Ava Grace is 7!

There's is something about this girl.

She's about the closest thing there is to being like me-

which probably isn't a good thing!

Samuel says we both have huge brown eyes,

are EXTREMELY emotional,

"Stubborn" is actually our middle name,

and we

love, love, love

to play!

We were blessed to celebrate Ava's birthday with family,

and here's a glimpse of the celebrating...

Ava (7) & Abby (9)

on Birthday Sunday
at Grandma Clista's house.

Alien cupcakes!

The "Eye".

May your wishes come true, you two!

At home,

Ava tried to get away with being ten!

Come clean, girl!

Ava's grown so much,

so she was in desperate need of some new...

Wheels!

We love you, Ava!  

Ava and Samuel flashing number 7 again
at her party with the

Ramos, Lopez, & King families!

7 still going strong!

Ava & her sweetheart of a cousin, Taylor Marie.

The goods.

Happy Birthday, darlin'!

You are a joy to this family,

and life would not be the same without you!

Keep up the good work with your math facts,

remember,

your hair IS growing,

and,

very, very soon,

you'll be eight!

But don't forget to 

enjoy every single second of being seven!

We love you, girl.

Love,

Mom & Dad

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!

A Woodchuck's Fourth of July

We were feeling antsy-

and more than ready for the summer to get under way-

so rather than wait for our

annual Family Camp to Woodchuck Flats,

we went up early for the 4th!

We arrived late, about 8 o'clock in the evening,

and for some of us,

that proved much to late!

My job was to figure out how to get hot chocolate without a stove!

Mission:  Success!

Dad's job was to figure out how to work my Grandpa's ancient stove.

Mission: Failed!

Lucky for us,

he knows how to build a fire!

So we went old school cooking!

The downside though:

We forgot to bring a chainsaw or an ax!

Which meant we were forced to

manhandle wood to the campsite-

not an easy feat when everything is wet or frozen!

 

As the next day warmed,

all our spirits did too!

Especially when the kids realized
we were surrounded by patches of...

SNOW!

We improvised an ice cooler...

{Samuel was extrememly proud of this!}

...and then scrambled up Longhorn, aka Maddy Mountain.

Back at the camp,

Gabriel ate some forest snacks...

and Isabella created "Maple Syrup Ice"!

I found an awesome reading spot...



...before settling in to cook dinner

ON MY FULLY FUNCTIONING STOVE!

YEA!

We relaxed by the fire...

...while our child laborers were hard at work shucking corn!

Samuel,

leading the kids in the camp songs.

Our favorite, "Picture a Cowboy"!

The next day was "Spa" day,

and the girls got the full treatment at the "salon"!

They needed the pampering too

because we hit the trails again to head to the waterfalls!

We took the "scenic" route,

and braved the brush and natural landscape to get to our destination.

That's a nice way of saying we went the WORST way

and had plenty of scratches to prove it!

Our reward though:

Salami!

And a booger check!

This is one of my favorite shots.

Owen, my pip-squeak of a boy,

rarely sits still anymore.

So this moment is a treasure,

and perfectly captures his growing "boy-ness".

My men.

Samuel,

carefully (and responsibly)

instructing the children on how to start a forest fire

with a magnifying glass.

They were all ears.

THE WATERFALLS!

More specifically, the upper falls!

Ava,

dying to get in.

Don't you dare!

Mama's boys!

Iris,

making the cover of a "Visit Here" mag.

On our way back we cut through the 4-H camp

for a seat on the...seat. 



Before we left,

we visited the swimming hole. 

This spot has been visited by the Elmers

for multiple generations now,

and it's been the recipient of many

cannon balls and other daredevil stunts off it's ledges.

It was crazy to see it raging with wates from the melting snow,

and none of us could imagine surviving a dip in it now.

What a great fourth!

It was different for sure,

but a great way to start off the summer camping season!