CA EX - The Beach

You know you enjoy spending time with people when you would rather hang out than go somewhere. Call it what you will...it is fun to shoot the breeze with the Kelly's. We had plans to possibly go see the Charles Schulz museum, but as the day progressed, we could tell that we would all rather hang out and play games. So Saturday was pretty chill. We did go swimming. That is always a blast and this time Ethan came with us. There was an attempt to get some new fish for the tank, but the water needed some treatment first. (Pearl was the dynamo behind this. She loved the fish and talked about them constantly.) We taught Ethan Mao. And Jeannie later. (She is hilarious to play with.) We played some Blockus. (I won.) There was some more Buckum and I believe more Scotch Bridge. (Tyler won again.) Loads of fun.

Sunday was a busy full day though. We went to church in the morning. Thanks to the internet, it is never hard to find an LDS building and meeting schedule. When I was a kid, I remember my parents really hunting to locate a place and it was hit and miss for time. On our way to church, I saw this awesome alligator. We took pictures on the way back. He seems to be made of metal discs. Can you see the bee on him? (Look closely*.)

Our Sunday plans included a trip to the beach. If you get this close to the coast, the beach is a must for us landlocked folks. Tim packed up a stellar picnic lunch and we were on our way. Henry got to ride in our car. I told Robyn I was going to take a picture and show Moxy. (She would be jealous.)

There was a bit of traffic on the way there. At one point, we almost turned around, but after passing out some walkie talkies (which we conveniently keep in the car) and deciding it was worth the wait, we settled in for the ride. It wasn't too bad actually, although some people couldn't stay awake.

And the beach was totally worth it. Doesn't this smile say everything?

The water was COLD! I never got in past my ankles. The kids were more brave than I for sure. Ivory already looks like she took a dip. (She also looks like she is saying, "Cold.")

Here are the teens.

When did they grow up? I just found this picture of them at Fete Day when they were five.

The ocean was beautiful. The weather was cloudy with a breeze, but it wasn't too cold, unless you went in the water. It was such a lovely day. It looks like we were there all alone, but there were quite a few people. In fact, because of the holiday, they cracked down on the rules. Apparently the beach we were at did not allow dogs. Poor Henry only got about two minutes on the beach before he had to spend his time in the car. Boo. (Moxy is not so jealous anymore.)

Not all beaches are the same. I assumed we would find sandbugs, just like we do in Southern CA. No go. Robyn was so disappointed. That was what she was most looking forward to.

Pearl, on the other hand, was just looking for sand. And she found plenty of that.

I believe June was the most brave and ventured the furthest into the water. This is right before a wave took her out.

She came out sputtering and I told her that she lost. She seemed to have a pretty good attitude about it. Hahaha, and I love her eyebrows. I didn't know the waves could give you that style.

I made my mark on the beach, but the water took my hard work away only moments later. That tide...it is so wishy-washy.

I'm rocking the sun hat. (Thanks Jeannie.) Although the sun was well hidden, we didn't make the same mistake as last time. We all had a good layer of sunscreen.

The Stallion always makes the beach look good.

Tyler shot a panorama of the beach. I looked at this picture for a while trying to decide why I looked like I had cowboy legs. I forgot Jeannie was tying her shoe in front of me.

Don't worry, we got her from a more flattering angle later. Looking good Kelly's.

A mermaid washed up on shore. Cute little thing. Well, her tail isn't so little. I think that is why she got beached.

So I worked some Triton magic and turned her tail into legs. Amazing.

Now, you need a little background for this upcoming video. Jeannie brought this fun paddle ball game with her. Ethan and June played, trying to hit it back and forth without the ball touching the ground. Their record was 11. Well, Ethan went off to fly a kite with Tyler and Tim. In the meantime, June and I ramped the record up to 26. We were awesome. While I was discovering the mermaid, Tyler and Ethan played. It was pretty sketchy about their score, because they started counting at 30 so it sounded better. But even with the skiwampus numbers, they beat our record and replaced it with 28 hits in a row. I thought it would be fun to get a video of Ethan and Tyler playing. But they decided to change directions right as I started to record. I don't think the wind was in their favor. (Look for a cameo of Erin.)

But it doesn't really matter, because after they finished, Ethan and I played and we killed it. Our top score was 48! It was a stellar run.

Pearl eventually curled up in a towel and wouldn't move. I think her little body was slowly freezing in place. That is always a good sign that it is time to go.

June made us take a picture of her seaweed creation. Once again, only my kids were playing with the seaweed. They sure like it.

