July Jubilations

July is a big month in our household, mainly due to two special days; the 25th of course being Sienna's birthday, and the 28th being our anniversary.  Sienna celebrated her 13th birthday and first year of the teenage stage.  Here are some photos of the event -

Her birthday cake which she picked out herself.  It was beautiful AND delicious!

First day of school and her actual birthday.

Second birthday cake, Harry Potter of course!

That was then......(1998)

This is now.......(2011)

13 years of growth and maturity.  Hard to believe she was ever that small!

And the other big July event - our 15th wedding anniversary!  As a gift to Rob, I customized his favorite type of cake, Carvel, with a picture of us.

Happy 13th and 15th!

Rancho Oso

After our adventure at Lopez Lake, we returned to Arroyo Grande and all that civilization has to offer.  We lazed about for four or five days before setting off for our second camping trip.  This time the destination was Rancho Oso, a campground in the the mountains above Santa Barbara.  Rancho Oso is more of a resort-style camping mecca, with swimming pools, hot tub, tennis court, horseshoes, horseback riding, and other such amenities.  I grew up camping there many times, and have the fondest memories of it.  From tent camping to trailer camping, we did it all.  Sienna and Spenser have actually been there three times now.  The first time they were much younger and probably don't remember much.  Sienna was still carrying around Melody, that's how young she was.  The second time was last year and the third just commenced.  So they can remember it now. 

Here are Spenser and Papa, taking a breather and enjoying the sights and sounds.

One nice thing about coming here is that we sleep in a trailer, and that involves a lot less packing.  You just throw a few things in the truck and you're off!  And there behind us is the 'hotel'.

One of the best things about Rancho Oso was that although you were camping, you could still swim and play tennis!  For our tennis playing family, this was a plus.  We even hosted tennis teams there, and they enjoyed it immensely.  The tennis court wasn't the greatest, but it fit the bill.  So it is pretty neat that I'm back at this spot, sharing tennis with my own children. 

Once the truck was unpacked, Spenser had to hit the court.  Why the sudden enthusiasm for tennis you ask?  It probably stemmed from our family tennis day with my cousin Hayley the day after her daughter Maddie's graduation.  My Grandma and Tots, cousins Hayley and May, Maddie, Mason, and their uncle all played mixed doubles, along with Spenser.  It was Spenser's first real tennis experience with scoring and points and all.  He did really well!  Here he is with his partner, Eric, my cousin Hayley's husband.

It was really fun to get together and play, as many of us are aging and can't hit the ball like we once could!  But to be back on my high school courts where it all began for me was cool.  We have several generations of SLO Tiger Tennis players here in this picture!

Perhaps this is the next generation of tennis players?

So I think that's why Spenser caught the tennis bug.  Sienna caught it too!

Now back at the ranch or rancho, shall I say, it was time for the kids to hit the court.

Papa was there as coach and mentor.

Due to the proximity of the city of Santa Barbara to Rancho Oso, a trip into town is a must.  So we hit the beach.

Here is Sienna on the Santa Barbara pier.

Don't forget me, Papa, and Spenser!

This is what we watched from the pier.  Gorgeous view!

Then it was off to dinner at a family favorite restaurant, Giovanni's, then back to camp.

So our camping adventure came to an end.  Who knew that all that tennis playing may lead to a whole other kind of adventure?  This one involves balls too, but unfortunately, these are misplaced. 

 

S'more Camping Part 3

To end the suspense from the previous post, Spenser found some rather large sticks on our last hike, which amused him to no end.  Here he is with them both...

He let me in on some of the fun too.  He said the walking sticks reminded him of Gandalf's.  You know Gandalf the Grey, from The Lord of the Rings trilogy?

So hiking was a fun family activity but there were others too.  Papa and Spenser enjoy fishing, and Spenser never fails to catch something!

The girls aren't into fishing and other such icky, smelly stuff, so they just observe for a bit, and photograph the event.

Here is the icky, smelly stuff that was caught!

Other great activities are family meals, and Kenny even joined us for one dinner.

And last but not least, sleeping in a tent is always an adventure.  But it doesn't seem to hinder my little guy.  He can sleep anywhere.

So Camp S'more comes to the end for the summer of 2011.  I think fun was had by all and the only thing missing was Rob.  We hope you join us next time!

 

Camp S'more - Part 2 "We Can Do So Many Activities!"

Pardon the 'Stepbrothers' quote but there are just so many things you can do while camping!  Generally, the family is not too keen on strenuous exercise but sometimes the surroundings are just too pretty to pass up.  For instance, while in Sedona, the family hiked and it became one of our favorite memories.  So while camping at Lopez Lake, the desire to walk and explore the surroundings was a looked forward to event, even for Sienna who tends to frown upon such activities.  Well, there's no frowning when you're camping!

