Before the Return to College

Before Bean went back down to SD for her LAST semester, we had a few more adventures!

She and I went to Pescadero State Beach for the low tide and saw a gorgeous rainbow right after we arrived.

We had fun poking around in the tide pools for a couple of hours. Nothing particularly unusual, but lots of sea stars, crabs, limpets and chitons.

And maybe not so adventurous, but we had a cozy afternoon of reading by the fire on Sunday, which was delightful.

And then, that Thursday, Bean, Peanut and I went up to Dodge Ridge to ski and snowboard.

It had snowed a couple inches the night before, and a couple of feet just a few days before that, so we actually had some powder runs! Bean did her first double black diamond and I did a powder black run for the first time in a couple of decades. It was a lot of fun. . .

until the last run of the day, when we pushed Peanut a little out of his comfort zone, and abilities for that point in the day. He had done a level 4 lesson all morning, and then was practicing his turns all afternoon, and I wanted to do one last run with him before we left, but probably shouldn't have picked something more challenging. Between the wind, the cold, and the exhaustion, he decided it was easier to slide down on his butt for awhile, poor kid. Hopefully we can end on a better note next time.

We had dinner and games with friends on her last night.

We all hate to have to say goodbye, even Poppy. She loves her "baby" time with Bean.

And then, because we wanted one more fun day, I followed Bean down to Monterey on her drive back.

We went to the aquarium for a couple of hours,

and managed to at least quickly see pretty much all of the exhibits before we grabbed lunch and then said goodbye.

Glad I got to send her off! It's hard to believe that she's almost done with her bachelor's degree. We can't wait to see what this next chapter holds for her.

 

Quick Trip to SD

Bean was only home for a day before we had to get her down to San Diego for the spring semester which had already started the week before. She and I drove down Sunday, and hit pretty terrible weather on the Grapevine.

It snowed!

But we made it down to Bean's new house for the semester--a house about 1/2 a mile down the hill from campus where she has her own room and lives with 3 other water polo friends. We got her sort of unpacked and went grocery shopping so she would be ready for the class the next day.

Monday morning, I met up with a friend at Torrey Pines State Park for a hike.

And once again, we hit crazy weather, with wind and rain, in a place that is usually so nice.

And right after we finished the 3 mile hike, the sun came out and the beach was lovely.

As I drove back down the coast, I stopped at La Jolla Shores.

I wanted to check out the tidepools.

Found a few snails.

And then made a quick stop at The Bahia to visit the seals.

And found this California Aglaja (a predatory sea slug) on the sand.

I helped him back into the water and then I had to run a few errands for Bean and join a virtual meeting before I met up with her to see her for a bit before she had to head to water polo practice.

And the next morning, I said goodbye to this girl as she headed out to her second day of classes. We walked to campus together where I could take the trolley/shuttle combo to the airport for my flight home, and she could try to get back into US college life.

Happy Independence Day

We've got a lot of work to do this summer, but 4th of July meant beach time with friends!

Several families joined us and we had a blast, even if it wasn't very warm--didn't stop the kids from playing in and around the water most of the day.

Daddy-o was able to join us, which doesn't always happen on these holidays, but we love it when he gets to come play, too. It was a fun day and we made it back to Livermore to grill burgers without any traffic, always a bonus!

Birthday Trip to Yosemite

What better way to celebrate a birthday than a day in Yosemite? We had perfect weather, so much water everywhere, and overall very happy hikers!

Got up crazy early to get on the road before 5 a.m. Traffic getting into Yosemite can be miserable in the summer, so we didn't want to chance it and it paid off nicely--only 2 cars in front of us at the gate and plenty of parking when we got there at 8:30.

The Merced River is so full this year. We didn't want to miss the chance to see all the falls at their best.

Once we found a parking spot for the day and ate breakfast, we were ready to hike! 

We've never done the mist trail before, and since that offers great views of two waterfalls, we thought this was the year to do it.

The hike to the bridge below Vernal Falls is steep, but paved and fairly shady.

 

After that point, the trail continues up and turns into rock steps--

and it gets WET. 

All of the mist coming off Vernal Falls makes it a really wet hike. 

But all that mist makes some beautiful rainbows! 

We brought rain jackets just for this, and were glad we did.

Past the falls, there's a view from above.

We stopped at the top for awhile to have lunch and dry out a little.

Then, took the trail up to where we could connect to the John Muir trail to loop back down, and got a view of Nevada Falls up above. We didn't have time (or energy) to hike up to that waterfall.

