This year Andrew's mom was in charge of their family reunion and she chose to camp at Donner Memorial State Park. The first day of the reunion Andrew and I were in charge of a family hike.
We decided not to torture the family by taking them on our practice hike but instead we drove to Emerald Bay and hiked to Eagle Falls.
Uncle Alex took Carson on the way up, thanks!
The hike itself was pretty with a large stone steps, a footbridge over the waterfall, magnificent panoramic views, and a pristine lake to cool off in at the end.
Once we got to the lake Carson went in clothes and all and was adamant that Cali get cooled off whether she liked it or not!
Scenery aside, the best part was the company.
I LOVE my boys!
That night we sang songs around the campfire and just relaxed. Carson continually went around and around the fire pit like it was his own personal track! He even learned a few new "spooky" tricks with a flashlight-he was in heaven.
Compared to last year, where Carson did almost nothing but scream, he was delightful! He went to bed effortlessly and woke up greeting everyone with "hi's" and "good mornings." He is by far the friendliest kid I have ever known! In his spare time he loved:
pushing aorund Zoie and Ava's stroller,
playing with the boys big and small,
roaming as he pleased, showing off his mad-skills,
and getting dirty of course!
I have never seen him so dirty! He actually came riding up to me requesting a "showa." I did not object!
Day two was designated for rafting down the Truckee River, man it was a zoo! I honestly have never seen so many people of one river, it was insane! Easily over 1000 people, at least. There are no pictures of this event due to the nature of it; ie. on the water.
That night we participated in a "game-show" tradition called The Newlywed, Nearly Dead game. Mind you we are going on 8 years (wow!) so we are not Newlyweds nor or we nearly dead so they called this year the All-Star edition...I guess we need some fresh blood soon! Come on Eric! Andrew and I were "white-trash" named Rhonda and I forgot Andrew's game-show name. Rhonda had a ghetto booty and was showing off her colored bra beneath her wife beater. Andrew had a beer belly and the best mullet growing skills ever! Joining us were inmates, a homeless couple, and rock stars. It was a funny night!
I will hunt down some pictures after I am finished with the roadkill.
Although on vacation, Sunday was set aside for normal Sunday activities. We went to the amphitheater and had a little sacrament service that was wonderful. All of Andrew siblings were there so we took an inpromtu family picture.
I think it turned out pretty good considering we had been camping for a few days! The rest of the day all the cousins were busy making friendship bracelets and I am embarrassed to say that I tried multiple time to make one and it was repeatedly a disaster, oh well I can't be good at everything!
Out of boredom and to kill some time, we along with the brother and Andrew's Dad drove into town and walked around window shopping downtown. It was a nice change of pace. Carson found a dime on the floor of an ice cream shop. This shop had gummy bears for toppings and he sat on the stool trying to hand his money to the girls so I asked if he could buy 1 red gummy bear-they gave him a whole cup! That's what I call a slick deal, way to go Carson! There are also pictures of this if I can obtain them I will add them later.
Sunday night we had Mr. Thomas Pageant. They strutted their stuff with a fashion show, impressed us with their talent and even answered a penetrateing question or two...I need to steal some pictures from someone!
We packed up Monday and headed home-that is after we cooked breakfast for everyone- pretty tricky of Steph because she knows Andrew, Eric, Robin and I well and assumed that we most likely would have left Sunday if we weren't responsible for something! We satisfied everyone's appetite by serving banana chocolate-chip pancakes (my specialty), turkey bacon, blueberry pancakes with orange maple butter, and OJ. MMmmm.
What always amazes me besides all the memories we make is how amazing the food is! My compliments to all the cooks each meal was yummy and the best part was that we shared the responsibility, my favorite meal is one I didn't cook!
Once we got to the lake Carson went in clothes and all and was adamant that Cali get cooled off whether she liked it or not!
Scenery aside, the best part was the company.
I LOVE my boys!That night we sang songs around the campfire and just relaxed. Carson continually went around and around the fire pit like it was his own personal track! He even learned a few new "spooky" tricks with a flashlight-he was in heaven.
Compared to last year, where Carson did almost nothing but scream, he was delightful! He went to bed effortlessly and woke up greeting everyone with "hi's" and "good mornings." He is by far the friendliest kid I have ever known! In his spare time he loved:
pushing aorund Zoie and Ava's stroller,
playing with the boys big and small,
roaming as he pleased, showing off his mad-skills,
and getting dirty of course!
I have never seen him so dirty! He actually came riding up to me requesting a "showa." I did not object!Day two was designated for rafting down the Truckee River, man it was a zoo! I honestly have never seen so many people of one river, it was insane! Easily over 1000 people, at least. There are no pictures of this event due to the nature of it; ie. on the water.
That night we participated in a "game-show" tradition called The Newlywed, Nearly Dead game. Mind you we are going on 8 years (wow!) so we are not Newlyweds nor or we nearly dead so they called this year the All-Star edition...I guess we need some fresh blood soon! Come on Eric! Andrew and I were "white-trash" named Rhonda and I forgot Andrew's game-show name. Rhonda had a ghetto booty and was showing off her colored bra beneath her wife beater. Andrew had a beer belly and the best mullet growing skills ever! Joining us were inmates, a homeless couple, and rock stars. It was a funny night!
I will hunt down some pictures after I am finished with the roadkill.
Although on vacation, Sunday was set aside for normal Sunday activities. We went to the amphitheater and had a little sacrament service that was wonderful. All of Andrew siblings were there so we took an inpromtu family picture.
I think it turned out pretty good considering we had been camping for a few days! The rest of the day all the cousins were busy making friendship bracelets and I am embarrassed to say that I tried multiple time to make one and it was repeatedly a disaster, oh well I can't be good at everything!Out of boredom and to kill some time, we along with the brother and Andrew's Dad drove into town and walked around window shopping downtown. It was a nice change of pace. Carson found a dime on the floor of an ice cream shop. This shop had gummy bears for toppings and he sat on the stool trying to hand his money to the girls so I asked if he could buy 1 red gummy bear-they gave him a whole cup! That's what I call a slick deal, way to go Carson! There are also pictures of this if I can obtain them I will add them later.
Sunday night we had Mr. Thomas Pageant. They strutted their stuff with a fashion show, impressed us with their talent and even answered a penetrateing question or two...I need to steal some pictures from someone!
We packed up Monday and headed home-that is after we cooked breakfast for everyone- pretty tricky of Steph because she knows Andrew, Eric, Robin and I well and assumed that we most likely would have left Sunday if we weren't responsible for something! We satisfied everyone's appetite by serving banana chocolate-chip pancakes (my specialty), turkey bacon, blueberry pancakes with orange maple butter, and OJ. MMmmm.
What always amazes me besides all the memories we make is how amazing the food is! My compliments to all the cooks each meal was yummy and the best part was that we shared the responsibility, my favorite meal is one I didn't cook!
