Redwoods Vacation!

I've wanted to see the Redwoods for a long time now.  With the increase in wildfires as of late, I worried that the trees would burn down in a raging inferno before I ever crossed that item off my bucket list.

So we decided to go the Redwoods on vacation this year.  I'm crowd-adverse so I didn't want to go in the height of tourist season.  We scheduled our adventure for the last week in September and anxiously awaited our trip.

Here's the thing I didn't know about the Redwoods.  It isn't just one specific place where you go and see "The Redwoods."  It's actually a large-spanning forested area in northern California where you show up and see what you can find. We weren't sure where to go or what to do or how to maximize our Redwoods experience.  From that standpoint, it was a strange trip.  But, we did manage to see some enormous trees and made some lasting memories along the way.

And that's the point of vacation.  

I admit that we also hit some bumps during our journey.  Kitty was sick our first couple of days on the road and graciously passed it on to Booney.  There's something magical about paying for a hotel room and a family experience, only to be laying in bed coughing and wanting to die for part of it. We also hit a bump when we tried to ride dune buggies and the guys informed us they weren't taking any more buggies out for the day, even though we arrived BEFORE their advertised closing time.  I also spilled an entire cup of lemonade onto the floor of the car.  

It rained like Noah had just set sail in his ark as we attempted to hike around the Trees of Mystery, but boy was it breathtaking.  And we were all alone because of the storm.

There were no sea lions waiting for us in the Sea Lion caves, and we paid $10 to drive through a tree that looked like Jed Clampett was maintaining. Our Prius could barely squeeze through.  

 

BUT - in spite of it all, our fun times far outweighed the bumps.  

We saw loads of animals at Wildlife Safari park and Great Cats World Park, and experienced a hurricane in a tube. Kitty still talks about the hot dog she ate at the Wildlife Safari park.  We ate lunch overlooking the lemurs and it was all very magical.  Apparently it ranks as the best hot dog she's ever eaten.  

We got to pet a tiger shark, see a seal show, and hold starfish at Ocean World.  We also went ziplining through the tree tops, where Kitty faced her fears and came out the victor. 

We were amazed and intrigued at Ripley's Believe or Not museum, where Kitty stuffed her entire body into a small box.  We also found a secluded trail and enjoyed a hike through a forest of enormous trees. 

And to top it all off, we defied the laws of nature at the Oregon Vortex and House of Mystery.

What a great vacation we had!  "Visit the Redwoods" is officially crossed off the bucket list.

3rd grade

Can you believe my Kitty is in 3rd grade?  We went to the school's Open House and they had a desk for her in a 3rd grade classroom so...I guess it's real.

My mind is far too feeble to comprehend such craziness.

I'm going along with it though.  

After she successfully completed the first day of school, we celebrated the craziness with Kitty's favorite dinner: baked potatoes, chicken with ranch, cheese buns, and chocolate cream pie for dessert.  And we gave her some new Harry Potter Lego mini-figs for fun.

Bring on the 3rd grade!

Coastal Camping

Our annual Labor Day camping trip with friends arrived in a flash, thus marking the end of summer.

Booooo

How does that saying go, "nothing lasts forever?"  Well, poo on that.  Summer should be courteous enough to last a little longer.  Alas, it does not.  

So we celebrated with one final hurrah and then called it a day.  Our hurrah this year was held at Umpqua Lighthouse state park.  It was a beautiful setting within walking distance of the lighthouse and a quaint lake.  We had a marvelous time, complete with Kitty making her own chalk out of charred logs from the fire pit, and the adventure of a raccoon busting into our campsite and munching down on snacks galore.  True story.  We failed to properly put our food away and I was awakened by rustling sounds in the middle of the night.  I was terrified as to what wild animal might be out there, and didn't want to be mauled and eaten.  

So I sent Michael to investigate.  

The fattest raccoon you ever did see was calmly eating our chips.  Even when Michael shooed him away into the trees, the fat raccoon sat just outside our tent door and crunched on the bag of chips he had taken with him.  I was looking into his eyes and he never broke my gaze.  He just calmly kept reaching into the bag and pulling out chips.  What a jerk.  

