Camping "Fun"

Justin's friend Evan had his 29th birthday last weekend. For the last few years he has gone camping for his birthday and this year was no different. They were going up to Foresthill (Near Auburn) to go camping at a place where you can go dirt bike riding. Of course Justin heard that and had to go. Since it is only about a 2 1/2 hour drive we decided to go up for just the day on Saturday. However, on Friday we thought it would be "fun" to spend the night.

For those of you who know me you might know that I am not a big camper. It is not the camping so much that bothers me. But I hate all of the work that goes into camping and I hate sleeping on the ground. I was worried about Paige sleeping since she has always had a hard time sleeping. And I had read some horrible reviews about the camp management. But we went anyways. I was trying hard to serve my husband in this way.

We left a little after 7AM, got some McDonald's and headed up there. We had our GPS and some directions from Evan's Sister. We were making good time when the GPS told us to turn on a dirt road. This dirt road reminded me of one of those back woods horror films, or at least a dirt biking trail. It did not feel right, but we had the GPS so we followed it. It took us to a clearing where the road split into a few directions. The direction the GPS was telling us to go was a closed road. We decided to turn around and follow the other directions we had. We were back on pavement and came to the gravel road the directions said and so we went on it. That road turned into a dirt road with some crazy jumps in it. Thank God we were in the big truck. Ironically that took us right back to that closed road again. So we tried one more time. Kept going straight instead of turning on the gravel road and less than a mile later we finally found the campsite.

The managers would not allow us to share their campsite as there were too many people, so we had to get our own. Luckily it was not too far from them. We set-up our tent and pack-n-play. Then Paige and I hung out with Danielle and Maelee (Their 10 month old daughter) while Justin went and rode with Evan. The day was not too bad. It was a little chilly with sporadic moments of heat. We had lunch, we went on a small hike and just hung out. It was exhausting chasing after Paige in a strange place. We were able to borrow Evan and Danielle's B.O.B (Which is amazing) to get Paige to take a late nap.

We cooked dinner and hung out with the many people that were there with Evan. Around 8:30 Justin tried to walk Paige again, but that did not work. A little later, I took her to the tent, and she just played. Justin was going to take her for another walk, but by this time it was after 10PM and dark. He was not sure what kind of wildlife he would run into, so he went to the car and put on a video. I joined him and we watched Boz two times. I bounced Paige and she would almost fall asleep. Then she would sit up- major fighting. We finally put her in her car seat and strapped her in. She cried for a while. Justin had me go to sleep in the tent.

So I slept alone in the tent, on the ground. I had several blankets underneath me but they were not much padding. Justin slept in the car, with a towel for his blanket and Paige. She continued to cry periodically for the entire night. Needless to say we probably won't be camping as a family for a little while. And we are seriously considering buying a trailer of some sorts once we have some money to do so. But overall, the place was beautiful and Justin had a great time riding. I was able to get a few pictures at the beginning so here are a few of them.

Paige and daddy hanging out between rides.
Paige sitting on the wood block.

Evan & Danielle's campsite. We sepnt most of our time there.

Daneille, Evan's sister (Raymee?Sp?) is holding Maelee.

18 Months Old

Last Monday, Paige had her 18 month check up. She is now 24 lbs 3 oz and 32.5 inches tall. She may be on the "average" size, but the doctor says she is as smart as a 2 year old, if not smarter. She says so many words I lost count months ago and she picks up more than a word a day. She knows many animals and is learning their sounds. She is a little parrot, so we have to be very careful what we say around her. But she is a happy, healthy child and we are so blessed by her every day.

Skateboarder too!

Justin was working at a job a week or so ago. Somehow he met some guy who brought him a little tiny skateboard for Paige. And of course, she loves it.

Dirt Bike Rider in our future.

My husband has this idea of who his daughter is going to be. She is going to be the beautiful girl who can get down and dirty with the boys. If you have ever seen Nitro Circus, then you know who Joleen is. That is his dream. He plans on buying her a dirt bike when she is around 3. She will also skateboard, play all kinds of sports. Basically if it is dangerous, she will do it. I will laugh if she chooses to become a ballerina instead. But she is kind of fearless so I imagine I have many years of gripping onto my husbands hand while my girl (with safety gear on of course) does dangerous stunts. I also invision there will be many trips to the E.R....