Our first hike involved a morning jaunt around the lake perimeter.  We were also in search of kindling, to help stoke the fire to epic proportions.  Here is Spenser with some great 'kindling' finds.  We loaded them in a plastic bag and took them home to camp.  Shh!  Don't tell the park rangers!

Here is Sienna on the hike, looking good and keeping us on schedule.

And the true schedule keeper, MOMMY!

After some kindling collection, we walked past the lake marina,

then up a big hill, and thankfully down, back to camp.

Our next hike was the following morning, and this time our goal was to collect pinecones.  They make awesome kindling.  Here you see the kids scaling the hill behind our camp, after hitting a pinecone gold mine!

Check out the size of that pinecone!

Buddy and I can't contain our excitement!

 

Our second hike was another success.  Now for our third.  We had no intentions this time, except perhaps to not go too far.  This path took us along the lake, as you can see, it's quite scenic.

Spenser enjoys some brisk walking with his mommy. 

And I think he learned that every hike has a reward, and it's not just bonding with his mom and sister.

Yesterday it was a pinecone on steroids, and today it's a ..............

Sorry - you'll just have to wait for the Camp S'more Sequel! Coming soon.....

 

Camp S'more

Most kids go to some type of summer camp and let's face it, any camps in Arizona would be indoors, and what fun is that?  But luckily Sienna and Spenser have grandparents who love to camp and just happen to live in a gorgeous part of the central coast.  After much packing (on Papa's part) of two trucks, it was time to head to the lake and begin camp set-up.  Here are Papa's helpers.

After clearing a level spot, it was time to erect the tent.  Here are our sleeping quarters.

One more thing to do before the sights can be enjoyed, set up the kitchen tent.

Here is a panoramic view of what Camp S'more looked like. 

Now that the work was done, it was time to have fun, starting with sightseeing and rock skipping-

and catch.

Let's not forget scenic walks, with stops for pictures...

As the sun sets, fire time begins.  Spenser loves this time of the day.

Playing with fire, feeling its warmth, and of course - roasting marshmallows!

As you can see, Sienna likes hers charred.  Spenser likes no blackness whatsoever, which is actually hard to achieve.

I think mommy built a perfect s'more.

And I even enjoyed one myself!

  So that's how the first night of Camp S'more ended.  After sitting around the fire the next thing to do is to go to bed, which is surprisingly early by Samour standards.  We were tucked into our beds by 10 pm, hoping that we would make it through the night without needing a trip to the bathroom.  Unfortunately there was only a one night reprieve in that area, but we all survived and fared rather well.  I've got many more pics to share, but so far blogging is a slow process.  So stay tuned and be patient, you myriad of followers out there! 

Say Goodbye 5th and 7th Grades, Hello 6th and 8th!

Another successful school year is done and the kids have grown, matured, and worked hard.  They now deserve some rest and relaxation, as well as some boredom, but hey that is what summer is about. 

Rob continued his tradition of meeting the kids on their last day and videoing the event.  Here is Spenser on his last day, and can't you just hear Alice Cooper's words, "Schools out for SUMMER!!"

Here is our no longer 5th grader, now a 6th grader.

Rob attempted to video Sienna as well but she wasn't so keen on that idea, as you may expect with a pre-teen.  She could see us across the field and she turned around and went the other way.  Sadly, I won't further embarass her with the video of that.  It's hard to be upset about her reluctance to be videoed when she handled the transition into junior high so famously.  As a junior high teacher myself, I know first hand how tumultuous this time can be, and how many students struggle with the number of teachers and expectations they have.  I'm very proud to say Sienna, the independent and self-motivated girl that she is, shined with no help from mom and dad.  She was like her own parent, monitoring her progress, grades, and workload.  It certainly paid off as evidenced by her final report card!

Her hard work was further acknowledged by her acceptance into the National Junior Honor Society.

Here she is at the induction ceremony.

So let summer commence. 

We'll be taking in the beauty of the Central Coast for the next three weeks.  Hopefully we'll be able to post from there.   

Blazin' Up the 303

Arizona celebrates the birth of its new freeways with a pedestrian party and we have participated in several celebrations since Rob began with ADOT 15 years ago.  Today's events commemorated the completion of a new section of freeway called the 303. 

It's a fun time to be on new pavement before the motoring public, and to also honor all those involved with its inception.  Many dignitaries are on hand as well, like the Governor, the Director of Transportation, and the various involved city mayors.

And to make it official....

In Rob's absence, the rest of the family stepped in.  With Rob's dad and niece in town, it made for an interesting and fun thing to do.  Here's the crew.....

and me too!

And of course all of Rob's cronies were there and I took pictures to prove it!

Here's a panoramic view, something my new camera does.

Hope you enjoyed the new Loop 303.