perfect timing

Elizabeth, Becki, Rob and Caleb left on a Tuesday.  Our kids and families were due to start arriving 5 days later for a wonderful week together.  I had been planning and preparing for these visits for quite a while.  All of the work required was more than worth it of course.  But, after the first group left, and before our kids got here, I felt a sudden urge to get away for a day or two.  So, with Reggie's encouragement, Samantha and I took off for an adventure.  (Reggie did not come because not only did he have to work but he has been traveling so much for business that a road trip did not sound appealing).

Last year my monthly themes were National Parks.  In April I discovered and researched Lassen Volcanic Park which I had never heard of and is only 3 & 1/2 hours from San Francisco. It went on my do-able bucket list.  So that is where we went.  It was beautiful - full of lakes, trees, meadows and geothermal activity!  We took off in the morning, did some of the park during the day, stayed at a "Comfort Inn" that night, did more of the park the next day and then drove home.

We did not camp but I was fascinated with this campground that was right near a lake

We truly enjoyed this peaceful meadow with a stream flowing right through the middle.

We went to 2 sites of geothermal activity.  One was right along the road, and one was at the bottom of a 3 mile round trip hike.  That trail, called "Bumpass Hell" was quite a workout, going up and down along ledges and beautiful sites.  I took pictures above the activity but did not go down to the boardwalk; Samantha did, and would have done more hikes like that to see more but she stuck with her tired old Mom.  Maybe someday her siblings or friends will accompany her for more.

The weather was so pleasant - about 75 degrees the whole time, so we were really surprised to see patches of show within the park

Regarding our accommodations, it was great to be able to rest so comfortably in between such fun exercise.  We enjoyed some tv watching and I was surprised at how many channel selections there were.  We got rid of our cable after my Mom passed, but at the hotel we found one of her favorite channels and watched some of her classic tv shows.  We also found some re-runs of our favorite shows and I loved the Christmas In July marathon happening on the Hallmark Movie channel.

It was a rejuvenating couple of days and we were ready to get ready for a nice, loud house again.

Did I mention that . . . . .

Hillary is pregnant - grand baby #12 is on the way, due September! Reggie and I began our adventure of grand parenting almost 10 years ago.  It has been amazing so far, and we are as excited about #12 as we were about #1, and all the rest!  Much more posts to come about the sweet little soul heading to our family!

Don't worry baby, they really are nice people

 

Mel's Memorial Ice Cream Party

 That's what we will call it from now on - anytime a big group of us are together and enjoying ice cream.  Madeline's Dad passed a few years ago.  But, for the last few decades of his life he came to almost every family get-together and brought cartons and cartons of ice cream of several flavors.  We were reminiscing about this recently.  

A few more memories of Mel - he didn't anticipate having such a large family but he loved each and everyone of his grandkids so much.  He was always so proud of them.  He always found what we thought were fun ways of introducing math into their lives.  They are all so good at math and it has been part of their careers in one way or another - it obviously seeped in.

Mel was a wood-worker and made toys for his grandkids.  He even made a toy or two for our kids as well. I treasure the picture I have of little Melissa walking on the stilts he made for her one year.

At one of our get-togethers we played Wii-bowling, and chose people up by picking names out of a cup.  Mel was picked to go up against one of our kids.  He bowled a strike in every frame!

Reggie used to tease him by asking when he was going to get baptized. He went to church meetings so often with his family I'm sure he was known by all, but he never joined the church. And here is a confession, going back to the ice cream.  We all tried to avoid going to the store on Sunday, it being the Sabbath Day.  So I'm afraid we took advantage of Mel a little and counted on the fact that he would go and get the ice cream! As the phrase goes "God love him" - we know he did.

Becki, Rob, Caleb and Elizabeth

A few posts ago I mentioned how I was enjoying Jane Austen with my niece Elizabeth.  She and my niece Becki, Becki's husband Rob and baby Caleb came from Utah to visit for 6 days.  We had a lot of fun.

We stopped at the temple on the way from the Oakland airport.

Day 2 they wanted to go to the Exploritorium on the Embarcadero in the city.  I dropped them and Samantha off because honestly, it is not my favorite place.  It is fascinating and wonderful but I am not a science person, and hands-on public activities are just not my thing anymore.  But I am glad they had fun. They also walked along the water to the big Boudin french bread bakery and store.  I picked them up several hours later.  Reggie usually drives our guests around the city but he was still working so I did it and actually enjoyed it.  I was proud of myself for getting around and not being as phased as I used to be about San Francisco traffic.  We drove past Ghiradelli which put me in the mood for some hot fudge from the grocery store. We got stuck behind a slow cable car, which almost felt like the San Francisco experience of being on one ourselves.  We had to stop at a stop sign on a very steep hill near Lombard Street.  Though I am used to driving on hills I admit that this was a little scary as I was worried about rolling backwards when I pressed on the gas.  But that didn't happen and all was well.  We had some people on bicycles cut right in front of us at one point but it was no big deal - people enjoy the city in so many ways.  I thought we were going to go by way of the Sutro Bath Houses and onto the Great Highway by the water but the gps took us onto the freeway. Quite frankly that was fine because I would never attempt to drive in the city without gps directions.  We made it home fine and I felt it was a great adventure. They really enjoyed the day but I think that was enough of the city for them.  We spent the rest of their trip along the coast.

Friday night the Dobbins family came down for the weekend.  It was so much fun.  We did one of the most simple, silly and enjoyable things: a "dancing art project" for the kids, but most of the adults joined in as well:  we lined a box with cardstock paper, added a few squirts of paint (according to their color choices), threw in a couple of marbles, closed the box and shook it to a variety of songs.  We plan to do it again when the rest of our kids and grandkids visit, so I will share pictures and songs in a separate post.

Saturday we went berry picking, bread shopping (artichoke/garlic) and beach going in Pescadero. The kids love the beach but weren't too sure about the berry picking until we got there.  They really enjoyed it and we came home with 13 lbs of olaliberries! We made berry bread, berry crisp and a berry pie. One year old Caleb did not lock the feel of sand - on his toes, hands, or anywhere.  He stayed put on that blanket as if there was a fence around it.  Becki and Rob actually got to relax a little because of it! 

If we go back again this fall it will be for rosemary, artichoke, corn and raspberries, all of which are still growing strong.

Sunday was church, a roast dinner cooked by Becki (we have so missed their family garlic-cheese rolls!) a great gospel discussion and gospel trivia, and more Jane Austen.  Elizabeth came away with her favorite being the Colin Firth Pride & Prejudice.

Monday was errand running and a cold walk by the Pacifica Pier.  We originally met Rob when he and Becki were dating, and the weather happened to be in the '90s.  Everyone was telling him about our cold summer weather so we were happy that it did not disappoint. Strangely enough we saw a dead whale near the pier.  This does not happen very often.  

Tuesday was back to the Oakland airport. We are certainly glad they decided to visit and we hope they had as much fun as we did.