Tilden Park

On Memorial Day we decided to take Paige to Tilden Park for the first time. We grabbed Mikaila and headed out. Justin did not even know Tilden existed and was very excited to have another cool place to go. We were looking for little farm, but the park is very big. We found the carousel first. So we stopped and Mikaila took Paige for a ride. She won't go on a horse yet, but she had a great time.

Then we headed out and found little farm. We had brought a thing of celery and a head of romaine lettuce. All though, I was surprised we had anything left since Justin kept snacking on the way. He joked around that maybe we should just get him a cage and feed him lettuce and celery. He is a veggie nut!

Paige loved looking at the animals, but she did not want to actually feed them yet. She is still a little timid..

Petting the bunny.

Grand Canyon Part 3

After we got back to the hotel, Joseph, Tyler and I headed into the Hot Tub while Paige napped in the car with her Daddy. I drilled the boys about their favorite desserts to get ideas since it was Josephs 15th birthday. After Paige woke up, I took the car out and picked up an apple pie, plates, forks and candles. We played in the hotel for a couple of more hours.
Here the boys put my shoes on Paige and walked her around. She loved it.

Daddy & Paige played some video games in the arcade.

Paige found a little girl to play with. We had brought a beach ball to blow up and the kicked it around the arcade.

After that, we all played another round of bowling before heading to dinner. Grandma took us out for a nice family dinner at a Texas style BBQ. Unfortunately Justin had gotten sick before we went, and while he was feeling much better , I was not. I had to have him take me back to the hotel and lie down for a little while. They enjoyed dinner. When everyone came back to the hotel, we lit the candles on the pie and sang happy birthday to Joseph. I then took the baby to bed and everyone else hung out for a little while.

Paige did not sleep so well the 2nd night and we had to get up at 5:30AM. We had everyone packed up and were on the road at 6AM. I was still feeling kind of sick. Tyler had gotten sick the night before, and Keith was not feeling well either. But we just drove. We made really good time, stopped only a couple of quick times. Paige did not sleep on any of the car ride back. We were able to drive through the strip so the boys could see Las Vegas before we returned out car and headed back through security at the Las Vegas Airport. It took us a long time again, but we made it there with plenty of time. We got lunch and got on the airplane. Unfortunately Paige had a very long day, and broke down on the plane. She fell asleep for about 45 minutes on the plane, but woke up and continued crying. We think her ears may have been bothering her.

Here is a picture from the car ride back, before she broke down. We are very glad we brought the portable DVD player for her. It helped. The boys helped a lot too.

Overall it was a short, quick, but fun trip. We did realize what a big number, 7, is. Especially with a baby, kid on crutches, and older woman who needed a wheel chair for long walks. But we made it. It was such an important trip. We look forward to more trips with the kids.

I was able to post some of the pictures here. If you want to see all of them, let me know and I will email a link to Shutterfly for you.

Grand Canyon Part 2

We woke up early on Wednesday (We were up at 6 since Paige was up, but we didn't wake up the boys until 7:20). We met up for breakfast just before 8 with the plans on heading into the canyon at 8:30. Because Dan & Michelle got in so late, they were running a little behind. We finally got on the road around 9 or so.

We stopped at the first lookout because it was such a beautiful view.
I was able to snap this picture of Justin's grandma with her great grandchildren. It was hard to take because Paige was ready to get down and climb all over everything. We moved onto the lookout point that Chrissy had recommended. It was crowded, but we had fun.

Justin found a rock to climb out on. The wind was strong, so of course I was worried. He was a little scared, but mostly just loved it. Paige definitely takes after him.

A quick family shot. Then we let Paige get down (with her Elmo Harness). I am really glad I bought the harness. I used to say I would never Leash my child, but in the right places, it is necessary. I think she would have run off a cliff if I could not have stopped her.