The drive home was faster; no traffic this time around. We stopped to get Salt Water Taffy and it was so delicious. I don't usually like taffy, but I think that is because I haven't had it fresh like this. We tried so many flavors. I admit that I scoffed at Tim buying the 'Chicken and Waffle' flavored taffy, but those were some of my favorite. (Now I wish we'd gotten the Maple Bacon.)

We stopped by the pool and everyone took a dip to rinse off some sand. Well, Erin and I didn't swim. We watched and cheered on the swimmers.

In the evening, we curled up on sofas and watched Olympic trials and American Ninja Warrior until it was way past bedtime.But that is what vacations are for. (I'm excited for the Olympics. I should really figure out a schedule so we can watch some events and not miss everything. We don't turn the TV on much at home.) It was a super fun day, made even better by sharing the beach with family.


*The bee was on the alligator's mouth. On his lower jaw. The kids found it when they zoomed in on the picture.

CA EX - The Epic BBQ

It is great to wake up and know you don't have to drive for 12+ hours. I tried to sneak a picture of the girls sleeping in, but the flash disturbed June before I even got the shot.

Friday was a day to relax and get ready for the BBQ in the evening. Tim and Jim were coming up from San Francisco. We haven't seen them for quite a while. I think it has been five years since we all got together here in Santa Rosa. They look just the same and are still their amazing, congenial selves.

In the morning we shopped for groceries so we could prep slowly and get all ready for the relaxing evening. The older kids are always ready to rope you into a game. I believe Scotch Bridge was played right away (without me) and Tyler won.(Although he lost earlier to Jeannie in Buckum.) The younger kids do a pretty good job entertaining themselves. It helps that there are many devices wandering around. You can find the kids watching Ethan or borrowing his phone.

Or they have taken off with one of Erin's ipads. She sure is nice to share with everyone. I like how Daisy is taking advantage of the beautiful weather while partaking of screen time.

Jim is my great uncle. He is Grandma Pat's younger brother. I sure do miss Grandma Pat, but it is great to see Jim and I love that my kids get to see their great-great uncle.

Always a delight to see Tim as well. He is the epitome of happiness and cheer.

Can't forget Henry Muffin. We met him last time we visited, but he was much loved this trip, especially by Robyn and Pearl. (Well, all the kids really. I would often see the kids chasing Henry around trying to get him to give up a ball, just so they could throw it and start the whole process again.)

Erin is doing well. I can understand when she says the family's names. She says 'Tyler' the most because he is still her favorite (don't blame her) but she can voice all of us.

She is always ready to give a hug and wants to be with us wherever we go. She has such a positive attitude, it is contagious. She can always get you laughing.

Ethan is just awesome sauce. He is fantastic with all the kids and is super patient with all the attentions lavished on him from all sides.

The weather was perfect and it was so nice to sit and chat.

That of course led to some random pictures being taken. (Naturally.)

Ethan, June and I made some pastries earlier. We had to hide them so they wouldn't be eaten early and spoil everyone's appetite.

And you'd better believe that you wanted a good appetite for what Tim Kelly was cooking up. He made Tri-tip and I can honestly say that it was some of the best meat I have EVER had. The seasoning was perfect and it was cooked just right. Tim has been reading up on BBQing and I would say he has perfected his style. Here he is chatting with Tyler about the right methods. Always good to compare notes.

After we were delightfully stuffed, Ivory put on a show for us. She got out a range of instruments and used each in a unique rhythm. (Hey Jeannie, we did get a picture of you.)

Ivory's show even included some cheer moves and some ribbon dancing, although I was worried Ivory would strangle herself with the ribbon. Erin was digging the show.

We ended the evening with more pastries than you can shake a stick at and a rousing game of Guesstures. It is always great to be with family. Thanks Tim and Jim for coming to see us. One of these days we are going to come crash San Fran. Actually, we want a personal tour of your favorite places. That would be a trip to remember.

California Extravaganza - The Drive There

I haven't been able to communicate with the blog recently since I was too busy playing and not worrying about any of the usual day to day grind. No kids to drive to events, no chores, no stations. Nothing. Just fun and family. Isn't that what a vacation should be?

We took off to California for our summer getaway. One might think we went to Disneyland, but we went somewhere more fun. We headed to Santa Rosa to visit family. (I kid you not...way more fun than long lines and spending enough for a small car.) Getting to CA is half the fun. (Okay, that is a lie. Driving is not very fun, but it is a necessary step in the journey. But if you are a Cazier, you know it won't be boring.)

