Escape From the Smoke

Shortly after school started the Yosemite Rim fire started and Reno got smoked out.  It was bad.  2 weeks of bad bad bad air.  You couldn't see anything.  The sun was bright red.  Asthmatics didn't stand a chance.  Reno smelled like camp smoke.  The kids had indoor recess and all outdoor activities (soccer, etc.) were cancelled because the air quality was dangerous.  Soooo, for Labor Day we got the heck out of Dodge and headed west over the mountains:

 We started out in Auburn.  Fun little town at the foothills of the Sierra's.  We had a delicious lunch, wandered around, and took a tour of an old historic farmhouse:

Then it was on to Sacramento and swimming in the hotel pool.  And for dinner, Baskin Robbins.  Vacation rules.

Mysteriously overnight I got the most bizarre cold I've ever had.  My nose was running like a faucet.  I've never had such an afflicting runny nose.  Anyway, I was going through kleenex like nobodies business.  Despite my misery we mosied on over to Old Sac for Gold Rush Days.  Which was pretty dang cool.  Lots of stuff going on, historic reenactments. 

 The roads were closed to traffic and covered in dirt:

 Fearless Tucker ate a chocolate covered cricket.  He said it wasn't bad.  Crunchy and chocolatey:

 The kids got to pan for gold after hearing about the Mormon Batallion:

 The Pony Express was recruiting.  And the kids got to feed the horses and we got to see the riders trade off horses:

 Aunt Lorna's twin was helping with the horses:

 These guys were fun to listen to:

 At this point the tissues were running low and my nose was bright red and I was not what was going to happen when the tissues vanished:

 The last event we stayed for was the burning of the brothel.  "What is a brothel?" "Well it's a place where prostitutes work."  "What is a prostitute?" "Well you know how we had the talk about sex?  Well some people pay for sex..."  Not a conversation we had anticipated.  Oh well, you gotta learn about this stuff some time.  Anyway it was amusing, but I ran out of tissues and I was in big big trouble:

 So because of my gushing nose we rushed back to the car where there were about 3 more tissues.  So we drove towards Ikea, where there was a Walmart.  The kids went to Chipotle, and literally holding my hand under my nose so I didn't drip on my shirt I made my way to the pharmacy where I purchased some Sudafed and 2 boxes of kleenex.  Mother of Pearl, I don't know what was going on, but that was the WORST.  Anyway, sudafed helped a little and we did some shopping at Ikea, and then had to return to Reno.  Fortunately the smoke and the cold went away.

First Day of School 2013 edition

The kids went back to school on August 12.  Early this year.  We have a new calendar: 1 week fall break, 3 week Christmas Break, extra day off for Thanksgiving, 2 week Spring break.  They go back early and get out a bit later but I think it is going to be worth it.  Anyway, Lucy is a big 8th grader.  She has to get up at the crack of dawn to catch her 6:40 bus every morning.

 Clara is a big 1st grader.  She is a feisty character which sometimes leads to some discipline problems, but honestly I wouldn't have her any other way.  This girl can take care of herself.  And she is a smart pants to boot:

 Tucker is in 6th grade!  What!?!  Time flies.  He is in SWAS (a GT class) which is awesome and has the same fabulous teacher he had last year.  And in a fun turn of events Anders is in his class this year!

 Anders, a smarty pants like his siblings, moved up to 5th grade.  I still can't believe my kids are this old.  It goes fast.

Hooray for school and fun colorful shoes!

Graegle Part 2

On our last morning we hiked the Sierra Buttes, which are the highest peaks in the Northern Sierras.  Super beautiful.  I was particularly stoked because part of the trail met up with the Pacific Crest Trail which I have been kind of obsessed with after reading the book Wild.  So anyway, here is our hike:

Lucy and Clara were sooooo excited for another hike:

Clara is actually a fantastic hiker when she is distracted.  The method is story telling.  We hike along and tell her the plots of novels.  She loves it.  I think she got the Hobbit from Rob.  And then it was my turn. We did Pride and Prejudice.  I noticed Lucy stuck with me on that portion of the hike, so I think she enjoyed it too:

My foot on the PCT:

We hiked through this very cool boulder strewn forest:

The views were incredible:

So once you make it to the top there are stairs and you climb up to the observation hut.  It was beyond gnarly.  I am surprised I did it.  Gnarly.  Gnarly.  Gnarly.  But amazing:

You could see Mt. Rose clear off to the south and Mt. Lassen clear off to the North:

We take Gollam with us everywhere we go:

We made it back to Reno in time to spend a nice evening with friends up at Tahoe.  

Ten stars for Plumas County California!!!