Trip to the Mountains

Every year we look forward to the times we get to head up to the Eastern Sierra Nevadas. I've been going up there now for more than 30 years, and it's a tradition I love to be able to have with our kids.

This week's visit was the most lovely and restful time we've had since doubling the size of our brood, and we soaked up every minute of it. The Papa was able to take the two older kids fishing (seperately, as they are a whirlwind together), and we built a fire pit out front for evening fun and s'more making.

The kids played in the dirt, worked on chalk drawings, watched more movies and shows than they are ever allowed to at home, explored the woods, watched the deer walk past them on the deck every morning and evening, and spent a fair amount of time being worried about bears. Benji accomplished a 5-mile hike to the lake and back with The Papa, and everybody managed a short hike together one day followed by a picnic lunch...nothing to sniff at as we were at least 8,500 feet above sea level.

Without further ado, here are some of the photos from our vacation.

After Christmas Tradition

One of our family traditions is to head up to the Eastern Sierras after Christmas. We're guaranteed to experience at least a bit of snow, and we always have a lot of fun.

This year there was not enough snow to sled at the big hill, but the kids were able to putter around out in front of the cabin.

The snow suit that Oli is wearing is now on its third child. This makes me very happy. Sadie is wearing her new fuzzy panda hat. Goodness gracious, she looks adorable in it.

This guy doesn't do cold but he hates being left out. So he often spent ten minutes putting on snow gear, only to come back in the house crying after ten minutes outside. He'll get the hang of it.

The cabin is a good place for contemplating things.

Even Buckley rests up between outdoor adventures.

Sadie tells us things very earnestly and emphatically.  Can you tell?

Brothers.

Miss Izzy did not spend much time outside, but she did like watching everyone!

Sadie with her favorite person in the world.

And a cabin trip is not complete without a whole lotta this:

Down by the Bay

After cheering for my sister at her 10K down at Paradise Point just before Christmas (where she placed 2nd in her age group - Go, Rosie!), we took the kids to the bay so we could feel the sand between our toes.

The water lapping at our feet, the breeze, the sunshine on our faces - it was all so peaceful.

Peaceful doesn't just happen in a family with four young kids (wink, wink). Such a refreshing few moments.

I tried to photograph each of the kids individually. The girls don't really sit still right now.

I'll wrap up with a little video:

Catching Up - Spring Break and Mud Party

Day Three of Spring Break involved mud. Lots of it. We invited our friends over to make mud pies, enjoy a volcano, and squish dinosaurs through a prehistoric landscape of sorts.  Before we look at those scenes, however, let's talk about Mentos geysers, which was the way I intended to kick off this day of messy fun. I was hoping to be really impressive.

I did some research, you see, some research on how to make one of those Coke bottle explosion things...which I learned was actually not an explosion but a geyser. And I consulted Pinterest for the details on exactly how to get the best results. What I came away with was this:

1. Use a liter of any dark cola - the brand did not matter, but the dark brown colored ones worked better than, say, orange soda.

2. Make some sort of chute that would get the Mentos into the bottle fast and almost all at the same time.

3. Watch out. A geyser could be eight feet tall.

Em...not so much.

After moving all the kids back with all my safety first talk I dropped those suckers into my 70 cent bottle of el cheapo cola and...

Wah, wha, whaaaaaaaa...

It was a wimpy fizz that lasted about six seconds.

So we moved on to the vinegar and baking soda volcano which was not particularly impressive either, but allowed the kids to interact with it more which is always a good thing.

Baking soda and vinegar volcano

We built up the mud around a glass jar and the kids took turns pouring vinegar into the mixture and watching the foam erupt.

They just kept pouring and playing.

So these photos just show our mud pit area. I am so in love with how green the area is now. It was all brown and dead about two years ago.

I think we'll be doing this again!

Catching Up - Spring Break & Shaving Cream

The week that Benjamin had off from school for spring break, I wanted to have some fun. We had originally planned to go to the mountains, but that didn't work out so I needed to get creative.

On Monday, we went to the beach with Grandma and Grandpa V.  But on Tuesday, we had a backyard bubbles and shaving cream party and invited some friends.

Kiddie pools were filled with bubble bath and food coloring. Kids' hands were filled with shaving cream.

It was madness.

And oh, so fun!

Grandma & Grandpa V's Visit in April

A couple of months ago, Grandma and Grandpa V (Benjamin's biological grandparents) stopped in for a day.  They had driven west (from upstate New York) to visit some friends in Arizona and decided to come see us, too. So fun!

It was Grandpa's V's wish to stick his toes in the Pacific Ocean, so we made sure that could happen. 

Benj and Sadie are finally old enough to just LOVE the ocean. They kept running in and out of the waves until their teeth were chattering, and Sadie's lips turned a purplish hue.

The V grandparents are so dear to us - they have seven grandchildren back in NY, and yet they continue to "adopt" our additional kids as their grand kids as well.  Such big hearts.

Benj just saw me editing these photos and asked if I could print one out for his room.

Oli is not much one for cold water, so he opted for throwing sand and filling pails.

And we'll end with this shot - it's just so pretty.