Gl-amping Bliss

We just returned from our first camping trip of the season at D.L. Bliss in Lake Tahoe.  Based on all supplies we pack along - we affectionately refer to it as "Gl-amping" (glamourous + camping).

Question, is it still counted as "roughing it" if you wake up to freshly percolated coffee and towers of pancakes, eggs and bacon in the morning.  At night, mood lighting lanterns illuminate our camp kitchen as we prepare our gourmet snacks while singing along to the music from our satellite radio, all this before we turn in for the night on our queen sized aero-bed mattress.  Did I also mention our tent is heated?  Do we feel ashamed that our tent is nicer than our house?  Let us ponder this, while we lay in our double sized down sleeping bag in our climate controlled tent under the stars and we will get back to you.

As you can see, we were joined by Jayden's BFF and her family, the Czarnotas.  This was their first family camping trip!  The husband already forewarned his wife not to get used to all the "luxuries" that we bring. Luxuries? We call them necessities! 

First night: snug as bugs

A hiking we will go...

The next day we hiked the Horsetail trail.  It is a easier moderate hike along Pyramid Creek over granite slabs created from glaciers and along the edge of a series of cascading waterfalls. 

 Hiking Buddies

 Jayden and Lillie

 Loved the terrain on Horsetail trail!

Jayden finds his first geo-cache treasure!  Honestly, the adults were just as excited.

"Geocaching is a real-world outdoor treasure hunting game. Players try to locate hidden containers, called geocaches, using GPS-enabled devices and then share their experiences online"

 It's an ammunition carton...but wait, what's inside?

 

Yes, we've been bitten

 Geo-Cache Booty

The coolest part?  This geo-cache was started 10 years ago - August 4, 2001, the same day that Chris and I got married.  What a memorable geo-cache find.  We will have to come back to find it again in another 10 years!

 J.J. and my "special" husband all ready for the trail!

J and J

 Taking a picture of "taking a picture"

 Lucy-Lu

 BFFs

 

 

Place where magic almost turned to tragedy (due to stupidity).  A group of tourists had climbed on a boulder in the middle of the river for a photo op.  One of the members fell into the water (surprise!) and almost drowned, if not for the quick action of our friend Pat, this guy would have been a goner.

 

 rainbow mists

night vision

What to do after a day of extraordinary hiking?  Spend it hanging out on the beach by the pristine waters of Lake Tahoe.  This was what was awaiting us just a few steps from our campsite:

 It's splash time!

 Preparing for the maiden voyage

 

Our Marriott beach tradition - dig the hole!

Here are the snaps form our last night, just chillin' by the fire:

 me and my babes

I am willing the fire to burn hotter

 watch out ladies - "glo-stache"

 My Pyro-husband

  I know someone who would not approve!

This place was so beautiful and we had so much fun that we were all sad to return to "civilization".  Glad we got to share it with the Czarnota family.  We can easily imagine many more - flash forward to the days when Lillie, Lucy, and Jay bring their families together for the Czarnota/Marriott camping trips here. 

 The whole family

Our Grade 1 Graduate

Jayden and his good friend Kali

It was a bittersweet day.  We were so excited to see our little graduate and celebrate his accomplishments.  However, we were sad knowing that we were leaving this wonderful community which became our family.  On a happier note - we got into the public Chinese immersion program at our local neighborhood school!  It is a highly coveted program in the Cupertino district.  Acceptance is based on a lottery (random draw) and we've been on the wait list for three years!  Finally, four spots opened to eight kids on the waiting list.  After completing a competency exam and interview, Jayden was selected in the top four and was invited to the program.  We are so proud of him.

Saying "see you later" was difficult but we will keep in touch and visit often.  Here are some of the special people that have touched our lives (there were more but we could not find them - Miss Jasmine, Miss Amy, Miss Sarah...the list could go on and on!)

Jay and his sweet first grade teacher, Miss Chang

Jayden and Principal Reimer

 Jayden's preschool teacher at YCIS - Zhang 教師 (Ms. Grace)

Our most favorite and beloved kindergarten teacher - Miss Trutter!

See you later our YCIS family, thank you for helping us grow this wonderful being.  You've done a great job and we will always remember our family at Yew Chung International School.

