S'mores at home

Due to my advanced pregnant state, we skipped our annual family camp trip this year. While I know that I would have regretted sleeping in a tent, I (and Lola) have been pretty bummed about the lack of camping going on this summer.

In an attempt to make up for starry nights on the beach, I decided that we should roast marshmallows in our outdoor fire pit and construct some s'mores. We did so during a visit from Rachel and Elliott, which made our s'more making even sweeter. 

Josh roasted the first one,

 while Lola ate the first s'more.

 I roasted two at a time, you know: one for me, one for baby. :)

 I coached Lola as she attempted to roast her first marshmallow independently.

Elliott showed no fear of the fire, so Rachie kept a tight hold on him.

Family Camping Trip, Part V

We also fit in some serious beach time.

Lola with Josh and Jacob, and of course, her kite.

Lola with her "Dan Dan"

 Lola with her "Auntie Auntie"

Upon her request, Lola was semi-buried in the sand.

And a family photo too!

The beach was also home to a creek, which Lola really enjoyed. Even though she is theoretically loves the ocean, she is also simultaneously terrified of it. Still water is really her preference. Josh attempted to teach her how to skip rocks.

His lesson, as he expected fell a bit flat, but she did have fun "skipping" rocks with her daddy.

Family Camping Trip, Part IV

On one of the afternoons of our trip, we went to see the local elephant seals. Whoever named thee animals really did a great job.

 Lola was mesmerized by them for approximately 3 minutes. However, the rest of us probably could have stayed and observed them all afternoon.

I tried to take a photo with Lola, but she wasn't into it. 

 

So, instead, I took a photo of Daisy, who by the way, was also interested in the seals for about 3 minutes. 

I think we were the only American tourists at the seal santcuary. We were surrounded by European travelers. So, in typical tourist fashion, I requested that someone take a family photo for us. Lola has such a serious look on her face, she might as well be saying, "These are my people."

Family Camping Trip, Part III

There's something about the hot valley air that makes me crave the ocean.  My need for some marine layer usually starts around mid-July, which is a big reason why our summer family trips are set on the coast for this time of year.  Josh indulges me by driving us down Highway 1, even though we both know this route is the long way.

Our first glimpse of the water is in Benicia, but we always joke how that doesn't count. It's the Bay, we say, as we continue toward Santa Cruz. Each mile we head west, the temperature drops. First down to 90, then 80, and as it quickly moves toward 70, it settles in around a blessed 68. If we're lucky, it may even dip into the low 60s.

Winding our way into Big Sur, I roll down my window. Lola shouts, the wind is too much for her in the backseat. I take a deep breath.  We've made it, I say. Josh quickly reminds me of the many miles we have to go, the many extra miles we must go.

But that's OK, because this road is my indulgence. It's my welcome to summer, enjoy it while it lasts, because in a week you'll have to go back to heat, back to work, back to reality.

Each trip, something unusual will happen. It's like this highway knows it has a historical reputation to live up to.  Last year, as dawn broke on the west, we saw a man on a skateboard. Given that this road can barely contain its two lanes, plus a slew of bicyclists who believe in playing chicken with amateur RV drivers, skateboarders tend to stick to the small coastal town.  But he, he was moving so fast, we had no need to slow down other than to stare.  His friends followed him in a van, one of them hinging themselves on the side of the vehicle with a video camera in hand. Later on, we searched for him on YouTube. We never found him, and now I wonder if I imagined it all.

This year, it was I who nearly fell out of the passenger side window, as I saw a California condor. Given that this was the only time I had ever seen one outside of a zoo, I could barely stay in the car when I saw it sunning itself on a cliff. Josh! I shrieked. A condor!! A what? He shouted.

In which we then had a very brief discussion as to how he would not be turning around the car to go and verify my sight, and no he would not stop the car so I could run up the cliff and take a photo to confirm that I did indeed see a condor.  The conclusion of this conversation then led into another in which we began talking about exactly how endangered California condor birds are (the one I saw had large tag marked "40" on it), what sort of habitat they must require, and the possibility of whether that specific condor had been born at the San Diego Wild Animal Park (which we determined was not likely.)

After another hour of switchbacks, slow traffic, and an endearing conversation about conservation, we leave the rugged cliffs and coming flying out onto the flatland. 65 has never felt so fast. Only a few more miles and we're there.



 

Family Camping Trip, Part II

I realize that I'm about to contradict myself from my previous claim that our only camping activities consist of eating, sleeping, and reading. While it is true that we do mostly sleep and eat, and occasionally read, on this particular trip we were lucky enough to be staying in a state park that was home to an easy 3.5 mile hiking trail. 

Being the bossy mother hen that I am, I broke the eat-sleep-read cycle and I rallied the troops out into the woods. 

 

Josh insisted on carrying Lola on his back.

He claimed it would be a good work out.

