July 4th

On Monday morning we went to the annual July 4th breakfast with the church. It was great. Jarod made chorrizo and eggs to share, and there was a nice program. At the end, a flock of homing pigeons was released. Their flight created a little breeze, which was heavenly. It was quite a warm morning. By 8:00 it was almost 90 degrees outside. I was dying. After the breakfast we headed to the beach. I was quite worn out before we got there from our activities over the weekend. As soon as we arrived at the beach and opened our windows to feel the pleasant 75 degree air, I was refreshed and rejuvenated. It was just what this pregnant mama needed. The thing we like about living in Bakersfield is that it's just a hop, skip, and a jump from all the attractions that make California a great place to visit. It only takes two hours to get to the beach and mountains. What could be better?As soon as we got to the beach we ate our little picnic, and then headed into the waves. The older two kids loved it!This is what Jack spent most of the time doing. We did convince him to get in the water a few times, but usually only if I was holding him.I love his sandy toes.

Carly and Josh had a great time jumping in the waves with Daddy.

When Josh got cold he came and sat on the beach with me and Jack. Then he proceeded to scoot down to the water...filling his trunks with sand in the process.

I got a kick out of it. I convinced Josh to let me bury his legs in an effort to warm him up. While we were playing, I noticed a man walking the beach with a chameleon on his head. He was nice enough to stop and show off his pet to the kids.I let the kids bury me, in the hopes that then I could do the same to them. They had a great time. It was funny to watch them try to bury my tummy, only to have the sand slide off my suit. It took all I had in me not to stand up and shake it all off, because there were these tiny baby worm/cricket looking bugs that I could feel crawling on me. I had major heebee jeebees. I was pretty proud of how I kept it together, though. When I stood up, I tried to convince Carly to take a turn...she decided that the bugs were not for her, so we all headed out to the waves to rinse off.

I got the kids started on a sand sculpture. We were inspired by the group next to us that had some pretty impressive sand art. Notice the dolphin and shark in the background?

After a while they started collecting rocks and organizing them into a design.

We had a great time playing, and by the time we left, it was time for dinner. We found a local seafood restaurant, and were treated to some deliciously fresh seafood. It was a great way to spend the holiday, and our last big hurrah before the baby is born.

General Grant

Disclaimer: this post is not about General Grant the Union Army general and 18th President of the United States. It is, however, about the tree named after him.

http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Grant_(tree)

After our over night camping adventure, we stopped at the General Grant Tree to take a look. I have always loved the giant sequoia trees, since being introduced to them by Jarod and his family when we were dating. They are truly awe inspiring. We were excited to see this part of the park. It was great. The hike to see General Sherman in a different part of the park is a very steep trek, and I was a little worried it would be the same situation getting to General Grant. Thankfully, it wasn't! When we pulled into the parking lot, we were greeted immediately by several giant sequoia trees. On the way up, there was a tree that had fallen over and been hollowed out. It was fun to walk in the tree tunnel.

The view of General Grant at the base of the trail. We hiked up around the back of the tree to see the fire scar. The kids saw someone else posing in this tree...monkey see, monkey do. Cute little monkeys.

Camping

Over July 4th weekend we went camping. While planning our trip, we checked out several different camp sites on line, and realized we should have booked our site much earlier (duh). We did find some first come first serve sites near General Grant in the Kings Canyon section of Sequoia National Park. This seemed ideal, since we haven't ever ventured into that part of the park. We had hoped to stay at a campsite located right next to the General Grant tree, but when we arrived it had just filled. We drove on and lucked out, scoring the last available camp site at Hume Lake. It turned out to be perfect. The kids were all eager to help Daddy set up the camp. They all took a turn hammering the tent stakes into the ground. After setting up camp and having lunch, we took a little hike down to the lake to check out the scenery. We were not disappointed. It was beautiful! At the edge of the lake we saw some tadpoles. It didn't take long before everyone had their shoes off and pants rolled up to catch tadpoles and play in the water. On our next visit we will rent canoes for sure. The water was very inviting, and there were many people taking advantage of it from our camp, as well as the Christian camp across the lake.

While we were playing at the edge of the lake there were a few ducks that were swimming near us. After a while a mama duck and six little ducklings came swimming by. It was so neat to see.

