Really Big Trees

Looks like a nice day for a stroll through the woods, don’t you think?

                   
On the one hand, the kids look so big, so grown-up, so capable; on the other hand, we all (even Jake) look so very small.

            
Naomi demonstrates her best tree-hugging while Logan strikes up a conversation with whoever-happens-to-be-nearby. (This occurs more often than I probably ought to admit.)

Deeper in the meadow, Jake pauses the kids for a quick science observation.

         
Meanwhile I attempt to capture the smaller details along with the grandeur.

Logan stops for a moment to contemplate his place in the universe (or something like that).
  And the kids play hide-and-seek with the brilliant sunshine.

                      
Next we approach the General Sherman tree, the largest known tree in the world (by volume).

         
A few standard tourist shots.
 
Where should we go next?  L:Ooh, I know, I know!  N: That way!

Sequoia

This really was a great trip.  I hadn’t even looked through the pictures until I started putting this together and, honestly, it’s fun to look back on it after the passage of a bit of time.  I’ve forgotten the times when the kids might have been rambunctious or whiny, and the tinge of sadness of this being our pre-deployment trip no longer colors my view.


 
The further we drove, the more impressive the mountain views became.

Then we caught our first glimpse of the sequoia giants.

  
At the campsite, the kids tried their hand at some rock-fishing, and Jake and I laughed at how our vehicle looked like it belonged in a Toyota ad.

Waking up the next morning, I loved the sunlight through the trees.

              
A taste of what’s to come.  Note the visitor center behind the tree in the first photo; it gives you a bit of perspective.

Red Sails in the Sunset

So this was a random evening adventure—at the last possible minute, we decided to pack a picnic dinner and head over to Dana Point for the tail end of the Tall Ship Festival.

The city was also at that time hosting the Parade of Elephants, some kind of traveling art exhibition raising funds and/or awareness about Asian elephant conservation.  I don’t know or don’t remember the specifics, other than that we saw a number of the elephants statues scattered around the harbor/wharf area and that they were very fun to look at.

    
Since we arrived quite late, after the end of the boat parade really, there weren’t any crowds of people, just flocks of pelicans scuttering about.

                  
These definitely aren’t the “tall ships” we were looking for, but with the sun sinking quickly they still look pretty nice.

       
Okay, so because we were tardy to the party, we didn’t get to see them under full sail but we did get to see a bunch of fairly impressive vessels making their way up the channel with the sun setting behind them.

          
And really, that made for a pretty great view.

                             
As spur-of-the-moment evening picnics go, I’d call this a win.

Heading back to the car, you can just make out that thumbnail moon over the harbor.

Now for some miscellaneous shenanigans.
     
Stories with Dad and dress-up fun with friends Gioia.

         
Round two of dress-up (same day) was followed by some pretty exuberant dancing.  What can I say?  My kids have style AND talent!

I love my goofballs!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Naomi!

In case you were wondering how far behind I still am, this should give you some insight.  

All the same, Naomi’s party, when it happened, came off pretty nicely and with minimal effort on my part—woo-hoo!

                            
We had a small tea party with just a few friends.  The fans served as party favors and I gave myself bonus points for “authentic” Japanese fans from the 100 Yen store.  (I stocked up before we left.)

                         
It’s not necessarily because of this event, but Naomi’s standard response when we are praying together and I ask her what she’s thankful for, is “cupcakes.”  Every night, for months, she’s been thankful for cupcakes.  I don’t know when she last ate one, we don’t have them around the house very often, but still it’s “cupcakes.”

Yep, she’s a funny little thing.

  
Happy birthday, Sunshine!
 
                
For party fun, we kept things simple with a dress-up station . . .

    

          
and Naomi’s new doll house set up for group play.  (The third picture is from a few days pre-party when we picked up the doll house—it was a craigslist find—I put it here so that you could get a better sense of scale, as compared to the kids.)

Being now halfway through her 3’s, I can tell you that so far it’s been a very good year for her.  Like the sun, sometimes she has little flare-ups, but she makes our life brighter and her smile warms my heart.