Pioneer Day Family BBQ

After a disappointing Pioneer Day Parade, the day was saved by a FUN family BBQ. Leon is always the BBQ master and grilled up some great Tri Tip. He's the "Dude with the Food!"

The hungry crowd.

Jayden got hold of the camera and took some candid shots. Leon cooked AND enjoyed the food:

Aunt Camille really got into her corn:

Grandma caught in the act:

No corn on the cob for Grandpa with those braces:

Dallin - shoveling it in.

Marie managed a decent picture.

Aunt Natalie - well, not sure what she's up to...

Uncle Brian really making a dent in his meat:

Just so no one complains about their "candid" shot. I got one, too:

Ry-Guy is cute no matter what:

Brian and Camille brought some interesting chips. McKenna was not a fan of the Cheddar Horseradish flavor. Not many of us were.

Before and after dinner the kids played in the pool. I guess McKenna felt this bucket of water was a bit safer than the big pool - can't blame her. It was a bit wild in there. (See following videos.)

Uncle Dave had just about every kid he could lift air born.

After the yummy food and the raucous pool, we moved the fun to the street for some fireworks.

Sparklers

Strobe lights - NOT Natalie's favorite.

And, Leon's favorite crackle bomb.

With this year being the first that aerial fireworks were legal, Leon just had to try a few. We managed to escape injury or harm to any person or property. It was a very fun night - thanks everyone for coming!

Neighborhood Pioneer Day Parade

Okay, I'm not going to lie - this year's parade was a bit of a letdown for more than a couple reasons. Reason #1 - We usually do something unexpected and out of the ordinary for the children's parade like a remote control car made into a float, or a walking float. But, this year we thought we were bing lame and just decorated bikes. Which, turned out to be something unexpected and out of the ordinary - who knew. Which brings me to Reason #2. Reason #2 - No one else decorated their bikes - NO ONE. Come on, how hard is it to get out the crepe paper and streemers? Really. You only have to look at pictures of years past to see that this year was pretty boring in the way of decorations. (Sorry, all you Windsor 2nd Ward members who might read this - I'm just calling it how it is.)

Cameron and Landon's bikes were as decorated as you can get without hindering the function of the bike. Jayden didn't want to be a human float this year but still wanted to throw candy. I told him that he either had to decorate his bike or dress up like a pioneer in order to be in the parade. So, he put on a hat and an old jacket, filled his satchel with Salt Water Taffy, and walked the parade throwing candy to the spectators - yes, both of them.

Here, Landon and Cameron are lining up for the "parade".

Right before the "start" - notice all the NON-decorated bikes. Sheesh!

Okay, so once the parade started, the kids were off like a shot. The kid holding the parade sign tripped over it and fell - nearly being trampled or ran over by the kids behind him. Which, brings me to Reason #3. Reason #3 - This is a PARADE, not a RACE. Not more than 30 seconds later, poor Cameron wrecked on his bike. I mean wrecked - and hard. I guess he looked behind him to see if he was "winning" and completely lost control of his bike - it was BRUTAL to watch. Needless to say, I pitched the camera and ran to help him. So, no action shots of the pain. But, here is a small sampling of the aftermath of the "Windsor 2nd Ward Pioneer Day Parade."

Of course, after the parade they had popsicles and water balloons, which always becomes a bigger water fight. After being chased down the street by a teenager and a bucket of water last year, I decided to leave before the buckets and hoses were brought out. Call me a party pooper - Reason #4.

But, 2 out of my 4 boys came home wet and smiling, so maybe the parade wasn't a complete bummer after all. Well, maybe we should ask Cameron.

Spur of The Moment Fun

One day last week I had these big plans to take the kids to a certain park in the area. As I was informing them of my "plan" I was informed that this park wasn't any fun because there was nothing to do and it was always too crowded. Really? So, our plans changed and probably for the better since it was a really hot day. We ended up going to the new Spanish Fork park and asked Natalie and her kids to join us. It was a super fun afternoon.

~

The boys thought it was cool to play on the old fashioned 'teeter-totter'. Interesting.

They also thought these chair swings were the way to go - "so relaxing," they said. Hmm. Do they know these are supposed to be reserved for special kids who can't do the other swings? Oh well.

