Catching Up

For nearly three weeks, we've been up in the mountains with family, having a wonderful time. Mom and Dad drove out from Minnesota and were here June 19th through July 7th. Dave joined us from June 21st to the 28th, and Jen flew in from Portland July 3rd through 6th. Joey drove up from Boise on the weekends. We sure miss them all now, and really wish that Melissa and Josh could have joined us as well, but they were unable to get time off from work. Personally, I'm going through "helping hands" withdrawal this week; it sure was nice to have additional eyes and ears on the boys, especially with our little dare-devil, Grayson.

While away, we celebrated all the June birthdays: Gary's 36th on June 23rd, Gordon's 3rd on the 25th, and Dad's 61st on the 28th.

The progress on our cabins has been incredible, with Gary, Dad, and David putting in an amazing stone patio between the two cabins. With a little "help" from Gordon, my Mom and Gary beautified with some much-needed exterior painting, covering that hideous seafoam green color that, until recently, welcomed us at the entrances of each cabin. I'll post pictures later...you won't believe how nice the place looks now. On our return trip from the county dump to rid ourselves of "junk," Gary and I spotted a yard sale -- an ironic opportunity to pick up some new "junk." :) We acquired a free organ (think musical instrument, not kidney), another jogging stroller for $5 (now Gordy can ride it instead of the wheelbarrow on long hikes), a hairdryer to keep at the cabins, and Mom snagged a bunch of VHS videos -- including a 2-tape set of instructional line dancing videos. Next time you see us, we might all be doing "the electric slide" at Idaho City's Western Fest. ;)

Mom had a blast at the Placerville auction on the 4th of July, with her winning bids scoring us a new pillow-top mattress and box spring (only $25!), a toy semi-truck for the boys, and a basket of cute picnic dishes. We all enjoyed the day in town, perusing the fascinating history in the museums, the auction -- along with the great people-watching it provided, and a most beautiful sunny day. The notorious Placerville fireworks that night did not let us down either. Once again, it was a fabulous display of pyromania--though Dad's hair did not catch on fire this year, thankfully.

Fishing in the creek, the perilous Placerville fireworks, picnics at "Whale Rock" and in the stream (yes, right in the stream), campfires & s'mores atop Hawley Ridge while overlooking more fireworks in the valley, bike rides, hikes, and running on the trails, panning for gold, digging for historic mining artifacts, watching the sun set from a mountain peak, and many other fun-filled adventures have been among our activities together.

I can assure you, there will be many photos shared from the past few weeks in my upcoming posts, but for now, I'll just add a few pictures and wrap this up. Hope you're all enjoying a safe and fun-filled summer too!

Precious photos from a fishing trip to the stream -- It's rare to capture both boys in the frame together, so these are some new favorites.