Wolves!

I so wish we had pictures... I had the camera in the car, and alas I forgot to grab it! A couple weeks ago Lauren and I went and signed up for our first Library cards... we were unincorpirated in Illinois thus couldn't get one there, and never got around to it in Boston. I must admit we're having a blast BORROWING books. We've always loved books, but for Lauren especially she's loving getting to choose her own book and be responsible for putting them back in. Our library is VERY high tech... or maybe they all are, I hadn't been in a library since Purdue! We scan the books ourselves by placing them on a special plate to check them out, then fed them through a conveyor belt outside all automated and all by ourselves, which Ian loves! But, back to the weekend. Our first trip to the library we saw a flyer announcing WOLVES at the LIBRARY!!! We couldn't pass up that opportunity so we went back last weekend to check it out. A Sacramento based rescue group called NEVER CRY WOLF RESCUES, brought 4 wolves on leash into the library. Gavin thought they were great big "OG's" and spent the entire hour we were listening and learning about wolves trying to wiggle down onto the ground and go wake up the "dog's!" The kids were awed by them and even more impressed they mostly slept through it all. Although the one did keep opening his eyes to check us all out, and one sat and smiled at Gavin for awhile while Gavin kept waving and saying "HI HI HI HI." It was a cool experience and not at all what I expected... I was thinking wolves in cages outside while we walked past.

Tahoe for Dinner!

After a couple of months of no "big" adventures (though in our house everyday can be an adventure,) and we were ready to answer the call when asked if we wanted to join our friends for dinner in Tahoe! A group of Michaels fraternity brothers get together every year for a ski adventure, and this year, we joined though not for the skiing part, just for one dinner! We headed up at naptime, though noone napped, arrived before any of the others were done with their runs for the day, so headed out for a brisk hike to see Lake Tahoe... a beautiful site, but more of an adventure than we were expecting. As you can see from the pictures we arrived at the house to a chilly afternoon... see no coats... and while I was a good Mommy and put jackets on everyone before the hike, by the time we were almost home... the snow was blinding! It was also a very hilly hike with short legs which took us an hour! We had a wonderful meal with everyone, and while it was hard to have meaningful conversations as we were running after our kids more than the other parents, it was great to catch up and see some faces from the past! The drive home was a little dicey... snow chains were not yet required, which was good since we didn't have any. If I had been skiing, I would have said it was beautiful white out coniditions. In the car, I appreciated the beauty and the fact I wasn't driving! As soon as the blizzard stopped, we hit a wall of fog... the signs warned of dense fog... but we couldn't see more than a couple feet in front of the car, so it was a crawl through the mountains. But, we made it home safely and enjoyed another wonderful daytrip here in Northern California yesterday.

Pumpkin Farm!

We spent Saturday at the Bishop Pumpkin Farm. Fortunatly for us, Grandma Hippo and Grandpa Penguin were in town to help us corral the kids, and get us professional pictures! These are all Grandpa's pictures, Mommy and Daddy took some too, but those will be in the monthly shutterfly. This was a deluxe pumpkin farm. There was a giant animal viewing and petting area with goats, geese, pigs, donkeys, lambs, cows etc. There was a hay "bounce" area, a train ride, a hay ride, a pig race, and of course pumpkins. They had the biggest pumpkins I've seen at a farm... it was a challenge for us to find any small ones for the kids to carry. 4 hours at the farm, 4 pumpkins and 3 very tired kids made for one excellent Saturday adventure with our grandparents!

Yosemite!

We went to bed last night thinking we'd go look at some properties in the bay area, woke up saying we'd go look at "big" trees, and finished breakfast agreeing we'd go where we've been saying we wanted to go... Yosemite! Amazing what a day trip in CA can be. 45 minutes later, after Mommy went crazy grabbing everything we might need, we were ready. A couple Max and Ruby episodes later, Lauren succombed to the wiggly roads with a bad case of car sickness... but as we had an extra set of clothes all was quickly fixed. Shortly after, we were entering the park, and enjoying the natural formations and spectacular landscapes! We found a nice loop for the kids to "hike," and were fortunate that the meadow we hiked was a great Half Dome photo op for the kids! They had a great time on our "adventure," and though a long day (9 hours,) it's definitely on our list of possible Grandparent destinations! (So you all discuss and decide which of you might want to go back with us!) On the way home we detoured through some Amador County wineries, though they were closed... it's another to do destination for us. A great day, lots of wonderful memories and breath taking scenery... amazing what a couple hours in the car can get you!

