Will's 39th Birthday

The Lohrs invited us, along with the Whiddons, to their beautiful new home for an hors d'oeuvres and wine tasting party on Will's birthday. It was such a fun evening because we got to spend it with some of our best friends. I made pumpkin cake, per Will's request. Happy birthday, my Love!



The girls!


Myself and my birthday boy


Steve and Kimberlee


Thank you to Allen and Julia, our wonderful hosts!


The whole gang of friends.

Birthday hike

Saturday was a great family day. Will wanted us all to hike the Santa Rosa Plateau, one of our favorite spots around here. We all loved it. I did, however, smuggle a can of mace with me. Will thinks I'm ridiculous to worry about mountain lions, but you hear about attacks on the news here all the time! And what do you think was on display when we drove up? This enormous dead lion. Oh, and there are warning signs posted along the trails. All I could think of, watching my tiny girl hike like a real pro on her own was, "CATNIP." Other than that, I had a great time!




The boys love climbing trees! The oak trees here are massive!


Grandma is absolutely amazing. She's 83 and had no trouble keeping up with everybody. She loved hiking and hasn't stopped talking about it.



It's just beautiful on the Plateau. There are some amazing rocks. We all had such a wonderful morning.

Family birthday dinner

My Sweet requested steak for dinner, along with my "secret adult mac 'n cheese", salads, a great Cabernet and, of course, more pumpkin cake and coffee. Call us home-bodies, but we LOVE being together, eating around the dinner table as a family. There's nothing better.

One LOVED pup!

Diego is about 11 weeks here... the vet says he's a BIG one!


Loved by everybody!


Diego and Zane


Diego and Titus


Diego and Levi



Diego and Sullivan



Puppy and me!

Such good doggies!

Well, we thought Jake would never accept Diego into the family after his scary behavior (frothing at the mouth, hair standing on end, growling), and now these two are inseparable! They chase and wrestle each other constantly, and they both love to be inside on their blanket. I know we're not REAL dog people, since we don't allow these glorious balls of fur all over the house and in our beds and things (yuck), but we love to have them parked neatly on their space. Diego learned to stay there at about 10 weeks old, and both he and Jake love to "snuggle" on chilly nights. (They really don't look like scary wolves; I don't know how to get their eyes to not glow with my flash!)

G.G. and Sulli in "school"

I love this picture of Sullivan and her great grandmother having a heart-to-heart at Sulli's school table.

Such a BOY!

Why is it that boys are always covered with scratches and things? I guess it's because they're NEVER still and they're always being boys! Here are some new ones on my sweet little Levi.

INDIAN CAMP!

Many of the families from our homeschool co-op got to go to an awesome Indian Camp in Jamul, CA (near San Diego). They had the opportunity to live like Indians for a couple of days. I opted to stay home with the little ones and give the big guys some time together. They had a wonderful time! Here's the whole gang of kids.


I love this picture of my handsome men!


Here are my guys, ready to leave! I will miss them but am thankful they get to spend priceless father-son time together. And there's nothing like the great outdoors for that!


It looks like they hit a car wash on the way... and Zane had a cookie break. I can't send my men anywhere without some homemade cookies! I am proud of them for sharing with the Woods, who they drove down with.




The camp had really cool things to do and learn, like making rope! The kids would pound fresh reeds with hammers, separate the reeds into sections and braid them. After they dry, they are very strong ropes. (Thanks for the wonderful photos, Romans!)



Zane always loves goofing off with his friends, like the Howie kids, Jacob and Payton!


Taking a break from all the action...


Zane and Matthew


Zane and John


The tee-pees slept 9. Will and a couple of his friends stayed with their boys in this one. I'm really sorry I missed out on this experience... especially the torrential rain that started pouring around 2 a.m.


The campfire was tons of fun; here are the remnants.


I guess this is a petrified snake. Ewwww.


Zane loved this ginormous slide, made right on top of a huge oak tree!




Archery is always fun!



The kids even learned to excavate and search for artifacts! Apparently, there is talk about going back for another camp later this year... and staying in covered wagons! So, stay tuned...