Park Day in the Redwoods

We had our annual Park Day in Henry Cowell State Park. The short hike through the redwoods is beautiful,

and then we spent the rest of the day on the river.

We had four families, 11 kids (and a few extras who joined the kids' fun throughout the day.)

They spent hours playing in the water, skipping rocks, and hunting for critters.

There were a lot of people at the park--more than normal.

Maybe because the weather was perfect.

One of the kids caught a carp with his bare hands!

I feel like this is the best opportunity for the kids to just be feral.

They had a fantastic day.

We finished off with pizza in Santa Cruz to wait out the evening traffic and the drive home was painless. I always feel like our longer park days in the summer capture everything that is good about homeschooling and childhood in general.

Pool Time

We've had a couple of parties at the pool this week.

Several members came together to for the 4th of July, with a BBQ and swim time. It was actually surprisingly cool which made it feel perfect to sit in the shade near the pool, and not get in, haha. Peanut and his friend who joined us swam, and some of the other adults got in later, but I was okay sitting this one out.

And on Tuesday, we had our Park Day Pool Party. Good turn out and so much fun for all ages.

I'm so glad that we get to do this. It's the best few hours. I can't believe we only have a few more weeks of park days before Peanut starts high school! He's feeling a little stressed by it, too, but I think once he starts, he'll be okay..