When we were done playing in the water, we took the trail up farther, and saw what looked to be the general store. Jarod decided to check it out with Josh. Jack, Carly, and I headed back to camp, knowing that Jarod would be able to catch up to us in no time, due to the speed at which I walk these days. Unfortunately, I missed the turn off on the trail back to camp, and we walked much farther and longer than necessary, getting lost in the process. Our campsite was number seventy four. We came out in the twenties. Carly expressed her regret in choosing to come with me instead of Daddy. She said she wished she'd gone with him, because then she wouldn't be lost. Nice. Finally a couple park rangers went by in a go cart and they took pity on me and my pathetic state. We got a ride back to camp, and Jarod was embarrassed that he'd let his wife who was very great with child wander off with two small children and no water...that's right, I let him hold the water. When he and Josh got back to camp and found us absent, he went to look for us, and had come back to camp twice before our return. Yeah, I felt pretty awesome. Leave it to me to get lost on a trail that was less than a mile long. That night we had fun reading books, cooking over the fire, and playing UNO with the kids. They are a hoot.

The next day we broke camp, and went down to the lake again. I decided to take Jarod to a little spot we had discovered on our extended adventure the evening before. It was a little fishing pier, and it had a great view. On our way back, we found a little chair that had been carved out of a tree. The kids all took a turn sitting in it, and getting their picture taken. By this point Josh had traveled the trail several times, and new exactly where to turn to go back up to our camp. Next time I'm taking him when we get separated.We're glad the kids love camping. They are such good little adventurers.

Swim Lessons

The kids just finished their summer swim lessons last week. They did so well! We were lucky enough to have a friend teaching swim lessons from her home, and the kids loved Allie. The first day they didn't want to leave. The class size was perfect to give them the personal attention they needed. They have all improved leaps and bounds from last year, and have gained so much confidence in the water. We are lucky to have access to a pool here at our condo complex so they can practice their new skills.

Carly has a beautiful free style stroke. I wish I had a better video to capture it. In her class, they practiced the free style, learned the back stroke, treading water, and diving in from the side of the pool. Carly is a natural swimmer. It is such a treat to watch her progress.

Here she is doing the back stroke.

Josh was the oldest in the class, and so naturally was a little more advanced than Jack and Paige. He was able to practice his free style, and get started on his back stroke. They also practiced jumping in from the side of the pool, touching the bottom, and grabbing onto the wall. He's such a little fish. Josh is practicing diving from the side of the pool.

(Please ignore Jack. He doesn't actually hate swimming. I think he just got a kick out of being on video.)

Jackie did really well, also. I was just happy to see him putting his face in the water at first. That's something he wouldn't do last year. Granted, he did have a scare last summer...poor traumatized kid. I loved how Allie called their arms diggers, and their legs kickers, so they could really get an idea for what they should be doing. Jack was so proud of himself. He still tells me that he was swimming by himself, and Allie didn't even have to help!!

I think his favorite part of the lesson was at the end when they got to 'dive' for toys...there were sharks!!

Sprinkler Park

While school got out a month ago, summer officially started last week when we hit 100 degree weather. The only way to beat the heat has been to swim all day. To shake things up, Claire and I took the kids to a sprinkler park in town. At first they were hesitant to get sprayed by the freezing water, but eventually they succumbed to the heat, and got wet. They loved it!

Toothless Joe

I just love this picture of Carly. I think she looks pretty cute toothless. She has lost six teeth so far. I was anxious for this last one to come out, because her permanent tooth was starting to break through. Her brothers have managed to aid her in extracting her top front teeth while playing. Good thing too, because I don't think I can convince Jarod to help in that department again after trying to get this one out, and loose teeth give me the heebie jeebies.

Carly is always excited when a tooth comes out, and keeps good track of it so that she can be sure to leave it for the tooth fairy. I think the tooth fairy has been subject to inflation over the years. She/he brings a whopping dollar for each tooth. Not sure how we got suckered into that one...what happened to a quarter a tooth?? Maybe I just got ripped off as a kid...

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!!

Jarod recently took Carly on a daddy daughter excursion to an LA Dodgers baseball game. They had a great time, and stayed until the end to watch the fireworks. Carly was in heaven, having her daddy all to herself.