Big Duck Lake

Josh had been planning this backpacking trip since March when we found out we would have a week in between each of our families reunions. He decided to take me to Big Duck Lake, a place he had been to as a young boy scout.

A stop to enjoy the beautiful scenery!

That's me way back there, hunched over, trying to make it up the mountain!

We found the BEST camp spot, where someone had set up rocks to make a pretty sweet living space.

Josh getting dinner started

Josh made a pulley system with rope and put our bear bag up high!

We had been feeling rain drops on and off throughout the evening, and it got pretty cloudy, but we hoped it wouldn't turn into anything more. We hadn't packed any tarps or protection for rain so we were in big trouble if it rained hard!

Before we got into our hammocks to go to sleep, Josh found a huge rock with a pretty good overhang that was almost like a little cave. We decided that if it started to rain, we would get in the cave.

And here we are at 11:00 pm in our cave. We both woke up around 10:00 with rain on our face, sopping wet and the wind blowing us in our hammocks and it was COLD! Josh was pretty frustrated with himself and he didn't think to bring anything, but I reminded him that we "thought" California was in a "drought"?! So what the heck was up with the rain?!

This was the last picture we took, because after this we tried to go to sleep and that just wasn't working. At 1:00 AM we gave up and decided to pack up camp and hike back to the car. We left camp at 2:00 and got back to the car around 4:00, and slept in the van till 6:00.

 

It was not how we planned it going at all, but we made the best of it and it is definitely a trip we will NEVER forget.

Gualala, CA

Our first week of our vacation was spent in Gualala, California where all of my family met at a beach house.
The first morning there we went to the beach right after breakfast to see ocean creatures while it was low tide.
The first thing we found was this huge starfish!

 

 

 

We wrote B+M in a heart because Mackenna LOVES her cousin Benson.  The whole week we were making fun of them, that Benson was her boyfriend. She loves babies in general!

 

 Lydia, Bridget & Hudson

 Bridget wrote her name in sand

 And Dad's name!

Pretty much every afternoon was spent at the beach

Bridget LOVED the beach this year! Last year she didn't like the cold water, and didn't like getting dirty with the sand. This trip she had sand in every inch of her body!

Mary Anne, Lydia and Bridget buried in the sand!

Benson surfing!

 

 Josh helping dig the huge hole!

 Josh & Logan started building a "boat" out of driftwood and seaweed.

 I started to get legitimately worried when I saw how far out he was getting, but thankfully the waves were getting pretty big and they started pushing him back to shore!

The next day they made the boat even stronger and the waves weren't as big, this time Logan joined him. They got all the way out, past where the waves form. Maggie and I were yelling at them to come back, and they jumped ship to swim back to us! Crazy boys!

 

While the other cousins are content walking on the sand, Bridget starts climbing the first rocks she sees! She is our little rock climber!

We had a great time seeing my side of the family, Bridget and Mackenna had a blast with their cousins!

 

Road trip

Last month we drove through Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada all the way to California! The girls did great and stayed busy by painting, playing with big balloons and lots of movies!

 

 

The girls loved sleeping in the big hotel beds!

We found a great children's park that the girls were able to run around at, and the best part was it was FREE!

 There was a Tepee

 A bridge to cross

 A xylophone

 Building blocks

 A puppet show

 A waterfall with paint brushes. Kinda strange, but Mackenna loved it!

Who knew Cheyenne Wyoming had such a great kids park?!

Josh did lots of push ups at rest stops to help stay awake!

 When we finally made it to Salt Lake City, Bridget wanted me to take her picture in front of everything!

 

One of our last stops of the road trip was touring the Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield, CA. It was fun taking the girls to a place where Josh and I had come to as a kid.