Because We Don't Have Enough Unfinished Projects

I'm trying to talk Todd into making one of these.

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It's an entryway closet turned in to a storage/sitting space.

I think it's super smart and practical to take the unused space and make it useable -Duh!

Plus, I would love to get everyone's shoes that they kick off at our front door all corralled somewhere.

Wouldn't this be perfect?

Go Away

Cold, cold go away...

So I can breathe and go out to play.

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I might have seriously thought about

buying one of these this weekend.

Would have come in handy.

I've been in bed for the past 3 days with a bad cold/flu (?)

I think I'm coming to the end of it, thank goodness,

so maybe I can do something a little more fun than suffer in bed.

Day 7 - Last Day of Vacation

We headed out of my parent's house around 9 AM

knowing that we would have about a 6 hour drive ahead of us.

We had some stops that we wanted to make along the way, 

so we needed to boogie out pretty early.

In an attempt to save driving time, we took a short cut....

a long short cut...

a short cut that we got lost in for no less than an hour.

Oops!

After we got back on track, there really weren't any problems, 

and so our first stop (besides lunch) was Burney Falls.

We were at McArthur-Burney for a total of about 1 1/2 hours -

this time includes the hike to the bottom of the waterfall and going to the visitor center.

Because we had such limited time, we quickly gathered back in to the car 

and headed off for Lassen National Park.

If you haven't been there, 

it's AH-MAY-ZING!

It's probably my favorite state/national park that I have ever been to.

Todd, Alexxa and I had been here before, but we wanted to show Austin our favorite spot.

After about a 2 hour drive we arrived at Bumpass Hell and started our next hike.

Austin creepin' on Lexxa.

Austin caught in the smoke.

The fam bam!

Bumpass Hell view 

See the boardwalk, that's where you go.

It's a 3 mile hike round trip, and it took us a total of 2.5 hours.

It didn't take us that long just to hike, but we stayed and explored Bumpass for about an hour.

We left Lassen around 7:30 PM, grabbed some 

dinner around 8:30 PM and arrived home around 12:30 AM.

It was an exhausting trip, but very relaxing and totally wonderful.

So have you had a summer vacation?

Was it relaxing?

What did you end up doing?

Oh, psssst...

Happy Weekend!

Day 5 & 6 - Swimming, Shooting, Quading, Hiking

We spent day 5 hanging around my parent's house.

First, my dad took us to a local swimming hole.

Ohhh, pretty!

Looks like fun.

Then we shot off guns.

Look at that form.

When we were finished there, we decided to....

Go riding on the quad, and....

Get relaxation station set up.

Silly kids trying to flip each other out of RS.

For the rest of day 5, this is pretty much what we did.

When we got home, my mom had made ribs and homemade ice cream, and I indulged a little too much because the next morning I was feeling rank.

We were supposed to hike Gearhart Mountain, 

but when I woke up I had a splitting headache and upset stomach.

The troops were understanding, so they set out with one of my parent's neighbors in tow, and went hiking.

The gang was gone for about 6-7 hours, and when they returned everybody was moaning.

Apparently it is a 13-14 mile trip up to the top of the mountain and back, but on top of that it has a pretty steep incline.

Everyone involved agreed that it was better that I stayed home with my mom, because they thought if I would have gone that I would have ended up crying and cussing everyone out.

This may or may not be true (but probably more than likely...true).

It may have been a hike, but they did get to see some amazing views.

Jimmy, my parent's super sweet neighbor.

She used to be a marathon runner and a mountain climber!

Look at those little mountain goats.

One of the cool pictures from the day.

Look at this marvelous view.

So ended day 6.

Next up, our last day of vacation ....boo!

Day 4 - Of Vacation Awesomeness

After the long drive the day before, the fam and I slept in pretty late.

My mom and dad had breakfast waiting for us as we all rolled out of bed.

After a sleepy start, we decided to explore the local area.

Local lake

Look at the scary wildlife.

The family at the lake.

We actually drove around and explored for at least 2 hours. 

Let me tell you, there is some beautiful country in Oregon.

After we had finished exploring, my parents wanted to take us to a point of historical interest.

I know what you are thinking....ho-hum!

It was actually pretty cool.

It's called the Mitchell Monument.

There really isn't much to see, but the story behind it is pretty cool/sad.

Apparently, in 1945 there was a Sunday School group out for a picnic and fishing trip.

