Oh, To Be a Kid Again...

We had the wonderful opportunity of

attending the baby blessing of our new niece, Aubrey.

Of course,

that meant all the cousins had the rare opportunity

of attending church together!

Can you tell they're happy?

The best part?

The car swap!

Whose going to ride with who to the luncheon?

Life is good...

P E A C E  O U T !



Spring Break: Flying to Rio for $5.75

We LOVE it when the kids get a break from school,

and something we always do at Christmas-time is go to the movies!

This year,

we missed our holiday movie!

So when Spring Break rolled around,

we decided to fly to,

"Rio"!

Since Samuel and I had just returned from our trip,

we were all decked out in you-know-what!

It was a beautiful day,

so why not stop at the park?

I am so, so glad to be home!

...

This right here is my world,

in a nutshell!

Silly...And Disturbing...Sunday Fun

Silly, yes?

I told you.

Disturbing...

Yuck!

Impromptu Soccer

It's a shame Ava's not in these pictures.

Actually, I think she is in one. 

Only she's teeny-weeny

(see the far left-bottom shot).

The reason it's a shame

is because she's the reason we get the ball out!

She loves to kick it around-

and that's something that she's been doing

since she was a little girl!

You think we'd have her in lessons or on a team,

but every time we ask she refuses.

This is the year,

I think she would go for it,

however with Samuel in school three nights a week,

I don't see how it's possible to haul five kids around

for weeknight practice.

We'll see how it goes though.

If she's game,

I don't want this window of opportunity to pass her by.



Front Yard Pool Party

After the camping trips,

the van's right up there with the rest of us

in terms of needing a good scrub down.

Dad's little helper...

 

...or is she?



Bella loved the spray...

...and Owen pouted...

...and pouted some more,

when it came his way.

Whose brave enough to face the firing squad?

Gabriel's no dummy!

He stayed out of the fray...

...but the fray came to him!

 

Black Sands Beach

So while Benbow Lake was a total flop,

it did bring us to the coolest beach ever...

The Black Sands Beach

It is literally miles and miles of tiny black rocks (not sand!),

and while it's fun to look at from the bluff,

it's even more amazing to play in!

The boys did just that,

and believe me,

you've never seen so many rocks fly!

Rocks were in every crev-ass (as we like to say it! :),

and I do mean it!

This photo makes me want to be there NOW!

It was perfect ocean weather,

a little brisk,

a little overcast,

but so much good warmth emanating
from those perfect little rocks.

Poor little guy!

Owen developed a slight fever and fell asleep

right where he was playing only moments before.

Bella put the kids to work making the worlds first rock sleeping bag!

I couldn't resist getting in on the lay-down action myself!

Pure heaven!

Samuel worked his awesome bod giving rides to the kids...

and I got the best laugh out of seeing poor Owen

take a beating from his brother,

who coudn't figure out why his bud wasn't playing anymore.

Owen was miserable,

but Gabriel thought his reaction was hilarious.

So did I!

Way to the left of the beach were these awesome rocks

that jutted way out into the water.

I grabbed Bella,
who was up for exploring,

and we found the best place to scrabble around.

Turns out it was a point,

so the view from the top was almost 300 degrees of ocean!

Talk about stunning! 

We ran back to get everyone else

and had the best time before heading back.



This place is a must-see for anyone who loves

California and loves the coast (how could you not!).

It's breathtakingly beautiful,

and completely unusual,

which makes it so amazing.

The best part?

As we came down onto the beach,

we past the SCRAGGLIEST people you will ever meet.

Dreadlocks,
dirty pants,
and all their belongings strapped to their backs.

No,
they weren't homeless.

They were backpacking!

It turns out the Black Sands Beach is the ending trailhead

for the Lost Coast Trail!

Woo hoo!

Backpacker magazine describes it as,

"...one of the premier ocean-hugging hkes in the world".

Tackle this 26-mile section, heading south from Mattole River, and you’ll straddle the seam where ocean and land meet. You’ll need to know the tides to pass three key sections where cliffs and waves squeeze tight at high tide , but the reward is well worth the effort: See otters and sea lions, and camp on deserted beaches strewn with sculpturelike driftwood.

 

-Backpacker Magazine

 

Dreadlocks, here I come!

 

Benbow Lake

When making reservations for our summer camping trips,

I quickly realized that I hadn't planned appropriately.

You really do have to book well in advance

to get anywhere close to what you want.

Lucky for us,

we're pretty flexible,

so we took a chance on...

Benbow Lake

Boy,

were we wrong.

First of all, the "Lake",

isn't really a lake at all.

It's more of a bend,

with a really, really strong current.

That's NOT good for kids. 

Though it was great for Samuel and I,

who took advantage of probably our only opportunity

to swim in nature's very own lap swimming pool

set to HIGH.

Seriously,

we were exhausted within minutes.

Because of this,

the kids were limited to within a few feet of the shore,

and like the good sports that they are,

they had fun anyway.

You'll notice the girls are all in T's. 

That's because we forget their swimsuits!

Crazy,
 since this was our big trip to the lake

where the number one thing we planned on doing all day

was swim! 

Another big mistake was diapers!

Samuel and I both forgot to pack them!

Lucky for us,

I had a random pack of Princess Pull-ups

in the back of the van that worked perfectly.

Whew!

We're smiling because we managed to find a place

away from all the lovely inhabitants of Benbow Lake.

Apparently it's a real summer destination for these parts,

and we were in close quarters with people

who brought huge TV's for their picnic tables

and generators that drummed at all hours.

Here, the beverage of choice was NOT lemonade,

which made people quickly forget the "Quiet after 10 PM" rule.

Word of Wisdom people!



But we made do,
and while back at the camp

everyone pitched in to prep for dinner.

Our funny little corn-shucking crew.

One of my favorite road meals:

Taco Salad & Refried Black Beans

with

Fresh Watermelon

Delicious!

Supping.

Look at those red cheeks! 

It was so warm here! 

A surprise since we were so far up North

and only an hour from the coast!

We love to surprise the kids with little things while we're away 

and these goggles were a huge hit. 

They wore them everywhere EXCEPT in the water!

Go figure.

My Owen.

All the way home and for weeks after he wanted so badly

to go back to, "camping".

Soon, son. 

Soon.

Just anywhere on earth
other than Benbow Lake!

The Water Park

Whoever invented local water parks is a GENIUS!

It's the best way to beat the heat for FREE!



A big thanks to the sisters in this ward

for arranging a visit to this park! 

 I don't know that I'd have gone otherwise,

and now we'll definitely keep it on the list!