I just have to share this picture from the camping trip. My cousin Summer's husband, Michael, took it with his new Canon Power Shot. I love this moment that he was able to capture and the lighting is just divine!

Donner Lake

Each summer my Jukes family has a camp out and it is one of the highlights of my year. This year we camped at Donner Lake. It was beautiful and there was so much to explore, 3 days just was not enough! The days were filled with swimming, canoeing, 4 wheeling, talking, campfires and music. We even had a massive thunder and lightening storm come in right over us one night at midnight, that was amazing! I didn't get any pictures of it because I was too scared to stick my head out of the tent!
The kids had a blast playing with their cousins. A lot of digging was involved and they were constantly filthy. It is all OK though because I know they will have great memories of this trip! As they get older they participate in the campfires and music a lot more which makes it a lot of fun. Even Danny was able to do the "Lion Hunt" this year!
We had a very special marshmallow stick tree in our camp so my Dad harvested quite a few marshmallow sticks. Austin thought this was the best thing ever!
The lake was beautiful and the warm weather made the cold water very inviting. Bryce and I had fun taking the kids out for canoe rides. I think Danny and my little nephew Tyler had the most fun. They loved going over the waves and Tyler did not want the ride to end!
We went and did a little 4 wheel exploring up the mountainside. There were railroad tracks on the mountain side above the camp and trains would go rumbling through all day and night. When we went up the mountainside we found a tunnel that went right under the tracks. We stopped a while to let the kids get out and explore. It was a beautiful and fun little spot.
We stopped up at the very top of the mountain to do some target practice. There were so many wildflowers and butterflies and boulders for the kids to climb on! I got to try out my sister in law, Tanya's, Bersa 380 and I love it! Bryce has been wanting to upgrade me from my .22 for awhile now and I am finally convinced!
The boys had so much 4 wheeling back down the mountain! Just look at those faces!
We had such a wonderful time camping in the Sierras with my wonderful family!

Picture Monster

It is official.
I have created another picture monster.
I spied Danny trying to put on this helmet so I went and grabbed the camera, When I came back he was attempting to skate board. As soon as he saw the camera he started posing and saying (for the first time) "picture".
Goll - he is just too cute!

Elkhorn Slough

Today was our trip down to Elkhorn Slough. The weather was perfect, sunny with a nice cool breeze. The trail we took was 2.2 miles and absolutely beautiful!
Danny loved his binoculars and kept trying to walk while looking through them. The best part of the walk was the bridges over the slough. We watched for leopard sharks and rays but weren't lucky enough to see any. We did see a bunch of crabs and that fascinated the boys.
Danny's little legs tired out about half way through and he ended up getting to ride piggyback the rest of the way.
On the way home we stopped at Moss Landing State Beach and found, to my utter delight, a whole bunch of otters! They were so cute and fun to watch!

Blackberries!

I love blackberries but it is not too often that I will go and pick them. Well yesterday we braved the thorns and were able to gather enough to make a small cobbler (which earned me Bryce's undying love!). The boys were only able to pick a few as most of the good ones were really high or deep so I was the lucky one to get those! Danny would pick them out of the bowl to eat til he got a sour one. After that he would only feed them to me!
We also had a picnic lunch and the boys got to run around, explore, and luckily not fall off a giant, downed tree!
And I love this picture of Danny but every time I look at it I want to swat that mosquito!

Our Alternate Lifestyle

We spent this past weekend immersed in the years 1860 -1864 and it was a wonderful adventure! It was our first time as civil war reenactors and we all truly enjoyed it. Getting all geared up for the event was quite a challenge as everything needs to be period correct. So I spent a lot of time researching what clothes we needed. I was able to get my dresses and Bryce's uniform easily but clothes for the boys were another matter. I ended up getting clothes from the thrift stores and altering them to be period correct (with a LOT of help from my mom!). My fingers were numb by the time I had re-sewn on all the buttons!
We drove up to Duncans Mills (near Bodega Bay) on Friday and got our camp set up and settled in to our tent.
Saturday morning the bugle wake up call was at 6:20 am (way too early after not sleeping well on the hard ground the night before!) We got all dressed and ready in time for breakfast, which is planned and cooked by one family with others assigned to kp duty to help. Meals were much easier than I anticipated. Everything was streamlined and even cleanup was easy. Washing our dishes was even easier than it is at home!
The soldiers and cadets would drill in the morning before the battle. Austin is a little young to be an official cadet but the still let him participate and he did great (besides talking a lot!). He even went on the 2 mile hike with them. I barely saw him all weekend long. When he wasn't with the cadets or eating with us he was with his friend in the next camp over. It was wonderful to be able to just let him run and enjoy!
Danny spent his time hanging around camp with me, running around and playing in the dirt. He loved drinking out of the tin cups and playing in the tent. We would take walks down to see the horses, the battles and the town. And everywhere we went he would get his picture taken. He just looks so cute in his period style clothes. I think the hat was my favorite part. I love him in it and he loved wearing it too, which is ironic because at home I can hardly ever get him to keep a hat on!
This experience was a dream come true for Bryce! Even though all the marching wore out his feet and the battle cries cost him his voice by the end! We were able to spend a lot of time together which was really nice. We even went on a date to the ball on saturday night!
One of my favorite thing was the campsite at night. All the tents were lit up by the soft glow of lanterns and the stars were very bright above. It was so peaceful. Learning how to do my hair and wearing a hat and a hoop skirt were very different for me. Thanks to my Grandma for the hat pin, it sure helped a lot! It is fun to be in my 30's and still be able to dress up. I am sure bring a decendent of a southern belle helped (it is a good thing I married a northern boy!)
Here are some more of my favorite shots from the weekend:
This weekend was a definite learning experience! We have a list going of things to remember for next time, such as gel insoles for Bryce and not forgetting our sleeping bags!

San Francisco Adventures

Well we were supposed to go to the Academy of Science in San Francisco today because it was free admission. I was so excited! I knew it would be crowded but I was willing to brave it. That is until we tried to get anywhere near the academy. The streets everywhere around it were absolutely packed and the parking garages were full. I started to realize that all those cars had several passengers, at least, and that equals an insane number of people. So after spending 45 minutes just sitting in traffic to get around the academy I decided to implement plan B. On the way in to SF I noticed a sign for the zoo so that became plan B! It turned out to be a great plan! It wasn't crowded at all and the cost of admission and parking was only a little more than what I planned on paying for parking garage fees.
The zoo was beautiful and had a very open feel to it. I enjoyed being able to get unobstructed views of the animals. All of the animals were out and mostly active. We even got to hear one of the lions roar!
Making wishes
A close encounter with a grizzly!
Me and my cubs!
Grrrrrrr!
Danny showing me the train.
Exploring
At the farm
Danny's favorite animal of the day - the goats!
After the zoo, I wanted Austin to see the Golden Gate bridge. Danny was completely zonked out so I decided to just drive up the coast until I found a spot we could see the bridge from the car.
We stumbled upon Fort Miley where we found a view of the bridge and a memorial site for the soldiers who died during the battle for Guadal Canal onboard the USS San Francisco. Part of the memorial is a piece of the original bridge of the ship, which still has the damage from the scrapnel. Luckily we could park right next to it so we could explore a little while Danny slept on. We managed to even make it back out of SF before the evening commute started!