Cub Camping

Summer = no scouts.

I didn't know that.  I guess I assumed it was year-round.

We got a break from the Wednesday night madness for a few months,

although I must confess I sort of missed it (for Benito).

 

Those clairvoyant scout leaders knew I would feel this way

and planned a family campout for August
to bring back that scouting feeling.

 

We went up early to do some hiking and hang out.

 



Let's go climb a tree

and monkey around

and sit on logs

and stand on stumps

and cozy up for kid photography

and carry javelin-length sticks on the trail

and get all zen mid-hike

and hide under a huge tree

and be rewarded with a view of the ocean at the end of the hike

Can't quite see the ocean?

How 'bout now?  Yeah, it's a pretty small glimpse, but it's there.

"We survived a long hike with three kids who whined the first half-mile!"



Once the other families came up that evening the real fun began:

campfires, hot dogs, s'mores, friends to burn stuff with

and run around and get filthy with, lessons, foxes boldly running

in and out of our campsites, jokes, stories, stargazing.

Hanging around with Daddy

Morning campfire (again with Daddy; Mommy's asleep in the tent)

The next morning brought more fun:

yummy breakfast cooked by the leaders, rope lashing and lessons,

super fun obstacle courses, short hikes, playing, playing, playing.

Our competitive cub waiting for a turn on the obstacle course

Gratuitous nature shot
because you know my husband has our camera full of shots just like this

Kings for a day

Summer's officially winding down with the start of school today, and I'm realizing I've neglected to blog about one of the biggest June-to-August events of 2013, Kymber's wedding.  Stephen's baby sister tied the knot with a seriously great guy who comes from a great family.  The beautiful bride radiated the entire day.  The groom glowed, too, now that I think about it.  Such an awesome couple, and such an awesome day!

Sealing at the Oakland Temple

Flower girl in a flower dress

There's that cheesy grin!

Lilly and Benito

The bridal party

Handsome group, right?

Did I mention it was crazy hot?  We all melted on those steps,
but Kymber and Kelly = wedding photo troopers.

 

 The reception was super big and super fun.

Tons of people, tons of delicious food, DJ, dancing.

Oh, and an ice cream bar!

 

Lisa, Rosann, Uncle Blair, Uncle Mike, Craig, and Stephen

Sneaky little Spiderman coming out of the cake

An eye for an eye, ha ha!

Uh oh, kids with cameras.

Love this shot.

Aunt Betty, Kendra, Moi, Grandma, Grandpa

Lots of smiling
 

And now you get to see what happens when kids get hold of the cameras:

We get shots of servers' backsides

Different angles of the cake

And flowers

What life looks like from a four-year-old's point of view

"Say Cheese!!!"

Tender moment: Uncle Mike dancing with Kymber

Eli was in heaven with all the different cakes and ice creams.

Millie busting a move on the dance floor with Debbi

Tween time

My dad has nine kids.

Girl, boy, girl, boy, girl, boy, girl, boy, girl.

I am girl #2, child #3.

Kendra Leigh is girl #5, child #9.

 

She's a twelve-year-old aunt to sixteen nieces and nephews,
four of whom are older than she is.

My kids have a hard time remembering she's not their cousin
because they love playing with her so much.

Needless to say, they were thrilled to learn that Aunt Kendra
would be coming to stay with us for a week.

She flew in Saturday night and within minutes of being at our house the kiddos were chasing and tackling her.  The younger siblings she always wanted???

A few things we did:

Sunday dinner and games with the other Kendra Lee,
Stephen's younger sister, who lives nearby.

Breakfast in Los Altos


Dutch Apple Pancake goodness

Stanford Campus -- Memorial Church

Kendra fell in love with this building's exterior last time she was here

But this time she got to go inside

and see her stain-glassed windows up close
 

The Walt Disney Museum up in the Presidio:

Happily situated with great views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz

Walt's impressive Oscar collection,
our favorite being the Snow White statue with the seven dwarfs

First ever sketch of Mickey Mouse

His penchant for trains = a part of his inspiration for Disneyland

You know Disney, they do everything right.
This museum is no exception.
The way they blend technology and personal history = impressive.

Crissy Field
 

A hop, skip, and jump away from the museum

Behind us

We dodged bikers, walked the pier so Millie and Kendra could terrorize the poor seagulls,
and watched people pull in nets of crabs.



Then the kids waded in the bay and played with rocks



Hike in Woodside

Our kids find this name weirdly funny

They're not huge fans of the piles of horse poop on the trail
(it is near a stable after all)

Can you guess which trail we hiked?

But thankfully we can all agree that we like trees

And deer--we saw a whole family not too far from the trail
(these aren't the ones; I forgot to bring the camera for everything all week)

Swimming

 

 Downtime with the crew

There was a lot of this in the evenings

The Beach  

 

 

Then of course we HAD to stop here.

Santa Cruz tradition

and the best ice cream around.

 

So many amazing flavors to choose from

You can't miss it off Ocean Boulevard



More downtime

Solana and Millie cuddling up

Temple

Visitors center with Kendra, Solana, and Kati

Ladies by a fountain

Miss Kendra and her beloved palm trees

Future brides?

 

My camera is lame, but I still love this funky shot.
SISTERS!

 A fun week with Daughter #2 and Daughter #5 in the house!