Since the lookout was so crowded, we got back into the cars and headed for a spot that was more secluded and less populated. We found a beautiful spot. We got out of the car and everyone was gathering together. I walked up and said to Justin, "Aren't you missing someone". He said, "Yeah, you". I was talking about Keith, who it turned out had climbed a tree to get a better view. He climbed down and joined the family. Justin opened in prayer and asked if anyone had something to say about his mom. A few people said some nice things. Dan & Justin set his Mom's ashes loose in the canyon. She is finally where she wanted to be, after 8 years of waiting. I think that this is going to bring some need closure to his family. It was just sad that his oldest brother Stan could not be there. But at least we were able to bring his kids.

Here is a picture of Stan's kids talking about their Grandma overlooking the spot where they spread her ashes. The boys then were enjoying the area and started to throw rocks. Keith climbed back into the tree. And Paige joined right in with them (Not Keith). When we were getting ready to head out and get some lunch, Paige was starting to get tired and had the below meltdown.

We had lunch at a cafeteria type place in Grand Canyon Village. It was nice to be together as a family. We then headed back to the hotel to relax. More to come in the next post..

Grand Canyon Part 1

Our trip to the Grand Canyon started off with a little bit of a surprise. Two days before we left, we received a call explaining that Justin's Grandma would need to come with us on our travels. Unfortunetely , there was a problem with the people who were watching her ranch and Chrissy would no longer be able to drive her there. We shuffled around our transportation to the airport and welcomed the change.

Justin picked up his 3 nephews (12, 15 & 19) and his grandma on Monday afternoon. They settled in for a nice dinner and then we hung out outside and played games, etc after Paige went to bed. I slept on one couch and the boys slept on the floor (We gave Grandma the bed- Yes my mother raised me right!).

On Monday morning I woke up at 5:15 AM, dropped Justin and Tyler off at the Bart at 5:30 AM. Keith and I stopped and picked up some coffee and headed home to get the rest of the family ready to go. My dad picked us up and dropped us off at SFO by 7:30 AM. We had a little trouble since Grandma realized she did not actually have her ID in the stuff she brought. Luckily, she had a credit card with her picture on it which they accepted with a little extra security. Our nephew Joseph was on crutches because of a skateboarding accident and also had to go through the whole screening (They even tested the poor kid for explosives). It took us a little longer to get throug security, but we made it.

Our flight was slightly delayed, but it was not a long on into Las Vegas. Paige did very well. Joseph and Tyler had never been on a plane. It was nice because Joseph and Grandma got to pre-board and get us seats. Justin, Paige & I were able to family board before there were too many people on the plane too. So we all sat in one row and had an uneventful flight. When we landed, we got a wheelchair to help Joseph and Grandma through the large airport. It was like having our own personal guide which was great.

We upgraded from a basic minivan to a Toyota Sienna which was great. It actually had 8 seats so Paige, Joseph & me (We both get car sick sometimes) were able to sit in the middle. Grandma sat up front. Justin & I switched off driving on the way there, but he did drive most of the way. We got lunch and some drinks. Then we headed towards the Grand Canyon. About 30 minutes into our trip we made a pitstop at the Hoover Dam. It was HOT. Some pics are below.

Justin, his Grandma, me and Paige.

3 generations in one pic.

From left to right: Keith, Justin, Grandma, Tyler, Joseph. Paige is in front.

After our short trip, we continued on. We stopped a couple of times. We got into our hotel at about 6:15 PM. It took us about 5 1/2 hours to drive there, but we weren't in a rush. We got settled in. Our rooms were HUGE and the beds were so comfy for a Best Western. We went to the hotel restaurant for their buffet, which was in my opinion a waste of money. It was $18/person, for a total of $140! And it was not that Good. We should have gotten Pizza, but it was dark, we were tired and didn't feel like exploring the area.

The hotel had a bowling alley and game room. We put Paige to bed, turned on the moniter and hung out next door in the boys room. The boys and Grandma went and bowled. I turned in around 10:30 PM. Justin & Keith stayed up until 2AM when his brother Dan & Dan's wife Michelle arrived. It was along day. Stay tuned for my blog on the next days events.

