The Beginning of Summer

I have survived two weeks of summer break so far. Trent has almost three months off of school, which is great.  I am so excited to spend the time with him.  
Week 1: Trent had basketball camp in the morning and then in the afternoon we found things to do.  
On Monday, we just regrouped from our busy weekend of camping.  
Tuesday we headed out to Bass Pro Shop with my parents and nephew.  Bass Pro Shop was having workshops and activities for the kids during the afternoon.  Trent and Jake learned about archery and shooting and then got to shoot a bebe gun and bow and arrow.  They also went "fishing" where they tried to cast into a bucket.  They had fun with all the activities. Whenever we are at Bass Pro Shop Trent has to follow the bear and deer tracks around the store.  It's the little (unusual) things that Trent finds fun. 

The boys fishing...

The rest of the week was pretty mellow.  I got Trent back on his bike and we rode around the neighborhood in the afternoons. 
Week 2: Trent went in the morning to Music and Drama Camp, while I went to work for a few hours.  
On Wednesday, Trent and I took a friend from school and his Mom to the Dodger game.  It was a day game and of course it ended up being the hottest day of the week.  The good thing was the food was half price.  Trent and I ate for $8.50, which is a steal for Dodger stadium.  Even though, it was hot and we were in the sun the whole time we had a good time.  Trent and his friend stayed interested in the game and talked about whatever boys talk about...I am pretty sure the conversations involved DS games and what the best strategy is for this or that.
On Friday, I went to see the play that the kids were practicing for all week.  Trent was a lion in the play Daniel and the Lions Den.  He had perfected his roar during the week and did a great job.

RRROOOOAAARRR!

We didn't get on the bike this week, but we did play in the backyard and in the tree house.
This weekend Tim, Trent and Tim's Dad are hiking up 8 miles to the top of Mt. Wilson.  The story and pictures to come.

Father's Day

We had a busy Father's Day weekend.  We started out with a birthday party on Saturday afternoon.  Then celebrated Father's Day with my parents by going to dinner at Wood Ranch. Oh my that was such a yummy dinner.  

Sunday morning started off early with a 6:50 call from Tim's brother reminding him that he needed to register for the Amtrak Century Bike Ride by 7:00 a.m. (Tim had completely forgotten). Tim quickly got up and tried to register only to find out that the site's server had crashed and registration would be at noon.  Ugh! There was no going back to sleep for us since we had to get Trent up and ready for Sunday school and church. Trent and I gave Tim his presents, which he was so excited about. We gave him a Team Garmin jacket and shirt.  He had been eying the jacket for awhile and since he can't pull the trigger on any big purchase I pulled it.

We made our way to church and then after church we were heading to the Dodger game. The whole family was going, including Tim's 85 year old grandparents. We made it to the game and had a great time.  Our section was even crowded, which it hasn't been all season.  It definitely wasn't a sell out, but it was more crowded than usual.  I didn't watch too much of the game because I love to people watch.  There are some interesting people who attend Dodger games...

Tim with his Grandpa and Dad.

 Trent's top two teeth are making their way down...

 It wasn't a very exciting game.  The score was 0-0 until the bottom of the 8th inning when the Dodgers finally scored a run.  

I was so happy that the game didn't go into extra innings.

After the game we made our way down to the field to play catch.  Like I said before, the game was crowded and everyone was staying to get onto the field. I am not a huge fan of crowds and being pushed every which way to get somewhere, especially with Trent by my side.  Tim and his brother got us in with minimal pushing and waiting in line.  The only downside was we weren't able to get Tim's grandparents onto the field.  There was no way they could have stood in line with the crowd, but we had hoped that security would have let them in once we were on.  Tim and his brother talked with security, but they wouldn't budge on letting them on the field without standing in the long line. My sister in-law did have luck and we were able to get all 13 of us on the field for a quick picture.

Playing catch with Trent on the field at Dodger Stadium...priceless.

 

 The Gang!

It was a great day!

Camping

It wasn't as anticipated or exciting as the boys trip to Catalina, but we did go camping up in Big Bear a few weekends ago.  We met up with some long time friends from Tim's college days and had a great time.  The Shumates have three boys and the middle boy is Trent's age and whenever they see eachother they have the best time.  The Stuarts joined us too for the weekend, but left their one year old little boy at home with Grandma.  

We made our way up the mountain on Saturday morning. We took the 38 up through Mentone, which was the preferred way to avoid the 18, which is a long, narrow, curvy mountain road. We only had to pull over once to give Trent some fresh air to avoid getting car sick.  
The weather was gorgeous and the lake was a beautiful shade of blue.  The mountain air felt so good to breathe in. Hanna Flat campground is located on the north shore of the lake.  It's about a mile and a half off the main road.  The prius did really well on the mile and a half dirt road.  The campground though is nicely paved, I guess the forestry department has a bigger budget than the county.

We found the others and set up camp.  Trent immediately found the boys and the hill to climb up. I think he was playing within minutes of us parking.  The camping spot could not have been better.  We were backed up against a hill where the boys could play and we could either hear or see them the whole time.

 So cute in all his hiking gear.

While Trent played we set up camp and enjoyed the company.

 The hill where the boys played the whole weekend.

 In the distance are the cleanest toilets ever at a campsite.

 My Mountain Man.

 Freddy was thrilled to be with us.

Every so often I would venture over to the hill to make sure the boys were doing ok.  They found a small stream to play in and make a mess with the mud. The boys found it fun to throw pine cones in the stream to see how big the splash would be.  Tim thought I would be upset that Trent was getting really dirty...he was pleasantly surprised that I wasn't upset and didn't make Trent change his shirt.  I figured Trent would survive two days with dirt under his nails, inbetween his toes and all over his face.  He did survive and had a lot fun getting dirty.  When we got home Trent's first stop was the shower. 