While stopped next to Leonard Creek near Bly, OR, one of the children from the church group found something and called the rest of the group over.

Moments later there was an explosion and 6 people,

one of which was the reverends pregnant wife, were killed instantly.

The child had found the remains of a Japanese balloon bomb.

one of 9,000 that were released from Honshu, Japan.

The balloons drifted via the jet stream.

The balloons carried five bombs, four incendiaries, and one anti-personnel high explosive.

It is believed that !,000 bombs may have reached the U.S., but there were only 285 confirmed sightings.

Except for the bomb that detonated in Bly, there were no other deaths or injuries.

Stay tuned for day 5 and maybe 6.

Day 3- California & Oregon Vacation

Day 3 consisted primarily of driving from Northern California's coast to the middle of Oregon.

While it was quite the drive, 6 hours, there was some beautiful scenery

(most of which I missed because I was too distracted).

See, some beautiful redwoods...

and pretty little yellow/orange flowers.

We did stop at The Oregon Caves on the way to my parents,

and Todd, Austin and Alexxa got their spelunking fix.

The fam listening intently on what the ranger had to say.

I opted to sit by the pond and read my book.

A little bit of heaven.

They opted to climb through a dirty, dark & moist cave.

Not my cup of tea, but the all seemed to enjoy it.

After the 1.5 hour long tour, we got back on the road and drove for another 3 hours.

This is the last picture I got for the day.

I believe it is Upper Klamath Lake, but I'm not 100% positive.

We arrived at my parents around 10:30 PM and went directly to bed.

It was a long but enjoyable day.

Up next...Day 4

I'mmmmm Baaaaccccckkkkk!

The fam and I just returned from our little summer vacation. 

 It was quite a fun time.

Day 1-

We made it exactly 1 minute down the road and stopped for lunch.

After lunch we went to the bank, filled up with gas and got a car wash.

Oh!  Pretty rainbow colors

Then we were set and headed over to the coast.  

Lexx made it exactly 15 minutes before she fell asleep.

On the way, we just happened to get in a fender bender.

Stupid car behind us rammed us because we were merging due to a motorcycle accident.

After we checked in, and all the excitement from an hour before, we decided to

Go EAT!

It ended up taking us about 6 hours to get to Arcata with the little mishap and a couple stops in between.

Day 2-

Todd and I really didn't make any specific plans, but we ended up having a great day.

We ended up going to Patrick's Point.

We mostly hiked and explored.

Alexxa and Austin taking a picture break after hiking.

Yummy - banana slug.

View of Patrick's Point Sumeg Village.

Traditional style family house.

See that hole on the bottom left...that's the entrance.

I could totally fit, I just didn't want to get all dirty.

After we explored the village, we decided to go to the beach.

Problem was, the trail was closed...but that didn't stop us.

We experienced some beautiful scenery.

We also hiked to the top of Ceremonial Rock

Look at all the steps.  That's just a few of them.

View from the top.

We actually bumped in to some rock climbers 

who climbed up the face of the rocks instead of taking the trail.

I didn't get a picture, but it was pretty awesome watching them.

And because that wasn't enough hiking, we decided to hike to Lookout Point.

Watch your step.

We didn't really pay attention to the time, and when we hiked Lookout it was about 3 PM.

My blood sugar dropped, and I felt like I was going to pass out.

I decided to stay away from the edge so I wouldn't have a mishap.

Me about ready to pass out.

After that hike we decided to eat lunch in the little town of Trinidad.

Lunch was very tasty, and the town was adorable.

Trinidad Lighthouse.

Alexxa, Todd and Austin

Look what the seagull caught.

When we were finished in Trinidad, we headed back to the hotel to rest.

We were also hungry and couldn't resist going to the Samoa Cookhouse for some very yummy food.

The Samoa Cookhouse has been around since 1890, and serves meals lumber camp-style.

What does that mean?

It means you don't have a choice of what to order.

Their menu....take it or leave it.

You can call ahead and find out what they are serving for the week, so you don't have to be surprised.

Here's a picture of the loggers that they used to serve.

I didn't really get a picture of the food (because I was too busy eating), but the cookhouse is set up

with long tables that they just keep piling the food on.

We have been here twice, and liked the food both times.

With the end of our day coming to a close, we decided to wrap it up and go back to the hotel.

Stay tuned for day 3.