Road trip

Friday September 2, 2005
Road Trips!!! We are covering Northern and Central California and not leaving too many stones unturned. We spent the first day or two at my parents catching up on our sleep and a little swimming in Grandma Carols pool across the street. We were then able to borrow a car from my parents and head to Modesto. The Elste family, Amy, Ed, Charlie and Severin graciously put us up for the week and showed us a great time. We met their friends the Castle and Shank families and enjoyed some fun swimming and a nice BBQ. The boys managed to set up a lemonade stand and brought in a little extra spending money for all four of them to share. We were able to spend a little more time with Bruce's parents in Oakdale before they head back up to live in our house in Washington. We were very grateful to sneak in one more day of swimming at Amy's parents house the Hoffman's. These pools are key out here in the valley. Though we are taking full credit for bringing them some nice tolerable Washington summer weather. It stayed in the mid 90's while we were there and we didn't have to brave the 100's this time. whew. A big highlight is definitely the trip to Yosemite. It was a perfect day of picnic lunches and a beautiful hike up to Bridal Veil and Vernal falls. The boys all did spectacular! They were rewarded with dipping their toes in a crystal clear lake and snow cones when they got home. You can never tire of looking at the beauty and wonder of the mountains.
Back in the Bay Area my parents put on a nice little pool side get together for family and friends. My sister-in-law Jenny and niece Samantha, nephew Malcolm came down from Auburn, CA. We were able to chat and tell our story a little more. My sister Krista and her two boys Indiana and Lucian were able to come down and visit from Arcata, Ca which was very special. We took them all and did a day in San Francisco at the Exploratorium. It is very comparable to the Seattle Pacific Science Center. The boys loved making tornados, bubble creations and making dad peddle to create electricity.
We were about to head out this week before we realized that Labor Day Weekend was coming and decided not to brave the millions of boaters last summer fling and crazy waters just yet. So, flexibility is the name of our game and we headed to Squaw Valley, Lake Tahoe. It was home the the 1960 Winter Olympics and nearly every one of my greatest childhood memories. My parents have a cabin there that needed some yard work done, and away we went. We enjoyed a few more pine trees and mountain hikes before we begin the rest of the journey on the water. We are back to the Bay Area to do a bit more organizing and preparations before we head out. Hope your summer is wrapping up well. I know the boys are even looking forward to a little bit more structure and routine which is good as we are ready to start our school work along with a lot of you.
all our love,
Lisa and the boys

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