Lazy Park Days

Love, love, love

lazy days!

And the piece de resistance?

Playing to the very last coin...

and winning!

Go, mom!

{Sorry, Bella!}

Neighborhood Bocce Ball

One of our all-time favorite scores

at D.I....

Our bocce ball set!

There's a new park just down the way,

and it's a great pastime.

Before you know,

you have all kinds of people checking out the game

and wanting to play.

Talk about a great way to meet people!

This time,

it seemed like we attracted half the students

at the girls former elementary school.

It was great catch-up time with so many familiar faces,

and since I had a huge bag

of candy they all stuck around awhile.

I kind of felt like the crazy lady that lures

kids into keeping her company by offering lollipops!

{smile}

Crazy Thanksgiving: Kings Canyon + Sequoia National Park

Last year,
for Thanksgiving break,
we backpacked in Point Reyes with family
and had the best time!

We were definitely bitten by the
school-break-travel-bug,
so this year
we opted to put our
National Parks Pass
to good use and visit
Kings Canyon + Sequoia National Park!

We've never visited a park
in the off season and
were really looking forward to,
one, the solitude and
two, seeing the park
in a whole new light.


We scored a great deal on a rustic cabin,
and quickly prepared for what would
be our first foray
into staying in the snow!

A rainbow!

What a nice send-off!

And away we go...

This is beautiful country,

and as we settled in for the long haul,

we couldn't help but notice the weather changing...

and the temperature dropping!

Home sweet home!

But why stay in when there's

a winter wonderland right outside our door!

Wow!

Talk about a little heaven on earth!

Samuel's face is so funny here!

He was amazed that there were icicles,

much less icicles this big!

We are so not snow people!



After our snow play,

and in honor of Thanksgiving,

a turkey feast...

on the floor!

Even trips to the bathroom proved magical!

And a nice bonus,

the bathrooms were pristine and super-toasty warm!

Really!

Back in the cabin,
open rafters provided the perfect way

to store gear and dry wet clothes!

Some weren't too keen on the accomodations... :)

Packing up fo a day of exploration!

Today,

Moro Rock!

But first,

the kids burn some pre-hike energy by

scrabbling around...

Now this is hiking!

If only we could pull the boys on all of our treks!

Iris,

the only child without boots!

How did we overlook this?!?

Luckily I brought all their socks from home!

Yes,

the boys still exclaim over every little mound,

"I'm on Half-Dome"!

And up we go...

On most of the rock

the sun had melted all the ice and snow.

But near the top,

was another story all together.

I served as Scout to see if it was

safe for everyone to go up.

And as you can see,
it was a "go"!

We met a fantastic older German couple-

"Gunter", was the gentlemen's name.

When we asked if he had been here before,

he pointed to all the surrounding peaks in a

sweeping gesture and said he had summited all of those!

Amazing!

He took particular interest in the kids,

and was especially concerned that no one fall off the rock.

As you can see from above,

that was a genuine concern!

One of the worst spots on the trail...

really though,

I promise it was not as bad as this looks!

The trek back was murderous

with nightfall settling in,

three kids that needed to be carried,

and a sled that was out of comission

thanks to a hole!

Luckily, we had someone

-or I should say, three someones-

waiting to welcome us home!

Note:

As cute as they appear to be,

they are not! 

Owen "relieved" himself in

the night off of the porch

and in the morning

we found a frenzied scrabble in the snow!

Yuck!

Goooood morning!

Time to explore

General German's Tree Trail

and a hike around Hume Lake!

It appears that only the disabled are allowed...

a perfect fit for Samuel!  :)

Bear tracks!

We followed them for awhile and then realized that

probably wasn't a very good idea...

Hmmm...more bear...only this time cub tracks too....

Not good!

I pushed everyone hard.

We needed to get out of here!

For some,

the hiked proved to be too rigorous...

Others just needed

some refreshment...

Salami, Cheese, and Ritz Crackers on Sourdough?

Anyone?  Anyone?

Gabriel followed suit with his own concoction:

 A Brownie Bar and Salami on Sourdough-

and then rejected his own creation...

Note the dome at the bottom of the photo...

Big Baldy, indeed...

{he he}

Midnight snowmen and sledding gave way

to giant burgers...

...which of course is the perfect segway into

a perfect breakfast of powdered donuts!

Our trip was fast coming to an end,

but before we left,

the kids begged for some final runs

down the mountain!

We had the time of our life,

and where previously I was a total baby about snow

-too cold and wet!-

I actually liked it!

H  A  P P Y  T H A N S K G I V I N G !