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.

California Visit - 4th of July

Nothing says "4th of July" like a backyard celebration. And, the Demars and Visnaws really know how to celebrate. The kids dove right into the pool as soon as we got there - another really hot day in Gilroy.

The Demars (Marisa's parents) hosted and planned all of the festivities. There were games on the lawn like this "Bucket Brigade" relay - fun!

Marisa's father went all out and built several elaborate games like this sling shot game.

After a fabulous barbecue and some more swimming, the evening ended with a good, old fashioned water fight.

Once it got dark we were able to speed on over to see the big fireworks in town. It sure was a fun 4th of July!

California Visit - Point Lobos

Since it was over 100 degrees in Gilroy, and much cooler at the coast, our annual trip to California started off with a trip to the beach.

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It had been several years since we'd been to the ocean, so we decided to take a quick afternoon drive and check out the tide pools at Point Lobos. One of the rocky coves had some serious waves. It was very cool.

Uncle Bruce tried to get all the kids to hold a Hermit Crab - some were interested, some were not.

After Uncle Bruce proved that Sea Anemones are NOT poisonous, a few brave ones touched them.

It was a beautiful day at the ocean. We got to see crabs, Hermit crabs, sea anemones, seals, an otter, and a lot of different birds.

All of the cousins - Dallin, Jayden, Cameron, Katie, Megan, Allison, Hayden and Landon.

Landon hitched a ride.