The other downside - apart from the thieving raccoon - was that there was a burn ban in effect.  We did not have a marvelous time adhering to the no campfire rule. That was the pits.  I have decided not to go camping again with fire restrictions.  It was such a bummer to go to bed once the sun went down.  No late night chatting around the fire, no s'mores, no ghost stories - it was crappy. But...we had a wonderful time bidding summer farewell nonetheless.

Hooray for camping with friends!

You Funny

Kitty makes me laugh.  Sometimes she's not even trying to but she still makes me laugh.  Here are a few chuckles I've had recently:

Talking with her cousin about school

Kitty: "In one of my classes they teach us how to survive knife stabs."

Cousin: "Oh, yeah?  Which class taught you that?"

Kitty: "Survival Class."

Looking over papers from church

Her teacher gave her a sack of gummy bears and a paper that said, "Remembering your baptismal covenants is easy when you remember the 3 bears."  Kitty ate the candy right away and tossed the paper to me.

Me: "Oh, I see. You're supposed to remember to bear one another's burdens, bear the name of Christ, and bear your testimony."

Kitty: "Yeah.  I already ate all those bears.  I was feasting on the words of Christ."

Watching Jeopardy

A contestant is introduced as a library assistant.

Me: "I wonder what a library assistant does."

Kitty: "Probably shushes people."

I sure love her.

Da Fair

Kitty is usually silent in the backseat of the car.  She spends her time reading as I chauffeur her around to all of our errands.  I spend the time talking to myself.

On an otherwise ordinary day, Kitty unexpectedly piped up from the backseat and recited a lengthy soliloquy about her desire to submit a piece of artwork to the Oregon State Fair.  Never one to be a dream-squasher, I wholeheartedly agreed with her idea.

Kitty knew exactly which drawing she wanted to enter - her masterpiece - Spacegirl Sparta.

We hustled off to Hobby Lobby, found the perfect frame for Ms. Sparta, and bada-bing-bada-boom, we were ready to submit her to the fair.

Kitty anxiously counted the days until she would see her artwork at the fair.  Her artwork!  At the fair!  We talked about it a lot.  The calendar didn't move very quickly, but finally, the day arrived. 

Once inside the gates, the first thing we did was head to the pavilion where the artwork was hanging.  Well, FIRST we got ice cream.

THEN, we found the Creative Living area.  We looked all around and there she was, hanging in glory: Spacegirl Sparta herself!  It was incredibly exciting to see Kitty's artwork and name on the wall.

I was a proud Mama cat.

Michael and Kitty spent the remainder of our evening in the carnival area spending money on motion-sickness experiences.  I spent the evening shivering because the sun was descending and I failed to bring my cardigan.  Yes, I'm that old.

It was another successful outing to the fair!

Yard Work

While I mowed the lawn, Kitty made soup for dinner.

Looks delicious.

I'm especially excited about the crunchy bits. 

Family Fun Day

Prepare to have your mind blown...

Kitty and I can have some intense disagreements.  Sometimes we are even embroiled in multiple intense disagreements in a single day.

I know - shocking. You wouldn't think that two independent people who like to be in control would butt heads very often.  Yet, we do.

Kitty and I had a rough week recently.  Whenever we're ramping up our bickering, poor Michael just cowers on the sidelines and tries to interject calming suggestions here and there.  They are not received well by either of his girls.  In fact, it's conceivable that at one point I may have told him to, "BUTT OUT!" in my swirling rage.  Maybe.  

Poor, poor Michael.

After one particularly intense disagreement, Kitty approached me with a white flag.

I read her proposition and my heart melted.  A day together was exactly what we needed!  I gave her a tight hug and told her I couldn't wait.  She hugged me back and promptly said, "But I'm not paying for it."

Of course you're not...that's what Michael is for.

We headed out that Saturday for pizza at Straight from New York, where Kitty quickly left her vapid parents to sit on the wall to read and nosh on Goldfish crackers instead.  

And then we rushed off to the dirt hills to ride our bikes.  Imagine a 40-something-year-old woman tearing up the track on a cruiser bike.  It happened.  

We didn't play board games but we did get a hot fudge sundae and watch a movie together.  It was just the balm our raging hormones needed.  

Next time we have a bad row, let's head to Disneyland to reconcile!

Michael's treat.