4th of July

We celebrated the holiday weekend up in Lake Arrowhead.  We haven't been up to the cabin since Thanksgiving, so it was nice to get back up there.  The only thing was it was so HOT!! It was in the upper 80's all weekend.  Of course, it was cooler than it would have been at home, but still it was hot and we are used to the cooler weather up there.

Trent ready to head up the mountain.

We got up there on Saturday afternoon and pretty quickly made our way to the village.  I was excited to see what the outlets had...mainly what sales were going on at Coach.  I came away with a cute new pair of sunglasses.  Of course, there was a purse I had my eye on, but really did I need another purse...Tim would say no, but I always say yes to the purse.  I exercised restraint and just bought the sunglasses.  We enjoyed the rest of Saturday with relaxing on the patio and enjoying a delicious dinner.
On Sunday, we ventured to Lake Gregory to hopefully cool off in the lake.  Jeff, April and their kids had been to Lake Gregory before so we kind of knew what to expect.  I was a little nervous because we were told there is a lot of seaweed (or lake grass), but you can rent a paddle board and hopefully try to avoid the lake grass.  I wasn't sure how Trent was going to handle the lake grass.  He freaked out in Cancun and Puerto Vallarta with the seaweed, so I was betting that he would freak out again.  Maybe it's that Trent is getting older and more mature (which is a good thing, but I am the one freaking out because he is growing up), but he handled the lake grass perfectly, he just tried to avoid it.  No freaking out by Trent, just by me...I will get to that in a moment. 
So, we get situated at the lake and Trent and I rent a paddle board and make our way to shore and everyone is having a great time in the lake.  As I said before Trent is loving playing around in the lake.  All of the sudden someone spots a dead fish.  Seriously!!!  A dead fish is just floating around.  I see it and start to freak out.  I want to get out of the water ASAP, but we are about 10 feet away from the shore where the lake floor is mushy and gross.  I put my flip flops on and touch the lake floor and my flip flops get stuck in the muck.  I start screaming and Tim is trying to get my flip flops and I am trying to avoid the lake floor.  I am inbetween crying and screaming because seriously I am in brown water, where there is a dead fish, a mushy lake floor and I just want to get on dry land.  I am sure everyone including my immediate family is starring at me, but I don't care.  I want to get out.  I kind of compose myself enough to get to shore and get out.  So there I was the one that freaked out and not Trent.  Lucky me!  I am quite sure I will never live that one down.
The rest of the time at Lake Gregory was enjoyable.  Trent and Madison had a great time playing in the lake and on the paddle board.  I am sure it is something that we will do again when we are in Lake Arrowhead.  Hopefully, next time I won't freak out and hopefully there won't be any dead fish floating around (I don't think that is too much to ask for).  

Hanging out in the lake.

 Having fun!

 Lake Gregory

 Enjoying our time together.

 Doesn't everyone hula hoop at the lake??

After the lake Trent and I were both exhausted and were able to take a nap before the fireworks show.

We were all looking forward to the fireworks show over Lake Arrowhead.  We got to our usual spot and waited for the show to begin.

 Cousins

 Me and my boy!

The fireworks show was one of the best we have seen, especially the finale.

On Monday, Tim and John took Madison and Trent to Strawberry Peak lookout to check things out.  There was no hiking involved, just a simple adventure.  They had fun and it was just the little adventure they needed.  While they were out I enjoyed an hour or so of reading, which was just what I needed.

We headed down the mountain around noon.  We were greeted with super hot weather, but it was nice to be home.  We went over to my parents in the evening and enjoyed their air conditioned house and had a yummy dinner.  It was a great way to end a great weekend.

Moving right along...

Week 3:  This week felt like it was never going to end.  Maybe it was because I couldn't wait for the three day holiday weekend.  Whatever it was on Wednesday I felt like I had lived a full week in 3 days.  

The academics part of summer school started this week.  Trent took reading and God's Creatures, which is a favorite of Trent's.  He loves the teacher and all the animals they get to learn about, see and touch.

On Monday, in the afternoon we went bowling with Cindy and Madison.  Trent is such a good bowler, he definitely doesn't get that from me.  I was beat by everyone in both games.  I think at one point I got three straight gutter balls.  Trent's competitive side came out a bit during the games.  We had to remind him that it's just for fun and it doesn't matter who wins.  

Tuesday we spent the afternoon at my parents house.  Trent and Jake went with Grandpa to go recycle the water bottles, unfortunately the recycling center had changed the way they recycled the bottles.  Rather than inserting each bottle into the machine (which Trent loves to do) they are now just weighing the bottles.  So, my Dad figured that isn't as fun and they came on home.  Trent and Jake then decided to play in the backyard and had a great time. They both have a great imagination and get along pretty well for the most part.  So, they played so well together for most the afternoon that of course, when we were leaving they were play fighting and one hit the other then the other hit back and someone was left crying. Surprisingly, it wasn't Trent this time.  I told Trent you and Jake always want to play fight, but someone always ends up crying at the end. I am pretty certain that there will be more play fighting between the two of them in the future.

On Wednesday, Trent had a dentist appointment, which for some strange reason he always looks forward to.  At this appointment he wanted to make sure the little speck of a cavity that showed up on the x-ray last time was gone.  The appointment went well, but we need to do better at brushing to keep the plaque away.
Thursday we ventured to Costco for lunch and to get a few things.  Trent was so excited to have a big slice of pizza.  He kept asking me why the slice was so big and maybe they should cut it a different way and so on and so on.  Nutty boy!

Trent enjoying his pizza!

Our trip to Costco was successful and without injury...there are some crazy cart drivers at our Costco.
Thankfully, this week has finally come to an end.  Trent had a fun week at summer school and as always loved his science class, God's Creatures.  We are looking forward to heading up to Lake Arrowhead for the long weekend.

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.