Bishop Camping Trip

5 days after our trip to San Diego we were off to the mountains. We went to Bishop, Ca for a week long camping trip with Don's parents. We were very fortunate to find a campsite big enough for their trailer and our tents. Once we were all settled it was a pretty relaxing vacation. We enjoyed a variety of activities--mostly fishing. The mountains were beautiful and we enjoyed exploring them. The children especially loved the freedom they felt as they were able to explore close by the campsite on their own a little. Fishing was a favorite activity. Each of the kids caught their own fish (the little ones had some help, but everyone got to reel in a fish). I think the only person who didn't catch a fish the whole week was Don's mom. The kids also enjoyed spending time with their Grandma and Grandpa. It was fun watching them interact with their grandparents. Good memories.

Here we are on the bridge going into our campground.

Spent a morning at a lake and tried our hands at lake fishing. No luck.
Connor sure enjoyed climbing around on the rocks.

Sierra lake fishing.

Carson wants S'MORES!

Carson and Grandma walking through
the meadow at Cardinal Village.

Morgan, Sierra, Connor, Carson, & Caden in a tree.

One morning after breakfast the kids and I hiked up the side of a mountain. We only went part way up because the little boys ran out of steam. We sure had a great time though. This picture was taken by Sierra looking down the mountain we hiked.

On the mountain.

After the hike we headed back to our campsite. I told the kids to skip.
Here's the happy skippers.

After skipping I told them to do the boogie dance.
Yes, we were being very silly.
Leave it to Caden to turn and stick it out.
Had to capture the memory.

Morgan enjoyed FISHING in the stream.

Sierra caught this 14 inch trout.
What a beauty!

Don, Carson, Connor, & Morgan with the fish they caught.
Yes, the boys helped Don with a fish. Morgan caught the other.

Dad and Grandpa taught Caden and Sierra how to
clean the fish they caught.
They thought this was one of the coolest parts of the trip.
And yes, Grandpa handed Caden a knife and let him do it on his own.
Mom was the basket case that couldn't watch Caden cut the fish apart
for fear he'd hurt someone (accidentally, of course!).

San Diego Part 1

Right after Scout Camp, we packed up and went to San Diego for 4 days. We stayed with Joy and Harry Klein (Jen's Grandma and husband) and had a really nice visit with them. While in San Diego we spent an afternoon at the beach in Mission Bay. We bought lunch and picnicked at the beach and then just hung out. The kids and Don enjoyed the water and I enjoyed watching them and taking pictures. The weather was perfect and we had an enjoyable time. Here's some pictures of that day.

Digging for sand crabs.

Watch out! Here it comes!

RUN!!!

Working on a sand castle.

San Diego Part 2

Also in San Diego we spent an afternoon at The Midway, a retired Naval carrier turned into a museum. It was a self-guided tour which meant we all wore headphones and when we came to points of interest we would type in the corresponding number on our keypad and listen to the "tour guide". We could also hear accounts from people who actually served on a carrier. It was an extremely fascinating afternoon. The kids completely loved it, although it turned out to be a little long for Connor and Mom (who just hadn't had enough sleep). It was well worth the visit. Following are some pictures we took while at the museum.

Don and Jen in front of the museum.

Jen and the kids in front of a plane.
Don't ask me which one, that's Don's department.

Oh, it's a Texan but he can't remember the number.

Inside a cockpit. It must be pretty loud in there. :)

In the brig! That's where the wrong-doers go.

Yep, Mom and Dad too! What a tough crew.

On the flight deck. An F14 Tomcat (the Top Gun plane).
This is the one Don really wanted to fly.

Don has always wanted to fly one of these planes.
Unfortunately, this is the closest he will ever get.

In the control room.
Now who put these guys in charge?
Everybody better be extra careful.

LA Arboretum

The first two weeks of summer, Don spent getting ready for and attending Scout Camp. The rest of us hung out and enjoyed not having school. While Don was at Scout camp, the kids and I spent a lot of time together doing stuff locally. We hiked Bell Mountain, went to lunch at Del Taco, a trip to the library, movie night, guitar hero and other such stuff. One day we got out of Apple Valley and went to the LA Arboretum in Pasadena. My Grandmother used to take me to the Arboretum often when I was a young girl. I have very fond memories of the place and wanted to share them with the kids. Don's mom joined us as did the Ridings, Casadys, Emily Packer, and the Telfords. Unfortunately, the Telfords came later and I never did see themm, although others did. We had a really fun trip. We took a picnic lunch and ate before entering the park. Then spent the afternoon walking around the park, viewing the Queen Anne Cottage and Stables, and feeding the geese and peacocks. The following pictures are of this trip.

The boys in a tree. It was near the end of the day and the little guys were starting to get tired.
Emily, Morgan, and Sierra in one of the beautiful flower gardens there.
The kids enjoying the carriage house near the Queen Anne Cottage.
Grandma, Jen & the kids in front of the Queen Anne Cottage.
















Hiking through the "jungle".


















Watching and feeding the turtles and fish in the lake.




















Our picnic lunch.
What a fun day we had!!

Summer 2009

Our summer was very full and busy. We did a lot of different things and had a lot of fun. I took lots of pictures and we've enjoyed looking at them. We're excited to share them. But since we did so much and have so many pictures I have been trying to think of the best way to post them. At first I was going to try to do one big running entry of all our activities, but trying to do this was proving to be too much. I don't think I could finish it in one computer session. Now my goal is to post a little at a time. This way it won't be so overwhelming. I'm hoping to get caught up this week, but knowing me it will probably take until next week to be completely caught up.