Our Non-Hike to Salmon Lake

OK, I wanted this picture last, but...oh well. This is Levi upon returning home. Doesn't look too comfy to me.
I had this great idea to check out a 2 mile hike to Salmon Lake on our way home - it was only 2 exits down the freeway, and only 5 miles once you exited. Surprise - the 5 miles quickly turned to a dirt road heading up the mountain...and then the road ended in a snow drift! It was not a total loss, though. We know right where it is for next time, and all the kids got to play in the snow. Stay tuned for my next post - a video of me learning to do G.I. Joe rolls in the snow!


Although we didn't get a hike in, we had lunch at a huge reservoir - it had a great picnic area.

Levi throwing pinecones in the water.
The pinecone throwing contest, and Levi with the biggest stick he could find.

The Reason for my Blogging Famine

I haven't been blogging too much lately although it hasn't been long since I made the commitment to blog regularly. I have a good excuse, though. I started guitar lessons 3 weeks ago, and I'm having so much fun. My guitar teacher, Mike Hogan, is a guitar master. When I go to my lesson, I play his guitar and he plays mine and sings along. It's so fun - you see, I always had dreams of being in a band, and just taking lessons is pretty darn close for a beginner. At the last lesson Mike helped me change my guitar strings, and then he let me play his 12 string. I have so much to learn but I'm having so much fun.

So...my evenings when I thought I'd be blogging or exercising (another goal I'm trying to squeeze in!) I end up looking for new songs to try out or just strumming away, having fun, playing songs the kids know, or serenading Kenny.

More Shinneyboo

One day we hiked up the river to the falls, I found this nice picture spot. Too bad no one's looking at the camera!

Sarah and her friend Kate Johnson help with the foil dinners. Yummy!


The kids had tons of fun catching lizards. They had about 8 pets before they set them all free, and everyone got to name one - Smores, Marshmallow, Emma, etc.



Kenny sporting the shirt I gave him for Father's Day. The first night Kenny got MAJOR points by surprising me with warm rocks (in a sock) for my sleeping bag! I LOVE warm feet when I'm camping!

Sisters- Sarah and Emily forded some very cold water to climb on the rock.


Grace and Claire having fun throwing rocks.


A message from sweet Claire. She is the most loving, sweet, angel girl.


Dad with his girls just relaxing...

Everyone's favorite time of the day - Smores!

Emily and Sarah are growing up so fast!




Everyone's happy sitting around the campfire!

Camping at Shinneyboo

Here's a few pictures from our trip to Shinneyboo. We love camping there. There's a lot of great things about it, starting with that it's less than an hour drive from our door to the campfire. It has TONS of room to explore the river and the mountains, and it's VERY private. This year we went with our friends the Johnsons, and although twice we saw other campers, we never really knew where their tents were. We don't have to worry about trying to keep our kids quiet or close by - we just play.


One bummer about this year was that the water level of the Yuba River was high and moving very fast. Also it was colder than last year - but last year we went in August. We didn't want the kids to go in the blow-up raft we brought, and they were sad because it's so fun for them, but we couldn't risk hypothermia. As you can see Levi had plenty of fun just throwing rocks in the water.

My Mother's Day Hike to Horsetail Falls

I told Kenny I wanted to go on a hike for Mother's Day, so Saturday May 8 we headed off in search of Horsetail Falls. The first thing we found was Bridalveil Falls, just off the freeway, so of course we had to pull over and check it out.
This is Horsetail Falls. (Sorry it's sideways - anyone know how to fix that?) It is HUGE. We never actually made it to the top because of the snowmelt, but we got some awesome views.
Here's a family snow-ball fight. The snow was an unexpected surprise that everyone LOVED. The kids were in heaven!
This is the "cascade." It's also a much cooler picture right-side up, you'll just have to imagine it. This was one of my favorite parts of the hike.
Here's the river we followed most of the hike. You can see how crystal-clear the water is.
A great picnic spot by the water.
Grace striking a pose.


Emily and Sarah have graduated to carrying daypacks with the snacks and water. Hooray!

Levi and his "scriffers"

Grace - having a snack in the stroller

Lately I've been reading my scriptures while I walk on the treadmill. An unexpected benefit of this is that Levi has become very interested in "scriffers" (scriptures.) After trying to get mine countless times I finally gave him his own blue copy, which he carries around everywhere he goes.