Great Grandpa and Great Grandma McCracken
Redding, CA
August 2010
We were met with a delicious dinner, delightful smiles, and crafts galore from grandma and grandpa. They were so excited for us to arrive, and we were so excited to finally be there. This was the first face-to-face meeting between the ninos and these particular greats. We will cherish this long awaited memory for a really long time.
Mt. Shasta
Such a pretty drive from Portland to Redding. It doesn’t get much prettier!
Day hike to Cape Falcon.
Super troopers, all the way to the end. And check out that view!!!
I will always be in love with the Oregon Coast. There is nothing like it. The kids also did a lot of biking with their daddy while on vacation.
While staying in Seaside, we took a day trip to Tillamook, OR for the “cheese tour.”
The drive had spectacular views:
There were cows and cheese aplenty:
And the ice cream was to die for:
Actually, Tillamook ice cream is my most favorite ice cream on the planet.
And the cheese is my family’s favorite–although I (the cheese hater) would know nothing about that.
Meet great-grandparents Penning!
The whole Penning tribe made a very special day trip to Point Defiance Park in Tacoma to spend some time with them. I am so glad we got pictures. Let’s face it grams and grandps…you’re no spring chickens anymore. :)
We also celebrated Danny’s birthday…the Nerf bow-n-arrow is something Danny’s has been asking for for 18 months. he LOVES it.
We all had a great time. Hopefully, the kids will remember the experience for a long time to come.
JULY 2010
Summer will quickly be upon us here in the desert. And you all know how cranky I get when summer comes. So I try and make the summer as busy as possible for myself so that I can endure the baking hot sun.
Here is what we are planning:
MAY
—Zion Nat’l Park, of course. Year six. We leave tomorrow.
JUNE
—Spring Mountain Ranch, Willy Wonka. Planning this outing for months now with friends. So excited to take the kids to their first official play.
—Camp Invent. Danny is going to his first invention camp with a buddy. He is totally stoked.
—Bear Lake. The kids and I are planning a week at the lake with my mom and sister. (Adam will be in China on business–boo, boo!)
—Swim lessons. Hopefully we can squeeze a couple of these in. :)
JULY
—Grandma Penning Visits. YAY!
—Relay for Life. We are going to Oregon to participate in Team Georgie this summer. So Excited!
—Washington. Oh how I love escaping the desert heat, trading it in for two weeks in Yakima. I can’t wait to hang with my family, scrap with Jes, camp at Rainier with cousins, and see old friends and their children.
AUGUST
—The Beach. Yes! Who love the Oregon Coast? We do. We do. We have been planning this vacation since Thanksgiving with my parents and siblings. One whole week in Seaside with my family. The kids are going to learn to body surf this time around. Can’t wait for vacation with my hubby and kiddos.
Here’s some awesome sledding video from our trip to Washington. Where it gets really interesting is at about 1:50. Adam’s true colors shine through. I love being married to this guy!!!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yuklsai0Ps8
Adam uploaded all of our sledding videos here.
Tio Brian and I took Danny, Ezzy, and Brooklynn up to White Pass on our Christmas vacation. It was the first time for the whole McFamily. It was Brooky’s 2nd time and about the 10,000th time for Brian :) We had a blast. Danny was a natural – he went with Brian and Brooky on a longer, higher run, while Ezzy and I got lots of practice on the lower slope.
Brian got some pictures also that can be seen on the Hirschi’s blog. Stay tuned for more Christmas adventures!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ebWNCYhmtI
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03CXBcRK_nM
On the Friday after Thanksgiving, I took Ezzy and Danny to one of my favorite places – the hike to Bridge Mountain in Red Rock. It’s far enough out of the way to have a little less travel than the more popular hikes that are closer to the loop. It was a little bit cold and windy, but the cooler weather was nice. We made it out to the sandstone and stopped for a lunch of Jetboil ramen and oranges, a true culinary delight!
Click here for more photos.
On Saturday, we got together with the Moore family for a trip up Icebox Canyon. Juan Pablo talked everyone’s ears off and everyone hiked, ducked, and scrambled their way to the top. Once again, temperatures were just right for hiking.
After our fun-filled week at Zion, we rushed home to wash clothes and sleep so we could be ready the next day to drive to L.A. Adam had a last-minute business meeting so we tagged along. I called my long-time friend, Marisa, and she graciously drove down from Ventura with her three girls so we could hang out. I was ecstatic that she came down. They got to our hotel first thing in the morning so we had all day, and the kids had a blast. First, we went swimming at the hotel, and then headed to the beach.
After Adam’s meeting, he came out to the beach and buried each nino in the sand. The kids thought that was quite possibly the coolest thing they had ever experienced. (Wait until you see the video…..Adorable!) I bought the children new water shoes and sunglasses before the trip. Nikki has yet to take her glasses off her head. And Wompy, well…he had his thrown in the garbage around San Bernardino!!!!!!!! But I have to give the kid props, he hadn’t been home for over a week, and that was his only meldown during that week (except for the very first night of camping, poor little dude). We are making major strides here. :)
What was my favorite part? Talking to my friend about nothing and everything, watching each kid squeal in delight as he or she ran away from the waves (like a thousand times, at least), and seeing how silly goofy happy Adam is when he is playing with his kids. Thanks for being my friend, Maris. Thanks for being an awesome daddy, Adam. And thanks for bringing my life even more joy, ninos!
Our little Brookie was baptized last month. Look how grown up she is. The ninos and I made our way up to Logan, UT for the festivities. That meant that Adam and I spent Valentine’s Day apart. But small sacrifices are worth the big difference it makes in a little girl’s life.
While we were in Logan the children were able to play in the snow. And play they did. In fact, I didn’t see them most of the weekend. Uncle Brian brought down snow clothes from the lake, which made their second snow experience much more enjoyable. They played from sun-up to sun-down, and then hottubbed with Sponge Bob until bed. For me, it was the easiest single parent weekend I could have asked for. I was able to play games with the adults most of the time. Yeah!
The best part of the kids’ snow play was watching Danny on the snowboard. Brian and Jaimee’s house is surrounded by massive hills so Danny got a lot of practice in. And since I am snowboard illiterate, Danny was left to teach himself. Here’s a video of his efforts:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fc3CSDU9mG8
There’s no holding this boy back. He totally has first child syndrome! Needless to say, we had a blast in Logan, as usual. We are super proud of Brookie and her decision to be baptized. We can’t wait for Danny’s baptism at the end of this month.
Yes, that is Juan P. in a pink coat. But it is the only one that fit him. I can’t wait to post this picture at his wedding reception. :)