 Having fun making a mess.

 Trent loving the freedom of climbing up and down the hill 

and playing in the stream.

 The boys played right up until dinner.  They could not get enough of sword fights and whatever else boys do.

After dinner the fire was going strong and we roasted marshmallows for yummy smores. 

 I am trying to get the perfect roasted marshmallow.

The guys thought it would be a good idea to lift (they tried), but ended up rolling the log over to the campfire for more seating.  I guess they wanted to show us ladies how manly they were.

Discussing their plan...

 Trying to lift it...

 They ended up rolling it.

We had a nice time around the campfire.  Trent and the boys played War and Slap Jack for a bit before heading off to bed.

After a long day of fun, it was time to get to bed.  We made our way to our tent and got settled in for the night.  I wouldn't say I had a good night of sleep, but it wasn't too bad.  Tim finally got me snuggled into the sleeping bag (I hate sleeping bags) and I fell asleep listening to the people at the campsite below us talking way too loud late into the night.  I could clearly hear word for word their conversation and they weren't that close to us.  We woke up early the next morning, packed up camp, had a yummy breakfast, the kids played a bit more and then we headed down the mountain.

Trent enjoying chocolate chip pancakes and sausage.

 Best Buddies!

 The boys sliding down the hill.

Laurie summed it up best...we can't get our act together to meet up for dinner, but we can meet up for the weekend in Big Bear to camp.  Go figure!  We look forward to many more camping adventures, but my limited is one night of sleeping on the ground in a sleeping bag.

Lucky...

There comes a time in your life when you realize just how lucky you are to have married the right one.  That time for me is now.  I have always known I was lucky because Tim is an amazing man and treats me so well. I also knew he would be a fantastic father and he has exceeded all my expectations in just 7 years.  Trent brings so much joy to Tim and you can see the love, joy, pride and so much more in Tim's eyes when he looks at Trent or when he talks about something Trent has done.  Tim and Trent share a special love for hiking and camping.  Tim started taking Trent hiking when he was about 4 years old.  Who knew that in just 2 1/2 years they would be hiking and camping in Catalina.  I am pretty sure Tim did.

When Tim told me that they were invited to go to Catalina for a few days, I was a bit unsure about it all.  Tim did his research (for about 6 months) and really had a great plan that would work well for him and Trent and made me feel comfortable about the trip.  I have to say I heard more about this plan in the last two months than I needed to, but I am glad Tim was prepared because it all worked out so well.  The week leading up to the trip they both were super excited.  Tim could barely contain his excitement and Trent just wanted to get over to Catalina and see the buffalo.

They set out on their adventure on Friday morning.  They took the ferry over to Avalon and everyone survived without getting seasick.  So far so good.  

Tim ready to get the adventure started.

 Ready to go!

 Leaving the port.

 Trent and Grandpa discussing important things on the way over to Catalina.

 It was cold and windy on the deck of the ferry.

 Catalina in the distance.

They got to Hypress where they would hike to their campsite.  It was a hard 5 mile hike.  Along the way they would see the much anticipated buffalo, which did not disappoint.  A buffalo made made it's way to get some water right along side the boys.

The starting point of the hike to Blackjack campsite.

 Trent ready to hike.

 Grandpa leading the way.

Father and Son making their way up the hill.

 What's that in the distance...a buffalo...a big buffalo.

 The buffalo saw them and decided to go off the path and around them.  

A wise choice.

 That's one big buffalo.

After a long day of hard hiking the group made it to Blackjack where they would set up camp for the night. Trent found a tire swing and had fun on that while Tim set up camp and made Trent dinner.

Grandpa and Trent

 Tim with the ocean behind him.

Having fun on the tire swing.

 Camp for the night. 

 Trent reading a bit before bedtime.

 Trent was one tired little boy.

The gang was up bright and early to start the hike to Little Harbor.  It was about a 7.5 mile hike.  They would hike to the airport for breakfast and then onto Little Harbor.  The breakfast at the airport was a disappointment for Trent.  He was expecting to get some pancakes, but all they had were bacon and eggs, which he was not going eat.  He settled for having a hot dog.

Trent setting off for the day.

 Gorgeous views from the hike.

 Grandpa and Trent

 From the Airport to Little Harbor.

 They made it!

 Trent making a sand angel.

 Trent with the big boys, Errol and James.

 My favorite picture!  To me his face says it all...peace, happiness, love and contentment.  I love this boy!

 Up above about 50 feet...Tim really didn't need to tell me that.

   Grandpa and Trent making their way down on their bottoms.

Beautiful sunset.

Sitting around the campfire telling stories.  Trent asked the group if any of them were thinkin' about their Mamas because he was.  The guys said they weren't but now they were and they would drink to that.  A minute or so after Trent said that I called and Tim said he didn't want to come to the phone and talk to his Mama.  He finally did and I loved hearing his voice.

Up early again the next morning to make the almost 6 mike hike to Two Harbors to catch the ferry back home.

Tim and Trent and in the distance below is Two Harbors.

They made it to Two Harbors with plenty of time to spare before their ferry left.  Trent was excited to eat a buffalo burger, but ended up just getting a regular hamburger.

The Gang!

 Playing a bit before getting on the ferry.

 On the way home to Mama.

 Leaving Catalina behind.

To hear the stories of their adventures was so fun and made my heart warm.  Trent is so lucky to have such an amazing Dad.  A big thanks to Tim's Dad because I know having his Dad on the trip made Tim a little less nervous about handling everything and he was happy to have his Dad along for the adventure.  I am one lucky girl to have such a wonderful husband and son.