I've gotta start somewhere

I hate it when I get this behind. The month of August really wiped me out. Our lives have been moving non-stop pretty much since our last post. I told Sam that we had not had one evening of true relaxation since we returned from our Anniversary trip--I know this is true because I've been looking forward to watching the season finale of our favorite TV show, White Collar, for almost a month. We finally watched it last night (well worth the wait) so now I am ready to move on to the bigger and better business of recording the craziness before it slips from my mind--which sadly it is already starting to do.

At the beginning of August the kids and I set out to California on a two-week adventure we had been planning for months. We had several plans for the two weeks; however, most of it was spent with my sister Tracey and her 4 children braving a road trip from California to Grand Junction, Colorado sans husbands in a 12-passenger van. In the planning process we were so excited and felt so adventurous, but by the end of each we were mostly just feeling really tired. It was hard, no doubt, and at times we were asking ourselves, "Did we actually plan this?" but in the end we had no regrets and were so happy to have had the experience for both ourselves and our kids.

The kids were ecstatic just to be in the big van with each other. I think we could have just driven around in circles for a while and they would have been thrilled.

A few of our happy passengers.

Ruby & Issac


Max & Luke


Our first stop was Calico Ghost Town in Baker, California. It was hot, hot, hot and after the large bus of Japanese tourists left, it lived up to its ghost town label.



We hit all of the main attractions starting with the mystery shack. I would give further description of what the mystery shack is, but I really don't know besides the fact that it is a house built on a strange incline that makes weird stuff possible.

Waiting for our tour.

A broom that can stand up by itself? A chair that Max can sit in, but is impossible for him to get out of. (I could really use one of these for a naughty seat!)

We panned for gold of course.

The kids were thrilled with their fools gold.

The Calico Town train ride.

Do they look hot??... 'cause they were.

Ruby was crazy about the train...until it starting moving, that is.

My dad joined us for this leg of the trip. It sure was great to have an extra set of hands.


My little jail bird.

We took a quick walk through the mine to remind me again how claustrophobic I am. I seriously could not get out there fast enough.

Future thieves?

I wish I knew what Max was staring at here. I love how pleased he looks.

After we had seen most of what there was to see we stopped into one of their little cafes and got some much needed slushies. We felt so close to heat exhaustion that they could have charged whatever they wanted to--and they pretty much did.

One good thing about the heat is that when we did leave, the kids were wiped out, leaving us to enjoy not only the van's air conditioning but also a nice quiet drive.

Please note that Reed is using Luke as a foot rest. I'm not sure how he worked that deal, but someone is definitely getting the short end of that one.

One stop done...lots more to come.