Kayak ride for Roscoe

We'll make a fishing dog out of him yet.  He looked a little nervous at first but was a little better once they were out for a while.  Cute.

Kyla got a kick out it for sure.

Coming back in.

Camping at Casini Ranch - Part 2

We spent a lot of time playing baseball around the camp and hanging out by the Russian River.  It's such a small world too.  Brian was coming out of the restroom when he saw a friend that he used to work with so we hung out with them a little as well.  Fun, fun.

Love my silly child.

Roscoe just swimming away - he'll only fetch in the water.  Some retriever, huh?

Go fly a kite.

Kyla's turn.  These were Stan's (Brian's old friend) kites ... and not cheap ones either and I think my kids lost them both.  Ooops.

A pillow for Roscoe.  Old guy.

So much for Dad taking a nap.

Feeding the ducks.

I wonder what he's thinking about.

Camping at Casini Ranch - Part 1

We love camping in the summer and decided to try a new place along the Russian River called Casini Ranch.  Several of Brian's co-workers have camped there and told us so many good things about it.  The weather was nice, we were able to hang out by the river and it was close enough to the ocean to be able to freeze enjoy that as well.  

The beach we went to has a serious undertow and is one of the most dangerous beaches in California.  No way were the kids setting foot in that water.  Not to mention it was chilly and overcast.

The kids had a blast jumping off of this huge log.  Mason striking a pose here.

Kyla is my brave 6 year old.  It was much higher than it looks.

My love.

We took a break from cooking at camp to have fish-n-chips and clam chowder at a restaurant.  I would have never guessed the kids would have loved clam chowder but they sure did and hogged most of ours.  It's always such a nice treat to eat out while camping.

Picnic lunch by the ocean.

Brian's cheesy smile while doing Kyla's broken neck pose.

The broken neck we speak of.

And Mason doing the broken neck.

The kids goofing around.

The kids first trip tide-pooling.  Of course Mason (our little treasure hunter) loved looking for sea creatures.  I don't think I've been since 6th grade camp.

I sure love these two.

Great video of Mason

Couldn't help but post a QR Code for this adorable video of Mason.  Each time I watch it, I laugh out loud.  Download a QR Code Reader from the app store on your smartphone (or iPad)  and scan your screen to view.

Such a lovely teacher

Avary and Jack sleepover

Avary moved to Washington last year but was in town for a few days so we had her over for a sleepover.  We figured we'd have Mason's bestie, Jack over as well.  One of our favorite things to do is to feed the horses in the neighborhood.  I'm not sure Jack is a big fan of horses.

On a walk down to the pond.

Kyla and Avary painted terra cotta pots.  Good times. 

Hard at work. 

How Kyla really feels about me ...

Found this is one of her notebooks the other day.  "Mom is annoying".  Hmmm.  Little stinker.

Our new kayak

We got a new toy, we got a new toy!!  Brian figured since we live so close to the river, a kayak would be nice for fishing or just kayaking.  He got a 2 1/2 person kayak so he and the kids would fit in it just fine ... good thing Kyla qualifies as half a person, right?

Brian made the coolest contraption with PVC pipe and wheel barrel wheels to make it easier to walk the kayak down to the river.  Thank goodness for a handy man.

Ready to go.

Away they go down the American River.

A deer sighting.  Love it.

I'm sure we'll have many, many years of fun to enjoy this while fishing and camping and I can't wait.

4th of July

One of my favorite holidays is Independence Day and we had so much fun celebrating with new friends in our new neighborhood (minus Brian - he worked).  We received a flyer about a week before for an invitation to Silly's Slip-N-Slide.  Silly is the horse that lives down the street.  The kids had a blast sliding down the pasture and surprising enough, nobody got hurt.  :-)  After lathering up with dish soap, away they went.

Later in the evening, we went to a block party just down the street.  It was awesome ... we have an art teacher in the neighborhood that does face (and arm) painting.  Tons of food and drinks and they even had a DJ.  Everyone brings their fireworks down and do them together.  The show lasted an hour or two.  Can't wait until Brian can join us next year.

Looking mighty tough.

Ice Cream Cone for Kyla.

Who doesn't love sparklers?

Not a scaredy-cat anymore.  Woohoo.