The playground wasn't crowded at all since the equipment was in full sun and pretty hot to the touch. But, some of them powered through.

Even though it was really hot out, it took a bit of convincing to get some of them in the water. At first Jayden was content enough to just hang out by the side with Ryan.

But, he was soon right in there with the rest of them having a blast.

Landon could have stayed all day.

Cameron just liked to run around and around making it hard for me to get a picture of him.

Doesn't this picture just say "summer"?

California - Lassen National Park

Lake Almanor is part of the Mount Lassen area of California. We decided to check out Lassen National Park and the "largest boiling lake in the United States." It was a nice hike among the pine trees, even though at times I found the forest area a bit creepy.

Along the hike are a few small streams from natural springs. This one was surprisingly HOT - almost scalding. Down in the valley is a small resort with a hot spring-heated pool. This small stream could easily heat a pool - yikes!

Landon and Luci - the two littlest ones - taking a bit of a break in the shade. Luci had a little "crush" on Jayden last year and she picked right up where they left off this year. However, but by the middle of the week, her crush had transferred to Landon. I think Jayden was a little bit jealous. It was cute.

At the top of the hike you can see Mount Lassen, which I failed to get in the shot, but the view was spectacular. (Jeremy, Dallin, Katie, and Landon with the Boiling Lake behind them.)

Leon took up the challenge to throw rocks down to the lake. Just offshore was a small mud island that was too tantalizing. The resulting "splooshy plop" the rock made was very satisfying.

California - Lake Almanor - Boating

Boating is one favorite pastime at Lake Almanor. The boat is always packed with kids.

The kids find enjoyment by being dragged around the lake on the tube even if it's quite bumpy. Some of them could hang on forever despite Leon's attempts to shake them off. (Jayden, Megan, and Allison)

All of the kids tried knee boarding, even Landon. He was quite happy with himself to have gotten up his first try.

It was also Cameron's first time trying to knee board and he did great, too!

Jayden was anxious to try, too, and even did a bit of hot dogging.

Dallin has knee boarded before so decided to test the waters outside of the wake.

Okay, so this is what I get for leaving the camera in the boat - not that I could have taken it with me - but I have to prove that moms can still do stuff, right? (It looks like I'm ready to fall, but I'm really just getting ready to cut back over the wake - the only thing I can do on skis. The kids said it was "funny" watching me ski - whatever.)

And, of course, the Jet Skis got a lot of use, too. Leon took the kids out again and again until his hands were too sore to grip the handlebars. I guess that's why Cameron is driving.

"Dumping" the Jet Ski is not really the plan, but once in a while you just have to get in and get wet.

California - Lake Almanor

Lake Almanor has got to be the best vacation spot. Where else can you get everyone - even the men and boys - to paint their toes? (Sorry, for those of you with foot aversions.) We made a pact that "what happens at Lake Almanor, stays at Lake Almanor." But, since no faces are visible, there's no way to prove who is in the picture, right?

We did a whole lot of playing in the water, which included a lot of floating around. (Jayden, Allison, and Dallin)

More floating (Cameron).

And, more floating (Landon and Jayden).

It was surprising to see Landon actually row and steer the Kayak all over the place. He was so proud of himself to be able to do it on his own.

This picture was thrown in just to prove that I was actually there. We did a whole lot of sitting around and didn't care how we looked doing it - the best kind of vacation.

Each evening was spent playing games - dancing to the Wii (see following video) and Marisa's fun games with Oreos on your head and nasty-tasting Jelly Bellies.

Lake Almanor is like no other place on earth. The water was so high this year that it came right up to the lawn. The kids played hard, the men worked/played hard, and the women relaxed hard. It was hard to come home to the regular routine, but we have some great memories to look back on. (The view from the deck.)

What we did at Lake Almanor:

Played in the water

Ate a lot of really good food

Sat around and did nothing

Relaxed with a book on the deck

Chatted

Walked to the Point

Danced to the Wii

Hung out with family and friends

Laughed

Played card games

Slept in as late as we'd like

Stayed up as late as we'd like

Water skied

Knee boarded

Jet Skied

Canoed

Swam

Got sun - a lot of it

Hiked to the largest boiling lake in the U.S. (see upcoming post)

Generally had a great time, as usual.