After seeing my cousins and Nana, we were on our way to the small towns of what I would call "rustic California." Little towns I've never heard of were along the route from Julie's to Uncle Dannie's and the kids were thrilled with the scenery. We got to town at about 7:30pm and Uncle Dannie met us on his Harley to drive us up the hill to his place.
I love the mountains, the trees, the feeling of being in God's backyard, which is definitely my Uncle Dannie's place. The kids were so excited to see more than 2 trees within 10 feet of each other and started running around trying to find critters. Within 1/2 an hour, they had caught a frog and decided they would love to live here. We went to bed that night with anticipation of the morning.
The next morning, we woke up to this...
Pretty amazing, huh? There were REAL deer, eating corn, and they had REAL horns! I felt like a tourist as I grabbed my camera and snapped several shots. The deer soon wandered off and we had a treat of another kind. A strange group of HUGE birds came swooping down to the piles of corn. Seriously, these birds were from the Jurassic time period. I asked my Uncle what they were and he answered, "oh, those are homing pigeons." Homing pigeons?? Aren't those supposed to be small, delicate birds? I've never seen a homing pigeon that took up more space than a coyote! Maybe it was an optical illusion but I wouldn't want to be caught in that wing-wind.
Of course, the kids have rarely had an opportunity to run wild in a forest so they took full opportunity and started investigating the grounds.
Lynnea actually posed for a photo. Shocking, when there was so much else to do.
The sun was setting through the trees. Oh, how I don't miss Los Angeles...
The next day we took a trip to a little town nearby called Jackson. They had the best taffy EVER and the best root beer. We went with Dannie and his fiance Kathy and her 2 kids. It was so much fun looking through all the antique shops and making a wish list for Kathy's kitchen decor.
A shot of the town-straight out of a western. I love old towns like this that have history. I think we're missing a lot of that in the city.
Ah, yes, the first casualty of Tyler's love of insects. I had to apologize to the poor little thing once he caught it..."there's no chance of escape or of a normal, healthy life after this, little guy."
He held this damselfly all the way home and all the way to the pond near Uncle Dannie's house where Kathy and I told him that he needed to go home to his mommy and daddy. Needless to say, it had no strength left and it was a challenge to prop him up in the nearest leaf so that he looked alive enough for him to actually believe us. Rest in peace...
Here's the pond. There are quite a few critters in here and supposedly it's 7 feet deep. You wouldn't catch me swimming in this beauty but Tyler sure had fun "fishing."
Mikayla and Catelynn hanging out on the porch. I can tell these 2 will be buddies and it makes me so happy.
We made Kathy's kids watch our 2 oldest so that we could enjoy a night out with Uncle Dannie and Kathy but we took the little rugrat with us (I meant that in the most endearing way, possible). Thanks Catelynn and Josh!! We owe you! It was a treat to have sushi and then some frozen yogurt "on the town" and then come home to entertained kids who learned how to play Monopoly while we were gone.
At the end of it all, Lynnea didn't want to leave so she laid on our suitcases.
Before we hit the road, we just had to have a "Harley experience" so Uncle Dannie pulled out the beast (seriously, 900 pounds people) and let us all enjoy the thrill of pretending to drive it. I would put the picture of me up here but Will neglected to tell me that it wasn't the most flattering picture of my thighs but I'll post the cute ones of my kiddos, since they don't really even have a say.
Tyler riding like the wind.
Mikayla liking the ride!
Uncle Dannie promised to take me for a ride when he comes down sometime. I can't wait!
Here are the wild sweet peas that grow everywhere up on the mountain. They are so beautiful! The strangest thing is that, if you pull them and put them in a vase, they change colors from pink to white. So cool!
On our way home, we stopped by Bravo Farms, home of the 7 story treehouse. The kids climbed it about 8 times and got the jimmy legs out of their systems and then we drove home. We had a great trip and hope to do it again soon. I miss my family...
Our first stop was my cousin Julie's house. We got to see their adorable son, Ryan and her husband, Bill. It was so relaxing just to sit, talk, and let the kids play in the pool outside with their cousin.
Pool time with cousin Ryan...until the wasps appeared and then it was a scramble to the door!
Little Ryan-so cute!!
My cousin and her husband own a rather odd pet, a bearded dragon which my kids thought was the best thing EVER! They loved holding her and petting her.
Tyler was in heaven when he held Sammy. Look at that smile.
Mikayla with the reptile.
Julie and her baby, Ryan. When I look at this picture, it almost makes me cry. What a miracle baby, what a miracle mommy. It was only 2 years ago that Julie battled cancer while she was pregnant and look at that beautiful, baby boy, not to mention that beautiful mommy! God, you are amazing!!
Thanks, Bill and Julie, for a wonderful, relaxing time. We've got to do it again, soon!