Apple Hill

We realized last night we had a weekend with no plans, so we decided to try out Apple Hill, an area with LOTS of different farms to visit. We went with the intention of picking something... I saw online that there were a couple farms who still had U-Pick berries, and we were REALLY lucky that one of the farms was hosting a Teddy Bear Picnic for kids. So, we got on the road this morning with the intent of bringing home something, but mostly just having an adventure! Our first stop was Patricks Mountain Grown Berry Farm where we spent some time picking raspberries and blackberries. Dad found a new friend on one of the plants, a giant praying mantis... which entertained the big kids for a little while before heading back up the hill to wash our hands, pay and get back in the car for the next adventure. With no real destination in mind, we continued on around the path past a couple of wineries a brewery and LOTS of apple orchards before spotting another U-Pick, this time apples. We stopped at Hangtime Kid Apple Orchard picked up our buckets and headed up the hill, 6 pounds and $6 later we were back in the car each munching on our fresh apples! The helpful woman at the Orchard suggested several different farms further up the road with activites for kids; a hay maze, petting zoo, etc, and mentioned the Teddy Bear Picnic, that was on my list of to look out for. To our surprise the Teddy Bear Picnic was a HUGE event. The Rainbow Orchard hosted the event and for a $5 wristband per kid, they each got to adopt a teddy bear, and a new book (though they were down to only 4 books, and none appealed to our kids), get their faces painted, participate in any of the carnival games, and play in the bounce house, plus navigate an obstacle course and visit the petting zoo. The games were fun backyard carnival games we've all done: catching the rubber duckies, cake walk, bean bag toss etc, and the kids had a blast - the only unfortunate part for our toddlers was other than the cake walk, the only prizes were pencils... but they had a great time playing, and of course were already hugging their new teddy bear friends! A little hot, a little hungry, though we could have purchased a picnic lunch, we headed to the van and home! It was a great day, and we're sure to head back again!

California State Fair for the Rides!

So, we went back! We decided not only would it make the kids day, since they were so sad we left without any rides the first time... but Daddy REALLY wanted to see those chickens (his current obsessive fantasy that will never happen at our current home.) We arrived early on a beatiful Saturday that was only in the 80's very mild for us - so the Fair was busy! We headed for the rides first - we'd learned our lesson 2 weeks before, and the kids wanted the BIG ferris wheel. All was great until they got right up in line... then Lauren started talking with Daddy about whether she really wanted to go, but she went and they had a great time! Then began the debate for the next choice, carousel, spinning dinosaurs or caterpillar roller coaster. The coaster won out, as Ian could go to (with Daddy as a seat mate.) They were all excited until the first hill, then Lauren got a little spooked and wanted off, as she was sitting by herself she wasn't quite as confident, but she made it through the whole thing and says it was great now. Ian loved the whole thing - but he's a daredevil! After the rides we picked up lemonades for the kids and I and beer for Daddy and headed back to the animals. First to see the chickens and let Daddy dream about having them run around the house, (feel free to email him and remind him we do own a BIRD DOG,) then it was on to fair food - corn on the cob, brisket sandwhiches, hotdogs, dippin dots for the kids, and funnel cake for Mommy. All in all a fabulous day... made even better by the fact we got home and all 3 had some quiet time/naps!

Camping at Hope Valley Resort

Well, we did it... we only made it one night, but we actually camped! The site was close to two hours away and perfect as it was a small camp with only a few sites there was plenty of space so I wasn't worried about my kids keeping other campers awake at night. Unfortunatly, I wasn't quite as prepared for the extremes in temperatures! We arrived just as our friends the Jolly's were signing in, so followed them down to the sites. It was a beautiful site surrounded by aspen trees on one side and a huge granite wall on the other, with a "deer" path connecting our two camps for the little ones to jump back and forth between the sites. Upon arrival in no time flat the daddy's had the pop-up ready for our friends and both our tents up, then they grabbed a beer and all the kids and took them on an adventure while the mommy's stayed back to organize and get everything else ready. We had a great time playing once the kids got back and then got ready for a spagetti dinner followed by smores! Soon after it was time for bed, so we bundled Lauren into her sleeping bag in the small tent she would be sharing with Daddy and I grabbed the boys into our big tent. Armed with buddy's, flashlights and glowsticks we read our stories and wound down. All was going well as I heard Daddy zip his way out of his tent, I laid Gavin down in his pack n' play and exited mine. We made it next door for half a glass of wine when we heard a gaggle of teenage girls heading toward us on the way to the trash and restrooms. This was too much for Gavin who awoke, but I managed to keep Ian in the tent. Grabbing Gavin I once again went back to the other site. Once Gavin fell asleep in my arms it was back to the tent.... where Ian awoke during my putting down Gavin. Both boys slept for maybe an hour, before the temperature started to plummet. Then it was me sitting in the middle of the tent rocking both of them... all the while talking to Ian who was determined Daddy snoring in the next tent was the bear we had warned lived in the woods.... or the shadows on the tent walls were bad guy spiders... or the blankets being kicked by Gavin were bad men... Finally at 5:30 am both boys passed out, and slept until 8am. Needless to say it was a VERY LONG night of which I just kept praying for a fast forward button! The next day we had a good time exploring around us, burying everything we had in the dirt, finding pinecones, making mud pies, etc all the things that are great to do when outdoors in the woods! The only problem was by naptime the tent was unbearably hot, so the boys had no chance at a nap during the day either. So, Mommy packed up the camp knowing she had hit her limit and wouldn't survive another night like the last one! But, we stayed for another delicious dinner, this time kabobs and smores then packed into the van for the car ride home. We'd definitely like to give it another go - just not sure if we try this year while the kids still remember the good stuff, or wait until next year when they are all a little bigger and know we'll be going in cold turkey again!