But there were views of both falls along the trail. The hike is rated as difficult, and it was--steep and pretty technical with lots of rocks. Honestly, it was a little too much for my ankle and where I'm at endurance-wise and I was hurting on the way down, but I survived and could still walk the next day :).

Once we made it back to our car for snacks and changing out shoes/jackets, we went the other direction for about a mile to see Yosemite Falls. The meadows are so beautiful this year. It was a really nice walk.

We didn't last long for the view of the lower falls from the bridge. The mist was COLD!

Plus, we had to get on the road so we could make it to the birthday dinner that Grandma and Grandpa had planned.

So glad we got to have a great day with our Bean for her birthday. We feel pretty lucky to have her around--it's weird that she's gone for a big chunk of the year now, but we're soaking up the time we have. And love watching her grow into this awesome adult. She's doing a pretty good job of managing the new challenges and taking advantage of all of the opportunities that this stage of life offers. Her adventurous spirit makes my mama heart happy.

 

Smorgasbord of September

In an effort to get caught up, and still get a taste of what has been occupying our time. . . Here's a snapshot of the rest of September. 

Peanut had more swim practices. He hasn't complained too much yet.

Daddy-o made us a Chilean meal to celebrate their independence day. We had friends over for completos and empanadas--delicious!

We followed up the bedroom move with moving the actual beds a couple weeks later because it turns out, Peanut actually doesn't like having his own room and definitely doesn't like sleeping too close to the ground (and all those monsters lurking under the bed.) so we moved the bunk beds into his room and the big bed moved to Bug's room (and he's loving the extra length so he can stretch out.) Unfortunately, all that work hasn't led to a happy Peanut, but at least I now have the bottom bunk to sleep in when he needs someone in the middle of the night--and we got a new mattress for that bed, so it's actually very comfortable.

We got a crazy rainstorm--not only earlier than normal, but a LOT of water in a short time. Felt like we were back in North Carolina and we loved it.

Bean has been making friends at school--it's been a slower start than she hoped, but she likes these kids who she gets a ride to church with each week. Out of the 30,000 students at the school, these are the only four who live on campus and attend the same church as her. Not as big of a group as we were hoping for, but at least she's enjoying them.

Bug got talked into doing the class dance for their Homecoming rally and had fun as a 50's greaser.

He's been busy with water polo games and practices, including some early morning practices with the other Livermore high school. Our team doesn't do the early mornings, and his club coach is at the other school, so invited anyone who wanted to show up for those. Bug is the only one who has. He can't get enough of the pool.

Daddy-o got to see the Brubeck Brothers when they came to play at the Bankhead. No one else could get away that evening to go with him, but he said it was an incredible concert.

Peanut and I got to spend a beautiful morning exploring one of the parks on the bay with my nature group. The ranger who met with us was great and so excited about our goup.

She swore them all in as Jr. Rangers at the end--it was a fun class.

Bean, along with water polo, also found time to get belay certified and has plans for weekly rock climbing with a friend from the water polo team.

Daddy-o, Peanut, and I went to an A's game with friends. I think the kids were somewhat apathetic about the whole game experience.

It's actually a pretty far cry from the games I used to go to in the 80s/90s when the team was so good--they lost pretty badly, and the crowd was small and not very enthusiastic (I guess there's not much to be excited about when you're losing, but there was no attempt to do the wave or anything.) But the kids were happy with the ridiculous number of snacks they got to eat, so there is that.

Bug couldn't go with us because he had the homecoming game that night, and then the dance the next night. He went with a big group of friends and said it was a fun time.

Meanwhile, Bean was able to find a friend to go to a game at Petco Park. They rode the trolley downtown and watched the Dodger's beat the Padres which made her happy.

At church, during Stake Conference, I got put in as the secretary to the new Stake Young Woman's Presidency. I don't think I'm really great at the whole secretary thing, but I'm learning and these women I get to work with are amazing people, so that's going to be fun.

We spent a lot of time on California history--so many good books, and so much history that I didn't know anything about.

Peanut got a day at work with his dad, which he always loves, and he did some actual work. He also got a Taco Bell lunch out of the deal, which is reason enough to go.

Another nature group outing--this time at a local park where we learned all about leaves and finally got to do the leaf sketching activity that I've been wanting to try for years. The kids did amazing sketches that were mostly very easily identifiable which was the point of the game.

Also had a few days of checking in on this sweet pup and the other dog at the house (he hates me so seldom sticks around for pictures, haha.)

Those doggy days have given us a chance to mix things up and take school to a new location. Even just changing backyards can keep things interesting.

And that's pretty much a wrap on September.