Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days

With time winding down on the Summer of 2012, we have a cornucopia of photos from the past few months to mix in with the events of the last two weeks.  I'd like to say this was intentional, due to an exhaustive search for the moments we may have missed, but really it was just cleaning out our iPhones.



Even before our Canadian adventure, Summer received a special present from her Ging-Ging for her birthday.


A few weekends back we took our second ride on the Expo Line light rail down to the Natural History Museum to catch back up with Calie's distant California relatives.
 

Some creatures were decidedly less cute than the butterflies.


It wouldn't be a trip to the Natural History Museum without dinosaurs.


As you can see, Carson enjoyed a ride on more than just the subway.


Another weekend, while Laura was off at the farmer's market, Carson, Summer and I cruised on over to Glen Alla park.


Another weekend we were deluged with birthdays, including Olivia's at Under the Sea.  Our day included multiple servings of pizza and cake, yet strangely nobody complained.


They couldn't all be gluttony weekends, and Bill did his best to work off some of that excess at the Playa Del Run Aquathon.  This picture pretty much says it all about the swim.  I definitely need more practice in the ocean before I do that again.


With plenty of time to wait for Bill to come out of the water the kids assisted the lifeguards in directing the swimmers.


Given their happiness in the water, I might have been better off doing a relay, and letting the kids handle the swim.



They are certainly well prepared.


I'm not certain, but I believe the punishment for ignoring the signs is ironically to spend some time on the Tree of Woe.


Before he can head off to break Del Rey Lagoon Park's rules, Summer often knows where to find Carson in the morning.




Finally, it's with some sadness that we note our Lance in France book from the library is likely being recalled this week.  Regardless of where you stand on Mr. Armstrong, I'm grateful he had a book that taught the kids to do this.




The forecast still calls for one more week of silliness before Labor Day, so hopefully we'll have it all captured and up on the blog for the next post sometime around then.

You're a Lifetime Journey for the Traveller

After a 20 year hiatus for Laura, we took off to the great white north.  Grand Falls Camp, where the Morris family has vacationed for years, welcomed a first visit by the California Jordans.



The driving force behind the trip were Grandma and Grampa, who have continued to go almost every year since Laura's last visit.  As you can see Carson was also a driving force during the visit.  If you're curious, click here for a rough idea of where we were.


Bill has requested that all future shirtless pictures include some light lifting even if it means dislocating Summer's shoulders.


Bill described climbing to the top of the clay hill as one of his favorite moments of the trip.


Carson was equally happy with the descending.


It wasn't just physical challenges on vacation.  As you could tell, it took more than a little grit to top the kids in memory as well.


Although you might be tempted to think this was a background at the local Sears Photo Center, it was in fact Tunnel Lake.


Bill imparted all the fishing wisdom he had to Carson and Summer, which is to say, hopefully they were paying attention to Grampa.


Despite our rustic surroundings, Laura outdid herself with the evening's desserts.  Grampa may have been reading his early birthday card, but Summer was on the lookout for whoever would cut her a slice of pie.


Fortunately they had both had it worked off with plenty of hiking.


Summer even traversed to the other side of the lake to earn a second slice...


Of her birthday cake.


Summer wasn't the only one to blow it when it came to this cake.  Her cousins turned down slices.


As you can see, Summer wasn't the only one excited to see a new bathtub Elmo.  Maybe Grandma needs one in Florida as well.


As is tradition, we had some mooning of the local loons.



Another trip highlight was the ascent of Rock Candy Mountain.


The Jordans acquited themselves well, charging to the top of the hill.



Although she had some assistance making it to the top of the hill, Summer also got to pose at the summit.


This picture doesn't come close to capturing how sweaty Bill was after carting Summer to the top of the hill in the ergo.  It's impressive that Laura will stand within 3 feet of him.



Fortunately there were more than a few opportunities to cool off while in Canada.