Just stuff

Another cool Sonoma County shot...Cooper & I were headed to the grocery store and saw 3 hot air balloons flying above us. On the way home we discovered one had landed right on the side of the highway. We thought it was pretty cool seeing them deflate it so close. Cooper says "buckle up your seat belts". I guess he just wanted to post a safety reminder :)



Eddie & I had a chance to sneak out for a meal without the kids. The bartender took this shot for us after he saw us taking a picture of ourselves. I won't post that one....it's a little close up. Oh how come every picture of the 2 of us seems to have a frothy beer in it?...hummm

It's always who you know

We visited this local saw mill that was from 1914. It has been under a restoration project and currently runs 8 days a year. It is amazing to see how they moved these enormous trees and operated this mill. The braking system is a board that rubs along the blades when you pull a rope. The things they thought of and the fact that they have this mill up an running as it did back then is unbelievable. You can even tour the old office and see their payroll books etc...it's really cool. The volunteers even dress in the old suspenders and such to make it more realistic. The kids and I went last year and this year we brought Eddie along. Even though we had described it to him you can't truly appreciate unless you see it. And, it always pays to know the right people. We got some added perks on our visit because one of our friends is very involved in the restoration project (it's the guy with the back-hoe tractor from a previous post if you happen to remember that).


Cameron getting set up to run the machine. This platform travels back and forth to the blade.

Thank goodness he didn't end up in there.

Eddie and the boys getting a ride around the mill in this 1924 Dorris. Apparently there are only 3 in the world and this is the only one known to operate. The Dorris family even came out to see this one run. It still hauls wood around the mill. They felt like they were in a parade having to wave at everyone as the drove around.

Then they got to climb on and start this old firetruck. He even raised the ladder for them.
It's always who you know, luckily for us we knew the right person and got the VIP tour.

Get me out of this car

We had a bunch of running around to do in the East Bay. We were in the car for hours. On the way home we surprised the kids with a stop by the Oakland Zoo. We told them we had 1 more stop to make and they were saying "no more stops let's just go home". We pulled in the parking lot where Cameron read "Oakland Zoo", they about jumped out of their seats with excitement. We only had 1 1/2 hours until they closed so we breezed through, saw the animals and even had time for a train & airplane ride.

O.K.,....now we saw the elephant, let's hurry to something else

they loved this cool snake and eggs in the kids area

walking on the wings of a bi-plane. We saw this being done on Cooper's favorite show Nitro Circus...they had to try it.

Labor Day Camping

Enjoying a walk on the beach


Rest stop on our 2 mile bike ride-that's a long way for Cooper on his little bike!

We wanted to make it to the bridge but Cooper was tired so Daddy & Cameron went

Cooper & I stayed back and waited on a near by bench and watched all the birds

Getting ready to fly the kite

Daddy & the boys flying the kite

Observing kite flying

We woke up Sunday morning and decided we should be doing something since it's Labor Day weekend. We were lucky to score a camping site @ Doran Beach. We spent the afternoon bike riding and playing on the beach. We ran into two of my friend's and their kids and they ended up staying for dinner with us. We woke up Monday morning to some beautiful weather (you never know how it will be out there - often it's very foggy) enjoyed a bike ride and kite flying. The great thing is that it's only 15 min from our house, makes the drive home an easy one. It's great to be so close to home but still feel like you are miles away.

While we were in Sacramento for the circus we met up with my family for dinner. We were so thankful that Grandma Patti was able to join us as she is recovering from lung cancer surgery. Bruised and sore she made it out, it was great for all of us to be together (well...almost all of us, of course Billy didn't go - you know those seniors they have lots of important stuff going on). We had a nice dinner and then walked around Old Town Sac.

Cameron wasn't appreciating the 1 1/2 hour wait for our table. Cooper was keeping himself busy hoppin' around.


We found a great way to keep ourselves entertained.

Eddie even got in on the balloon fun action.


We got the cousins together for this adorable shot. (Cameron 7, Cooper 4, Ethan 6, Caitlyn 5)

Then Grandma Patti, her 3 daughters & the kids got together for a pose. :)

Greatest Show On Earth

They reward the elephants with a whole loaf of bread

Ta da

No circus is complete without cotton candy (even if it did cost $12)

Zing Zang Zoom - We took the kids to the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey circus this past weekend. We surprised them and didn't tell them until we pulled into the parking lot. They were pretty excited. It was a great show, some of the acrobats they do is amazing. They have so much going on at once it is hard to take it all in. After all....it's the greatest show on earth!