haunted

Once upon a time

Shane told the kids stories of a haunted resort that

is right here near our little valley home.
He told them of empty pools, caves and haunted houses.
Of course they were not scared and wanted to go.
Especially Ellie she just had to see it.
Me on the other hand
I was content laying by the fire wrapped up in a blanket.
And that's when she said.
"If you were 7 you would want to go explore haunted mansions"
And there is defiantly some truth to that.
So I reluctantly went along.
And it is a good thing.
That place was rotten, dirty and down right frightening.
They needed a mother there to keep them safer {than the dad would}
and out of the real scary/gross stuff.
But the pictures turned out pretty cool and I will admit it was fun in a creepy way.
Ellie told me she knows what happened to this place.
"Ghosts came and scared all the families and guests out of the houses.
And when the people were gone they destroyed them
so know one else would come and they could live there forever."
There may be some truth to that. Bwah ha ha ha ha.
I for one would never go there in the dark....NEVER.

Happy Halloween!
{Don't worry I told them to act scared :) }

Yosemite

To get to our destination we drove on a 2 lane highway practically the whole way.
Mostly because I wanted to be in Yosemite National Park again.
The last time I was there before is when Canyon was 5 mo old.
We took a road trip to Yosemite and the coast.
It was his first big road trip.
The first time he sat in a knot hole of a giant redwood tree.
And the first time he rode in the trusty Kelty pack to hike for miles.
{Lucy still uses that pack today.}
I fell in love with this place.
And I wanted the kids to not only endure the 16 hr drive
but also be also to be amazed by it.
Both were accomplished.
They still ask if we can drive that way again next time.
The roller coaster road just before Yosemite might have something to do with that. :)

Lucy went and got herself a cast that weighed more than her the day before we left.
But that is a story for a different day.
It did not slow her down.not.at.all.

Driving....so pretty.
I had to make myself not pull over every second.
We had a long way left to go for heavens sake.
Next stop. Santa Cruz, CA.

16 hours one way: Part 2

We got to visit San Fransisco this summer.
I wrote about the adventurous drive out there a while ago.
But that was just the beginning.
So even though we took the trip in July and it is now almost November
I will still post photos of our trip
because it was wonderful and a 2010 summer highlight.
So for today.
The seasons first snowfall at our home {that actually stuck around for a bit}
and this picture of Ellie flying through the air at the little beach
across the way from Ghirardelli Square.

braving the storm

Clear back in August
Canyon and I hiked to the top to Mt Timpanogus.
He had been working up to it all summer with a club he is in.
His club had the date scheduled and I decided to go along.
It's a lot fun to go with him. He is such a good little hiker. {proud..so proud}
He doesn't even ditch me and chats about this and that with me the whole way up.
On the way up the weather was great.
Not to hot not to cold.
There were plenty of waterfalls and the views...oh the views.

Walking along that last ridge line was getting a little spooky.
Clouds rising up from below surrounding you.
But we were so close..and there was no rain.
Right when we got to the top the clouds cleared.
We got to take in the view of the valley and take this.

We made it! Our names were added to the shack walls at the top
and we started our decent down.
We did not make it to far when we felt the first raindrops.
Rain coats out and on now. We picked up the pace.
This was the last picture before the storm practically swallowed us alive.
You could barely see one step in front of you.


Being on the tippy top of a really high mountain is not the best feeling.
Especially when your with one of your favorite little people in the whole wide world.
Before we knew it the storm was SO bad....SO.SO. bad.
Freezing tempatures, Howling winds, thunder, lightening.
Hail that made your skin hurt when it hit.
I held Canyon's hand and we ran as fast as our legs would safely carry us
over a giant boulder field for shelter a few miles away.
Once a gust of wind almost carried my handsome son away.
I did not let go of him the rest of the way.
We were freezing.
Probably the most cold I have ever been.
And poor Canyon had on shorts.
Luckily for us we made it to the shelter.
There we hunkered down for hours.
With about 20 other hikers and backpackers.
Those nice backpackers boiled us water.
and lent Canyon a sleeping bag.
We got him down to his skibbies
and stuck him inside the sleeping bag so he would stay warm.
I filled a water bottle with that hot water and wrapped my frozen feet around it.
and then we waited....and watied
and got lots of texts saying.
"Are you okay it's pitch black that way"
"Are you alive the doppler is going nuts above Timp"
I know...believe me....I know.
After a while there was a break in that big bad storm.
We made a run for it.
And it turned into a new day.
It had to be a new day. It was once again beautiful out.
See.

The whole way down we talked about our "survival adventure".
About the extra stuff we would bring just in case next time.
I thought about how glad I was I was with Canyon up on the tippy top braving the storm.
I would have been a basket case if he was up there without me.
So we made it back down. With a story to tell that will never be forgotten.
Canyon still talks about it. And when it storms he looks up at the grand Timp
and wonders if anyone is up there in that shelter like he was.
And we are both happy we aren't :)

we're suckers for a good rope swing

We have found a few rope swings in our days.
But this is one was by far the best.
So. so. so. high.
And the view from the top, through the trees, when you couldn't go any higher.
Amazing!

{Top: Shane, me, Canyon.}
{Bottom: Ellie, Lucy}

{The View}

It's been a warm September

Maybe it's been a little too warm down in valley.
But up here in the mountains.
Not one complaint from me.
It's been near perfection.
Perfect weather for enjoying those beautiful colors.
Quite possibly the prettiest time of the year.
The kids most favorite part is gathering up their favorites to take home and savor.
{mine too...I love a perfect leaf bookmark. }
happy. happy.