back to school

The three cuties on their 1st day back (debuting some long-overdue new haircuts as well).

  

And our "Teacher Survival Kit's" turned out great this year.  Hopefully it contains some things to help their teachers survive a year with my boys!  

Just a cute one of Jack

And a cute one of Ben

china meadows 2013

This year at China Meadows included: 

marshmallow roasting,

fishing,






canoeing,






hiking,






skinny-dipping (only the 6-year-olds participated in this one),


bb gun shooting,






rock-fort adventuring,


beautiful scenery,




moose sightings,


and time with Grandma and Grandpa V!


So, pretty much, 3 little boys in heaven!

of crawdads and mud castles

While visiting family in Nevada, we also went up to Tahoe where my step-sister/bestie Nancy met us for the day. Since they moved to Sacramento for a 1-year internship, she's only a few hours away from Tahoe which made it a perfect meet up spot.  And boy is it just as beautiful as I remember!  If you ever get the chance to visit Lake Tahoe, it is well worth your time. Brad and Tirza with their 3 boys, plus Nancy's 4 boys, and my 3 = 10 boys (zero girls) playing in the lake, catching crawdads, building sand castles, and just having the time of their lives, while mommies mostly sat and caught up on life.

Andrew, Pete, and Josh in their crawdad fortress.

Nancy and I with her youngest, Jacob.  I was sure to get plenty of cuddle time!

BBQ Pit after a long day at the beach= my boys literally falling asleep at the table!  Of course, they wouldn't sleep in the car on the way home.

home still means nevada

During Wade's "Mancation," I drove the boys to visit my mom and Carl in good 'ol Fallon, NV (wished I'd taken some photos with my mom). While there, we also got to visit with my brother Brad and his wife Tirza and boys in Reno.  They have three boys (Owen, Chase, Trevor) and all of ours had a blast together.  We were also lucky enough to help celebrate Trevor and Chase's birthday's with them while some of Tirza's family was in town too.  Fun!  

Pete helping Trevor decorate his birthday cake.  Trevor turned 1!

Presents!  Chase turned 3 and he shares his birthday with his little brother Trevor, 2 years apart.

Sprinklers.

Ready, set, GO!

Pete and cousin Owen dancing?  Martial Arts? Shooting bows?  Not really sure.

Me and nephew Trevor.

  We got to see my grandmother, Billie Jean and enjoyed visiting with her for a bit. She is 86 years old!  From her and my grandfather, she has 5 children, and many, many grand-children and great-grand children.  

With Great-grandma Beach and her favorite doll.  She told me that her mother, Gladys (we call her Nonnie) made it for her, right down to the hand-knitted booties!  What a special keepsake.

Group "Selfie"

Ben's first "Selfie"

Jack's first "selfie"
Did I mention that I hate the word "selfie?"  I hate typing it and I hate saying it.  Isn't there some other word we can use to describe a self-photo taken by yourself that implies holding the camera out in front of you with your arm extended?  Hmm, I'll think about that one.

mancation 2013 aka wind river mountains take 2

Photo's from Wade's trip to the Wind River Mountains in Wyoming.  He spent about 5 days hiking with a friend and came home unharmed, so I guess it was a success!