Return to Big Trees

Our friend Auntie Sugar Bear loves Big Trees State Park.  She talked my parents into going before they moved and we had a lovely day walking through the giant sequoias.

Taking advantage of the bench that conveniently leans back for you.

Investigating a hole in a fallen tree stump.

Enjoying a ride on Auntie's shoulders.

The weather was lovely and the company too!

 

Day at Lake Tahoe

Wesley is turning into a Californian.  I don't know how I feel about that.  When I ask him what he wants to do, he'll tell me, "Tahoe Yake."  He loves it up there, and to be perfectly honest, so do I.  

We decided to escape the heat of the valley yesterday and headed up into the mountains.  We found a perfect day use beach.  The water is COLD (!!) but so clear and blue and the mountains and trees that surround the lake make it a beautiful place.

We got Wesley a shovel and bucket and he loves both!  He can occupy himself for a while just digging and filling his bucket.  The sand is decomposed granite and the particles are fairly large and don't stick together well but somehow Gil was able to get one bucket-castle built.

Wesley loved the boats.  There were boats everywhere and he could hardly contain himself.  We decided to stay in the area for dinner and found a very disappointing BBQ place but the view and the marina made up for the food. (They served mediocre chicken and bland pork. As a native Texan I can understand no brisket, but for my California friends who swear by their tri-tip...?  Very disappointing.)  We took turns waiting for, then eating our dinner while we let Wesley run up and down the marina boardwalk pointing at every boat he saw.  He was in boat heaven and talked about the boats all the way home.

Keep Tahoe Blue!

Kayaking

As a graduation gift, I rented two kayaks for a couple hours on Jenkinson Lake one afternoon.  The day was perfect, the water was clear and we had a wonderful time.  We hiked around the lake a little after returning our kayaks.  

We live in a really beautiful part of the country.

 

Two!

I can't believe my little man is two!  He is so grown up in so many ways and definitely starting to test some limits.  I love this little man (and this big man) dearly.

For his birthday, we went to Cronin Ranch for a hike.  We made it to the river where Wesley celebrated in his birthday suit in the water.

Putting his face in.

He loves to help in the kitchen "coo-kin" and "mih-mih" (mixing).  After I made his cake, he took the cleaned mixing bowls and did some mixing of his own.  He decided the best position was sitting in one bowl while mixing in the other.

Pictures of the Wee Lad at the park.

Excited to see what this next year of being two holds!  I'm crossing my fingers for some hide and seek.

Hail to the Graduate!

Gil graduated!!  I can't express how incredibly proud I am of this man and all his hard work and accomplishments.  I have watched him get up incredibly early in the morning to catch the train into south Sac to make it to class when he was at the community college and anxiously watched the clock waiting for him to come home from a late evening lab.  I have watched him sit at our kitchen table with his books for entire weekends doing homework and I have kept Wesley from swallowing countless small electronical parts for school projects.  I have never seen anyone so focused.

Riverside Hall was the building where he had many of his engineering classes and labs.  (Wesley is posing behind the sign.)

On campus taking pictures, we had to stop and smell the roses... now that Gil has time to smell the roses.

It's a really big sign.  Can you see his hands?

Tassel worth the hassle or tassel is a hassle?  It was a windy day.  Sac State held a Car-mencement, where graduates were able to drive through campus, similar to other events all over the country.  We decorated the car and then drove through the bands and the cheering staff, the mascot and cheerleaders, and tv screens of people giving speeches.

I was so pleased with the mortar board Gil made and put on the roof of the car.  Unfortunately, it didn't make it all the way through campus.

Congratulations, Gil!  We are so proud of you and excited for what comes next.

Montana

I had a dear friend get married in Montana over the weekend.  It was fun to go visit and see old friends from when I lived there, some of whom I hadn't seen in 15 years!  It had been four years since I'd last visited and I'd forgotten how beautiful western Montana is.

We spent a lot of time at Grant-Kohrs Ranch where I used to work.  We saw horses, cows, and chickens.  Wesley was especially taken by the cows.  We couldn't get him to stay in his bed the first night because he needed to go look at the cows out the window.

There was a new park on the north end of the town we were in and it had some fantastic equipment.  We spent quite a bit of time there too.

Wesley wasn't having much fun at the wedding reception but boy did he look cute!

We tacked on a quick visit to Gil's oldest brother and his family in ID.  Wesley loved going up and down the stairs in their house. 

Hooray for road trips, family, and friends!

Playing with Cousins

Gil has cousins in southern CA that we usually go visit for April General Conference.  We didn't go last year so this was the first time Wesley got to play with some second cousins.  He had a blast and I was thrilled with how well he did with so many people.

It was also Easter and Wes participated in his first two egg hunts.  He enjoyed finding eggs and putting them in his bag during our first egg hunt.

By his second egg hunt he had since learned from the first that there was candy in the eggs.  He ran out into the yard, found 1 egg and sat right down, opened it, ate the candy, and considered himself done hunting eggs.

Wagon rides!

Piano practice!

Getting his scalp massaged.

Swimming between sessions!

Trying the trampoline!

Swinging with Dad.

We love our cousins!