Random Summer Fun

Mastering the skateboarding skills

The boys & I on a bike ride - some of these trails were brutal. We walked and pushed our bikes alot that day-poor Cooper can't change gears!

A stop at the Jelly Belly Factory. We took a tour to see how they are made (boring) and bought a bag of "Belly Flops" - the misshaped one's they sale for about 1/2 the price. Yum, they still taste the same.
Clean-up fun
We went on a hike at the beach and ate some fish & chips. We ended up playing on this beach for a few hours. It was unplanned and we didn't have a thing with us - sometimes those days work out the best - we had so much fun!

More Shasta Fun

Eddie with his 2nd story dive. (I have his bridge jump on video..that will have to be the next post)
A little night fishing. We didn't get a single nibble..luckily we weren't depending on that for dinner.
Beautiful. 102 out and a snow covered mountain in the distance.

Cooper surfing with dad.
Cameron mastering his wakeboarding skills. Notice he is on the rope this time. Last time he was on the poll - next time we'll try the back of the boat.

Have to stay clean. The boys getting a "shower" - me sporting both of their sunglasses.

WooHoo...the slide was a huge hit. Shasta is awesome!

Cool Hike

We went to Lake Shasta for a few days after the 4th. Years ago Eddie & Cameron had hiked up to a waterfall and they couldn't wait to show Cooper & I (actually Cameron didn't remember it, he was a little guy & Eddie had carried him up the hike)- somehow on that enormous lake we were able to pull right into the cove the waterfall was in. We anchored the boat and started our adventure.
The start of the hike. Some of the rocks we climbed were huge.

I love these clay colored rocks. The water was FREEZING! It was quite a climb for all of us. I think we all got a little banged up. I took it the worse as I lost my footing on a rock and fell about 4 feet onto my a**. Eddie said I looked like a cat trying to claw onto something...no luck. I hit hard but that cold water took care of the pain.

This pool of water is basically the top of the climb. I suppose you could go farther if you were a real rock climber. The waterfall has made this natural rock slide. If you are brave & crazy enough to cross the cold pool of water you can pull yourself up the rope and go for a slide. We were excited when these kids showed up to give a show because we sure as hell weren't gonna do it.

On the way down. It took us 45 minutes to get back - I'm not sure how long it took to get there I had no idea what a hike we were in for when we started out.

This place was gorgeous! It was so cool that we were all able to check it out this time.

4th of July

Every year my mom's neighborhood hosts a fireman's breakfast and parade on the 4th of July. We finally made it over to enjoy it with them. The kids played on a waterslide in the yard while they waited for the parade and lunch. It was a huge hit (thank you G'ma Patti - great idea!) The parade was adorable and all the kids scored way too much candy! Besides us, all of my mom's siblings were there (even Aunt Paulette from Hawaii), my cousin & both my sisters and their families. It was great to hang-out with everyone and spend the day with my mom.

Me & my mom

I love this sunflower picture of her. I think we need to print & frame this one.

The start of the parade. That's as still as they were - the rest of the time they were chasing all the piles of candy they got.

A quick family picture.

Cooper's 2nd ski

We got the kids up skiing for the second time this past week. Cameron is wakeboarding off the barefoot boom and getting good at starting. Cooper is skiing behind the boat . The video is his 2nd ever ski. The rope is all the way extended and he is back there switching hands and even bending down to skim his hand through the water. I guess we will have to start working on backflips or something to keep it interesting for him. HAHA