At different points during the hike, there were informational signs about the area. Several of them mentioned animals native to the area, like mountain lions, bobcats, and snakes. Since my niece had already seen two snakes near the campground, I was a little nervous about running into more natives. 

Thankfully, the only thing we saw was a lizard, which my nephew plucked off a log like Bear Grylls! He flipped it over, you can see that the lizard has a blue belly.

Other informational signs described the native plants, including one that went into extensive details about poison oak. I was particularly thankful for that sign because directly next to the sign was a beautiful bush full of red berries that I thought looked delicious. The sign indicated that poison oak bushes had red berries and included an illustration that was strikingly identical to the berries that I wanted to snack on.

Halfway through our trip, we ran into a family hiking the opposite direction as us, and the father said, "By the way, there are some berry bushes ahead, but I don't recommend eating them because they are very sour."

Can you get poison oak in your mouth? I'm thankful to say, I don't know.


However, speaking of awkward moments, Andrea and I took an awkward family photo. For whatever reason, she is grabbing my waistband, and I about to punch her in the chest.

Realizing how awkward we were, our subsequent photos proved to be futile as we couldn't stop laughing.

When we got back to camp, Lola and Josh were a sweaty mess. Lola was less than thrilled about the situation, but I was thankful for the coin-operated lukewarm showers available to us.

Family Camping Trip, Part 1

For the most part, our annual family camp trip consists of the following three activities: eating, reading, sleeping.  That being said, it shouldn't surprise me that the majority of the photos from our trip involve these endeavors. 

Breakfast pancakes, made by me, as an offering of forgiveness to our fellow campers for Lola's middle of the night freakout. ("WHERE IS THE SPACESHIP?! WHERE IS THE SPACESHIP?!" This is what happens when your kid sees the stars before going to bed.)

Joe, cooking over the fire. Based on his confidence here, you would never know that he was, in his own words, "not a camper."

Dani. Escaping from family to nap.

Louanne and Josh, eating, of course.

 Daisy, napping. I believe Daisy napped the most out of anyone on our trip. If reincarnation exists, I really hope I come back as a dog. Preferably to a couple that does not have kids or other dogs. That would be awesome.

And, there are lots of posed shots too. Family love.

The Night Raccoons Watched Us Sleep

In honor of our upcoming camping trip, I thought I would share an adventure from last year's trip.
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We never camp in the mountains. There's a beautiful range not too far from our home where, so I've been told, there some amazing campgrounds full of gorgeous redwoods and unadulterated air.  I, however, always insist on camping by the ocean.  I have good reasons for this, but they have nothing to do with beautiful sunsets on the water or the sound of the ocean lulling me to sleep each night. Instead my reasons are based on what you don't find at the ocean: mosquitoes and bears. In my mind, mountain camping puts you at risk for mosquitoes leaving their bloody mark on your body, and bears coming into your tent to eat the lotion that you thought was unscented.

It's like, I love nature, so long as it doesn't touch me or my things.

Which is why we go camping at the beach, a place inhabited by sand crabs, sea gulls, and some small forest creatures like squirrels or raccoons. 

As for the raccoons, they come out at night. We know they do because occasionally, we'll wake up and hear them scurrying by the coolers, trying to get them to open. (We've learned to outsmart them by securing the lids of our coolers with bungee cords.) Or, sometimes, if we stay up late by the campfire, and someone shines a flashlight into a nearby tree, we might see the yellow reflection of their eyes as they wait for us to retreat into our tents.

Usually, that is the extent of it. Usually. This night though, this night was different.

On this night, we retired fairly late to our tent.
Side note: Our tent is pretty darn big. My parents purchased it from Costco, and like most things sold at Costco, it is super-sized. It has TWO ROOMS and THREE DOORS, and it's layout can be best described as this: You open the first door and are in a foyer-type space, and this space is separated from the main room by another door. When you go into the main room, you realize that this beast of a tent is larger than most freshman dorm rooms. Somehow Josh and I inherited the mega tent, and on this particular trip, we were sharing the space with my sister and her tiny 8-pound dog Daisy.

But, back to the that night.

On this night, all the little kids were having a hard time falling asleep, particularly Reese and Elliott. Our tent was next to the boys, and it seemed that as soon as one of them fell asleep, the other one woke up, and they continued to take turns, torturing their parents, for what seemed like a small eternity. Finally they settled into a slumber.

Then, I heard the scratching.
Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.

I poke Josh. "Do you hear that?" I whisper.
He mumbles something.

Then, I hear Daisy, my sister's dog growl. 
"Louanne, are you wake?"

"Yes," she whispers.
"Do you hear that?"
"YES."

We see a pack of little furry shadows race by the tent wall.  Daisy growls again.

"Josh. Josh!"  I poke him again, harder this time. I roll over to check on Lola.. Still asleep.

Scratch. Scratch.
Ziiiiiiiiiip. 

