Valero Family Day 2009

We spent most of the day yesterday

enjoying Valero Family Day

at beautiful Castle Rock Park

in Walnut Creek.

The day began with some

festive carnival games,

where Brad and the boys competed...
but Camille was the ultimate winner!!
After the absolute BEST picnic lunch ever
{BBQ tri tip and fresh, gourmet salads),
everyone but Mom
took a spin on the rock wall.

Camille spent lots of time on

a variety of sweet ponies

while the boys hit the jackpot

at the Bingo table!

Adam is thrilled with his

new garbage can/

secret candy hiding spot

and we're hoping that

Matt's finally found an alarm

that he won't sleep through!

The last hurrah was a trip to the face painting venue

where this rocker chick...

gave Camille this wonderful souvenier!

We had a wonderful day

and got home just in time

to hit the annual Ward BBQ,

which means...

I didn't have to cook ALL DAY!

Yahoo!!!

{that's my kind of weekend...}

Some Serious Laboring... (and playing!)- Labor Day 2009

Today we enjoyed a beautiful day

with our friends, the Quains,

at scenic Muir Woods.

Karen and I hiked the first mile

with the gang,

and then we turned around
to get the cars
while they hiked on to this beautiful spot...
the summit of a five mile hike
that would eventually take them here...
to beautiful Stinson Beach.
(And they did it
without tripping on any of the
more than 534 stairs
on the way down!)
After reuniting we were greeted by
this sea of humanity
on one of the most beautiful
Northern California
beach days ever.
The water was, of course,
freezing cold --
but these bathing beauties
and these beach boys
managed to have a bunch of fun anyways.
Thanks for a great day, Quains!

A New Definition...

barometer n., an instrument for measuring {emotional} pressure and thus forecasting {behavior}.

Camille got in trouble yesterday

{surprise, surprise...}

and had to go to her room.

While she was there,

she worked on a little project.

A barometer of sorts...

just a warning for anyone smart enough

to take a mother's advice -

when this one is showing,

STAY AWAY!!

Back to School

Another summer

has come

and gone...

{insert heavy sigh here...}

Couldn't think about pictures when Matt left

at 5:45

(insert very heavy teenage groan here...}

but here's a quick shot of Adam on the big day-

He's off to Jr. High...

can you believe it????

Luckily I still have one little one left

who lets me follow her to school

and take pictures...

One little one

who was lucky enough

to get put in a class

with some of her very favorite friends -

Jacque, Emily...

and Sammy!

It's gonna be a great year!

Happy Birthday, Matthew!

The plan was for Matthew

to spend his 15th birthday

in this beautiful place...

with a few of his closest friends...

looking down on this

beautiful stretch

of fabulous Lake Tahoe.
Well, it kind of worked.
He spent the week and part of his birthday there...
until they got caught in a snow/ice storm...
in AUGUST!!!!

So he ended up spending his birthday here...
and then later here... It wasn't what you planned on,

but I hope your day was great, Matthew!

Best Pool in the World

I don't care

what anyone else says,

there isn't a more scenic place

to swim

than the community pool

in Dutch Flat!

I've come here every summer since I was born,

and I couldn't love it more.

Isn't it lovely??

It's got a great beach entry

(for little ones and hunky sunbathers!),

the scenery is gorgeous

(isn't he a cutie!),

and they keep a supply of pool toys
sitting around waiting for you to enjoy.

It's a great place for making memories

and bonding as cousins.


Oh, I do love it here.

I do.

I do!!

Hellewell Family Reunion

Had to snap a few pictures

from our Hellewell Family Reunion.

Tradition is big in our family

and every reunion we do

pretty much the same things.

There's the annual

donut on the string competition...

(yes, those are clean trash bags!)

with winners in every age category.

But as you can see,
winning doesn't always leave you
with the best feeling!
(Way to go anyway, Matt)

Then there's
the cherry pit spit
(Nice form, Nicole!)

and the ever popular
water balloon toss.
(Yes, you're right -
dirt and water balloons
aren't the best combination!)

This year we added a

new tradition

(whadda ya say, John??)

and made

homemade ice cream

in an old-fashioned

Amish crank ice cream machine.

The kids had a blast trying to turn it...
(it's harder than it looks!)

and LOVED
the rewards of their labors!

Two more years until the next one...
Can't wait!

In His Father's Footsteps???

It's always been one of Brad's dreams to get his boys interested in golf. This summer Adam had a chance to go to Junior Golf Camp at our local golf course, and he loved it. Maybe we'll have another golfer in the family after all!

Fly Boy & Aqua Girl

Today

was officially

the last day of

Summer Swim Club.

I'm gonna miss it.

I love the consistency

it adds to our summers.

Somewhere to be

everyday

at the same time.

Camille finished her 2nd year

and is ready to do it year round.

(Ugh.)

Adam's been going for several years now;

he has the technique and speed to go year round,

but he doesn't want to.

(Ugh.)

My favorite thing this year

was watching Adam

master the butterfly.

It's a beautiful thing.