We have learned that an early departure gets some miles under your belt before everyone is up and stirring and it does make the trip a little shorter for everyone but the driver. I was up packing at 3:30 am and Tyler drove our first shift as we left at 5:00 am. I don't support energy drinks unless we are up before the sun. Then I am more interested in our driver staying awake than anything else. (Thanks Tyler for always being a stud.)

Breakfast in the car. Blurry bagels. (Don't worrry, they still taste good even when they are blurry.)

Got to take pictures of interesting names on signs. (This one and Deadman Pass are a favorite.)

Tyler drove us all the way to Elko NV for our first interesting stop. The world's largest stuffed polar bear was supposed to be at a casino there. Lest you worry that I am taking my kids to a casino...it isn't the first one. Remember the death car? We arrived and found the polar bear right away.

Wait a minute. That polar bear can NOT be real. It looked super fake and it had obviously been painted multiple times. Can you see the cracks?

We went back to the car and reread the info. Oops...the real polar bear was inside. So, we circled around to check it out again. Oh look, another very fake polar bear over the other entrance.

It was morning, so I wasn't sure the casino would be open. It was. Tyler went as our scout and assured us we were okay to enter and see the polar bear. Now, that is what I'm talking about. This polar bear was pretty awesome and definitely huge. That had to be one brave Eskimo to shoot that beastie.

Can I just say that Nevada stinks. Literally. Elko smelled like pee, and the casino was its own mix of old cigarettes and filth. But it doesn't stop there folks. We switched drivers because it was Tyler's turn to sleep. I jumped on the highway and was headed for the freeway. I was getting everything situated in the car for my turn at the wheel and suddenly there were lights flashing in my rearview mirror. Seriously? A nice, but condescending officer explained that I was going 11 miles over the limit. Not surprising since I hadn't even seen a speed sign since getting behind the wheel. Just my luck that this particular highway was 45 mph and a money hungry cop was waiting for victims. A warning would have been sufficient considering I was from out of town and wasn't driving recklessly or endangering anyone. (I simply hadn't seen a sign.) Instead, he was so generous as to write me a ticket for only traveling 5 miles over the limit. I'm not fooled. I know you are happy to take my money Elko, since I will never spend it in town. I was all too happy to leave that stop behind and then drive the rest of the way across Nevada. Never ending bland landscape. The last stop before Callie is Reno. Another city that I could do without. Tyler had another interesting stop there, but we couldn't find it and I was more than happy to put all of Nevada behind me.

In CA, we opted to stop in Sacramento for another exploration. We visited Old Town Sacramento. It still has that old time feel with the shops lined up and some cobblestones here and there.

We went to the visitor's center first and read up on the pony express. It was fascinating to learn a lot about that time period and the hard work it took to take mail across the country. It wasn't surprising that they liked to hire orphans to ride the ponies. Here is an old stage coach that used to take mail as well.

It is fairly impressive to think about. The trip to Missouri is almost 2,000 miles. The pony express only ran for 18 months, but during that time, they delivered 35,000 pieces of mail with the loss of only one pouch. Good job boys! I have trouble getting my mail from the mailbox to the house sometimes.

There were plenty of shops to browse and things to see. It felt like we were in an oven, so it was nice to step into the AC occasionally. This guy was happy to share his bench.

We found an amazing Christmas shop. It was great to take a break in there. (There were some brilliant mermaid ornaments, mom.) I found a shoe for my shoe tree. No peeking yet. It isn't Christmas.

We walked down and strolled around the riverboat. It used to travel up and down the Sacramento River, but now it is a hotel. Pretty sweet. Tyler took a cool panorama.

After sauntering around in the heat, the perfect end to the trip was ice cream. Yum.

From Sacramento, it was only a hop, skip, and jump over to Santa Rosa. We checked into our hotel and went over to the Kelly's where there was a hot meal waiting for us. (Bless you Kelly's. Car food is edible, but nothing beats warm food for some reason.) Even though time was slipping away, we went back to the hotel for an evening swim. We met some very nice people and as usual, people are always surprised with our five daughters. When they are all together, they cause a stir. Five kids is a lot in California, but more unique is the fact that they are all girls. We had a blast swimming and spending plenty of time in the jacuzzi, since it was cooler out. Then Tyler packed up two girls and took them over to sleep at the Kelly's. We split with four at the hotel and three at the Kelly's. It worked out well and we only had to spring for one room. (Thank you a million Kelly's.) I spent the bulk of the time at the hotel, and I hear I was missing out on breakfast. Tim cooked every morning. (And then he wondered why no one was eating the Lucky Charms. :)

It was nice to be in California after a long day. Tomorrow, pictures of festivities at the Kelly's. (With a guest appearance from Jim & Tim.)