Ohio Bound

I went to Ohio the first weekend of May to watch my 1/2 sister Danielle get married. It was a beautiful wedding. A little awkard for me since I don't really know very many people there. Danielle is usually my tie to the family and always makes me feel better since she gives me a heads up on who people are and re-introduces them to me. But overall it was a great time. It was weird to be away from Justin & Paige for 4 days. But I read 2 1/2 books on my trip, watched 2 movies on the planes and had some relaxation. Now we are gearing up for a quick trip to the Grand Canyon in a little over a week. We are going to spread Justin's moms ashes, so I can't say the trip will be a lot of fun, but we are going to make the best of it. I will post more on that adventure when it comes. For now, I will leave you and avoid the fact that it will be mothers day tomorrow and my 30th birthday in a couple of days.

Danielle & Jeff during their first dance.
My nephew brady and Danielles new neice and nephew dancing.

Me & the Bride.

The Ceremony

The Ceremony.

Summer Fun- Wait it is only spring

It has been very hot the past few days. It was in the 90's yesterday. So after we got home from swim lessons, took a nap (Only Paige) and ate lunch, we set-up the kiddie pool. At first it was too cold for her and she did not like me much since I kept pouring water on her. She is used to very warm water at swim lessons so it was different. When she got used to the water she had a lot of fun playing. Then we introduced her to her first popcicle. It is one of those 100% fruit, no sugar added, ones and they were delicious. It took her a few minutes to figure out what it was, but she ate it. The plus side to eating popcicles in the pool is that the mess is easily washed away!

The birthday parties begin

Paige was invited to her first birthday party for a friend. Her name is Audrey and she turned 4. She had a party at a place called Gymtastic in San Ramon. It was so much fun. It took Paige a little while to warm up, but she was having a blast by the end. She jumped on the trampolines and the jumpy house. It also became her mission to empty the ball pit, but it was another young boys mission to put the balls back in so that kept her busy for a while. Chasing her around this gym made it difficult to take too many pictures, but here are a few. Climbing the balance beam
Jumping on the little trampoline

The staff did a great job playing game with the birthday girl.

Paige and her buddy Zane are only a couple of months apart. They had fun eating Pizza and cake together. Zane has the pizza thing down better than Paige.

The birthday girls cake.

Her Daddy's Daughter

Mikaila and I went and ate at Panera Bread yesterday. I had not brought much food for Paige so I ordered a turkey sandwhich with the intention she would eat the turkey and cheese. Instead she ate onions. And a piece of salami from my sandwhich. She is definetely her daddys daughter.

Great America for Easter

This year, my parents came up with a great idea for Easter. We went to Great America. And it was really a great idea. The parking lot was only about a 1/4 full. We were there for about 5 hours and rode pretty much all of our favorite rides. Some of them we rode more than once, and we were able to sit in the front row after only waiting for 2-3 cars. It was cake. And Paige had a great time. She rode her first rides and while she was a little scared at first, she warmed up and enjoyed them after not long. And she loved running around. We all got season passes so we plan on coming back at least a few times, and there is talk that this will be our new family Easter tradition. See below for the pictures of Paige on the rides.

This is her very first ride. Auntie Chelsie tried to put her on a horse, but she clung onto her for dear life before the ride even began so she sat in the bench instead.
This was the Dora the explorer ride. The car goes up for a while and that freaked her out for minute but she did like this ride.

This was a bus that goes over and up and back down. She did not like this one too much. She wanted to be in my lap, but she could not be in my lap.

This is the Great American Bandstand where they do Karaoke shows. Justin and I really met for the first time here when I was singing with my friends. Now 14 or 15 years later we are back with our daughter.

Easter Egg Hunt

Easter has a whole new meaning with a little girl. We decided to "hide" plastic eggs in our front yard. We gave her the basket and showed her what to do with the first egg and she went on her way. She had no problem finding most of the eggs (only got a few hints). When she was done, we went back inside, she dumped them out and then put them back in the basket. The greatest part was that we didn't even have to put anything in the eggs. At this age, just finding the eggs is fun enough. We "hid" some more at my moms house after church while we were getting ready for Brunch before heading off to Great America (More to come on the next blog). Here are some pictures from both hunts.

At my moms.
Isn't the basket a little big for her.

Her first one!