Hot Chocolate, S'mores, and Campfire - oh my!

Jayden's preschool year at Yew Chung International School was a memorable one.  There, we met a group of families that remain special to us to this day.  Every once in a while, we schedule a reunion to get the kids and families together again.  Here are the highlights from our Preschool Family Camping Reunion we had at Plumas Eureka State Park this summer.

Day 1 (still clean)

 

Ready, start your hiking engines!

 

Where's the Trail? Blazing Our Own Trail!

Jamison Mine Complex 

 Kayley - don't touch the camera lens!

Meet the J-Dawg, super hiking enthusiast!

Along Grass Lake Trail, 3 hours in,

J scopes out the perfect spot to stop for lunch and skip some rocks

After a 5.5hr hike, it's time for a well deserved soak in the creek:

Lia soaking her aching shoe?

When in doubt, skip rocks

What's for dinner kids?

Aftermath of S'mores and Hot Chocolate

Sugar "Hi!" from Kayley, Lia, and May

...and Griffin and Jayden

Ice cream?  Aren't we suppose to be "roughing it"?

The whole gang, panning for gold

This is what you are looking for...

Is this enough to pay for my school tuition?

Meet our Child Laborers:

Walden

Amara and Alana

 

 Kayley and Lia

May

 

Griffin 

Jayden

Bottom of Stamp Mill

 
More River Fun:

Jeremy's Zen Tower:

Brought the baby-sitter

Camp Chef

Tree Monkeys

Dynamite Storage Shed...dyn-o-mite!

Entrance to Old Mine Shaft

Cool!

Stamp Mill from above

 

Day 4 (not so clean)

secret beach

 Potential "M" Beach Postcard in the Works

Our new favorite family hotspot, let's just call it, the "M Beach".  We stumbled across this hidden paradise while driving two weekends ago.  Fortunately, you cannot see this beach from the road, you have to park, cross railroad tracks, walk down an embankment and over a boulder lined trail which drops you smack dab into the center of zen.  This is where all stress of everyday life just melts away and you swear you are in some remote vacation destination.  A place filled with tide-pools, secret caverns carved out by the ocean, and a curious sea otter that likes to people-watch.  It is hard to believe that there is still a place in California that feels so majestic, unspoiled and somewhat still a secret.  Here are our pictures from the first visit of many.  Enjoy, but please don't ask us...we would only lie to you anyways.  Our lips our sealed on this one.

In search of paradise

On the way down

We are there!

Follow me...

Beautiful

 Just goes to prove coffee goes well with everything

ocean crevasse

Founders of "M Beach"

My Hot Whitey Husby

My boys

The view from our blanket

Impromptu "beach blocks"

Calm blue oceans

 Happy Mr.Jay

Our over-exposed pics from our second trip:

Time for some exploring, tide-pooling, and rock climbing:

"Look, a cave!"

 

Practicing for Uncle Lawrence & Auntie Alisa

Judy climbing new heights with crimes of fashion 

(Chris, you let me step out of the house like this?)

At least the coastline was breath-taking (not unlike my attire but in a good way)

the hole a.k.a "the babysitter"

see you soon M Beach, xoxo