"Oh my god! They're inside!" I whisper scream.
Josh wakes up.
"There's something in our tent!!!" I whisper scream again.
"Where's the flashlight?"
We start to look for it, and then I realize that it's outside on the picnic table, with them. 

Louanne finds a light, but the battery must be half-dead since it only provides a dim glow.

Josh takes the half-working flashlight, and walks toward the door.
"Do not wake the boys!" I whisper yell.
He looks back at me, and then slowly unzips the door to the foyer room. He peers through a small hole.

Pairs of yellow eyes stare back. They are huddled around Daisy's food bowl.
They glare at Josh and then go back to their dog food binge.

Josh zips the door back up.
"I'm going out there."
He fumbles through a duffel bag, and pulls out a knife with an 8-inch blade.

He opens a door from the main room to the outside.  Through the tent wall, Louanne and I watch his shadow, one arm out in defense, the other holding the knife. We grip our sleeping bags and do our best to resist giggling.

"You little muther-effers!" he whisper screams, his knife-holding arm slicing the dark air. Dozens of obscenities fill the dark space and he walks toward the front of the tent. We hear the front door unzip.

"&^%#*(*(&*&%@!"
Scurrying sounds ensue, and then Josh zips the door back up.
He carries the dog bowl toward the car. Josh shines his flashlight to the side of the tent. The yellow eyes slowly move forward, toward him.  He places the bowl in the car, and circles the opposite way back to the tent.

Through the wall, we see him frantically waving the knife.
"(*(&*^&#@!**&^@@@!"
He grabs a surfboard and places it against the front tent door.  Then, he enters through the back door. He secures it by bringing the zipper to the top of the door. He does the same with the other doors.

He lays down on the air mattress next to me.
"I swear, there are two dozen of them out there."

Josh, Louanne, and I look at each other.  I bury my head into my pillow, unable to control my laughter, and we silently relish in the fact that, for now, the little ones are still asleep.

June 2012, summarized.

June started off with a visit from Rachel and Reese. 

 Reese loves to be outside, and Lola was more than happy to take Reese to all of her favorite outdoor spaces.

Although, we did have to take him to our newest local find, the children's museum. He and Lola had a blast painting on the acrylic wall.

When they jetted home, we headed to Santa Cruz where we spent almost an entire week camping at the beach.  Lola had a kite and was very proud of her ability to keep it in the air.

During our trip, Josh did active things like running and headstands. Lola and I lounged in our beach tent. I believe that when I took this photo, I was holding the camera in one hand and a handful of chips in the other.

I believe this was our easiest camping trip to date. All Lola wanted to do was play in the sand, and honestly, she spent 90% of her time sitting in front of my beach towel while I laid out and read a book.

Let me repeat, I READ A BOOK. While camping. With a three-year-old. Our trip was awesome.

When we got back, Andrea came into town for a visit. Lola loves her Auntie Andy.

We took Andy to a River Cats game, and then had her take this photo because I know that photos of the three of us are pretty sparse. Unfortunately it turned out a tad blurry.

Near the end of the month, Lola and I went to San Diego. Her Auntie LouLou gave her a "big girl" haircut.

 

And, I attended Liz's unofficial San Diego bachelorette party. 

We were also lucky enough to spend a little bit of time with Michaela (and Laura and the rest of the Fitzy's!) who was visiting San Diego from Melbourne.  The last time Lola and Michaela got to play together they were less than 6 months old, so it was fun to watch them interact.

When Lola and I came home, we found the backyard had bloomed, and Josh was in the mood to harvest the plums. Summer is here.

Family Camping Trip, Part 2

I don't know if I've ever mentioned this before, but getting a campsite in August at Carpinteria is a bit of an ordeal. The campground is owned by the State, and the State opens its reservations for August on February 1st. Not a big deal, right?

I didn't use to think so, until the first time I attempted to book a campsite. I remember leisurely logging on to the State's website on February 1st, a few minutes after registration began (8 AM), thinking that I would have lots of campsites to choose from. Instead, I ended up booking the last campsite available in the entire campground. We ended up loving our campsite, but it was a bit snug for us.

The following year, I logged onto the website a few minutes earlier, but the site's server kept crashing. Around noon, there was a huge sigh of relief in our house when the campsite was finally booked.

This year, the night before the great website race began, I was on Facebook and I saw the status update for a friend: "Staying up until midnight. Going to try to book a campsite at Carpinteria."

What?! Could it be? I checked the rules. It said, "8 AM." Trusting the rules and not my friend's judgment, I went to bed. When I woke up the next morning, I checked Facebook again.  "Turns out you can't book it until 8 AM. Really tired."

When 7:54 rolled around, I logged into the State's website. At 8 AM, I battled it out between all of the other crazy campers and outdated state technology.

VICTORY! We got a great campsite, large and spacious, close to the bathroom, and even a little grass.