Hog Island Oysters & Co

Chris surprised us with a beach house getaway over Father's Day weekend.  On Thursday evening, he told me we were going somewhere on Friday and to pack my bags for hot to cold climate, from hiking to relaxing on the beach, not too dressy but not overly casual either...???  How does one pack for that?  I open my suitcase and throw random pieces of clothing (bathing suit, sweater, a dress, my workout clothing, a sun hat, a winter toque, a pair of heels, a pair of sandals, and my hiking boots, etc.).  Normally, I pride myself on packing light, limiting myself to only 3 outfits for 2 weeks of holidays - this time, for our 4 day trip, I had to sit on the suitcase to get it to close.

Ugh, I look at our SUV practically bursting at the seams  - gigantic suitcase, backpack, electronics bag, sports equipment bag, the inflatable aero-bed, toys, blankets, pillows, books, shoes, food & drinks, our cat (yes, we brought her along too), cat food, cat toys, and her litterbox and I feel my anxiety starting to grow - where the heck are we going that would need all this stuff?

The drive was about 3 hours long, it was dark by the time we arrived at our destination in Salmon Creek.  Pulling up to the house, I noticed another car in the driveway.  I ask Chris about the car being there and Chris explains to me it is a bed and breakfast and we share the house with another family.  Hmm, sounds uncomfortable but I'll go along with it since we already drove all this way.  Once we make our way to the door, I see 3 sets of shoes outside.  Oh, and one of the pair of shoes are teeny tiny green crocs....then it dawns on me, wait a minute, I know these shoes!  They are Claire's shoes (Adam and Erin's daughter)!  At that same moment, Erin's friendly face greeted us at the door.  Surprise!  What better than a surprise weekend getaway?  A weekend getaway with our dear friends - the Scrabas (and a brief overnight visit from friends Jon and Morgan).  And to top it all off, I did not have to plan a single detail of that weekend - our husbands did all the planning!  We definitely need to make this a father's day tradition.
 

My Boys at Breakfast : )

Cutie Claire saying, "Good-morning!"

 Jayden was thrilled to eat breakfast with Claire & family!

Playing cards with Claire and Auntie Erin
(that's right Claire, watch your mama - she can be tricky!)

 Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures of the two BFFs - our cat Mochi and their dog Buddy.  There were alot of chasing, grooming, wrestling, tail wagging, play biting, and cuddling between these two. 

Father's Day: Hog Island Oyster Goodness

Chris had Jayden agreeing to try a raw oyster

..until he watched the shucking process - yuck!

Jon, the master of shuck

 

Now that our tummies are full, time for some intensive sandcastle building!

 

 Pretty deep trenches, both Jayden and Uncle Adam are standing!

 

Thanks to the planning of our boys, we had a great Father's day weekend.  Cannot wait to see what they plan for the next Father's day!

A message from my plants

 



If your botanical children could speak to you, what would they say?  Would they say how much they love you and appreciate your care?  Recently, I got to find out.  One night I came home to this... 

 Botanical humor...

 "What's that basil?"

 "Drought Veteran GOD Bless"

 "Thirsty, Please Help"

My stomach is still hurting from laughing so much...funny but true : )  My jokester husband - take a bow (I love you, thanks for making me laugh 'til it hurts!).

Hello From Across The Pond!

Hello Family! Special guest blogger (Aunty) Alisa here. Thought I'd share some Flat Jayden outtakes with you as well as some photos from a lovely day out climbing today. We've had some rainy weather lately (boooo) but at least nothing is on fire anymore (yaaaay), so we really enjoyed being outside today without getting wet.

First up: Outtakes. As you can imagine, Uncle Lawrence has a hard time taking everything seriously. There was NO WAY he was going to give me a "nice" smiling face for the first Flat Jayden photos. He kept trying to sneak in a crossed eye! Oh well, if you can't beat 'em... join 'em.

Here's a few more Flat Jayden photos that didn't make the cut. I'm just glad I didn't get in trouble from the teacher for putting in several extra photos. It was hard to choose only a few! Judging by his face, Lawrence may have been ready for a break from the flat fella though.

(Uh oh! Someone must have lost their shorts swimming in the sea!)

And today, we took Flat Jayden climbing to a crag near us, with beautiful views over lush green fields. Beautiful day, good climbing, good company.

 (Get ready for fanatical-new-dog-owners' photos, picture 10 of 1,738,426.)

Missing you guys! Hope you are well, and sending zen healing vibes to (Great) Grandma and Grandpa so that they are soon feeling better. Lots of love and hugs. Blog to you again soon! xoxo