Merry Christmas 2011



2011 was a pretty good year for us. We moved from Lake Tahoe to Southern California. While we really miss the mountains, especially this time of year, we have really enjoyed spending more time with family and friends. AK is doing great and is excited to announce (to those who haven't heard yet) that he is expecting a baby brother (JB) April 7th, so 2012 should be a pretty interesting year.

Happy Thanksgiving 2011

We are thankful for:

Family,

Friends,

(who's flying that plane?)

God's Beauty,

and Yummy Food!

 

(if you want Mom's yummy Lemon Bacon Turkey Recipe, check it out here)

What are you thankful for?

The Great Reno Balloon Race

Hot Air Balloons are Awesome!

This year we woke up REALLY early to hit up the festivities.

We saw the Glow Show (balloons lighting up in the dark).

The Dawn Patrol (balloons taking off in the dark). These five were really cool and travel all around the country doing their early morning show!

The sun comes up and even more balloons take off.

There were some pretty cool balloons this year (my favorite being Darth Vader and Smokey the Bear).

The third day of the race was on September 11, so they did a good memorial throughout the show.

That day every balloon flew with an American Flag to remember.

I can't wait for next year's races!!

Yosemite (Back to our September Adventures)

It wasn't in the original plans, but being in the area we just couldn't pass up a couple of days in Yosemite! Plus, over travel buddy had never been there before, so we took the opportunity to show off some of our favorite easy to get to spots.

It's always fun to chill out on the falls,

and for Papa to show off his mountain man side.

The falls are always a bit slower in the fall, but still amazing;

Bridal Veil

Upper & Lower Yosemite Falls.

If you're ever hiking in the area, head into the big boulders just off the path (where allowed) it's amazing the temperature difference under the boulders, a good way to get out of the heat.

As we were heading to our campsite, just out of Yosemite, we took a back road, and ended up in a herd of cows being herded down the road by a bunch of cowboys. The picture doesn't quite do it justice (they were covering the road), but it was pretty cool.

And camping is always fun!

The next day we hit up Hetch Hetchy.

We hiked the 5 miles round trip to Wapama Falls. (I must admit I did pretty good hiking, especially if we sang songs while we hiked).

Wapama Falls has some falls great pools above the Reservoir. ("The Cool of the Pool"- a little Dr. Seuss).

It's a great place for a little lunch,

And Papa to cool off.

We love Yosemite!

Halloween Fun 2011

We not only had a fun Halloween but a pretty fun week leading up to Halloween.

We made Jack-O-Lantern Cookies, Yum!

My cousin, Jennah, and I got to go to Bate's Nut Farm's Pumpkin Patch:

We saw animals,

(I'm trying to sound just like the noisy geese behind us)

We rode in the wheel barrel,

And picked out the best pumpkins, so much fun!

We went with an aeronautical theme this year with the pumpkins.

We couldn't find the candles the first night after we carved them,

and by the second night my airplane had really started to decompose

(I was really excited to watch the pumpkins decay this year, so I wasn't too bummed)!

We only got to light up the two, but they looked pretty cool.

I went trick-or-treating as a Panda Bear, but really didn't want to take pictures (what can I say).

The next morning inspecting the loot with Papa!!!

Oh and don't worry, we'll get back to the September vacation posts soon!

Oh How We Miss You, TAHOE!

As we left the Rib Cook-Off in Reno (with a cooler full of ribs) we wanted to drive through the Lake Tahoe Area (our old home).

We decided to spend an hour or so at Lower Eagle Falls, just above Emerald Bay.

We threw rocks, and more rocks (my all time favorite past time).

And just enjoyed the beauty.

Three hours later, we still couldn't talk ourselves into leaving and decided to hike to Upper Eagle Falls.

The guys got a little wet, burrr cold.

Finally, 3 DAYS later we left that paradise and made it to Lodi to watch Papa, skydive!

Ribs, Ribs and more Ribs!!!

Our September road trip started out at 4AM!

We left early and I couldn't sleep for the first few hours because I was too excited.

We made a few stops for bathroom breaks, Mom's morning sickness (yes mom is pregnant), and one really fun stop at the river.

While 4AM is a bit early to be up, it allowed us zero traffic and we even got to Reno's Best in the West Rib Cook-Off with plenty of time to dig in. Look at that truck full of ribs!

Over the next three days, we made 5 stops at the cook-off, tried just about every places' ribs

 (not to mention fried pickles, turkey legs, yummy ice cream,

and fresh squeezed lemonade). The last day we left with a cooler bag full of ribs and a turkey leg, which lasted the next few days.

Delicious!!! We definitely ate way too much this week,

but it was a great way to start a road trip!