery at every turn!

Here are the guys trying to fish.....of course not pictured is myself in a panic that we are going to get attacked by a bear.  I tend to be a chicken when I feel like we are all alone out in nature, especially at dusk, aka animal dinner time! Mannie barely got to fish because the river was too fast moving and his wife was freaking out.
   

A dragonfly landed on Cami! She was thrilled!

We visited the Oregon Caves.......AWESOME!!

We were of course greeted by the local animals.....

A nice ranger guided tour, lasted about 2 hours, I think.  It was FREEZING down in the caves, seriously freezing! Mannie was wearing shorts (LOL)...he didn't quite hear me the 2 or 3 times I mentioned that it was 41 degrees in the caves, before we left the cabin!  Luckily they had a loner jacket for freezing, ill prepared tourists! 

The tour guide was wonderful and by the end of the tour, Cara had decided that when she grows up she would like to be a Ranger for the NP service.

The kids got ranger badges.

We ate lunch at the counter of the Chateau lodge right there at the caves.  
Delicious food !

Back at the inn......

the lobby......

a cozy corner.....

They have a wine happy hour here too, we didn't go....and milk and cookies before bedtime....we hit that! 

Breakfast was homemade scones, cinnamon rolls, waffles, cereal, fruit, hard boiled eggs, biscuits and oatmeal, bagels!  Really nice spread!

We also hit a local swimming hole for a little water fun!  We brought with us a little raft that Charlie played in. Saw some Oregon ducks!

Unfortunately the clothes and shoes never dried on the drive so the car started to smell really bad...a few days later, I got a hold of a washer and dryer though.

Overall, really nice time in Grants Pass....a wonderful inn.......could picture the unbelievable beauty in the fall!