our drive to CA

during our visit to WA in late september- early october, it was SOOOO important to me to drive down to CA and see family that i haven't seen for a very long time. nearly 10 yrs in some cases! we drove down the "long way" in order to see the redwoods and the beautiful pacific coast! worth the extra time, in my opinion! here are the pics....

^ the curly redwood lodge! we stay here every time we visit. the entire place was built from one redwood tree and they even had some left over!

^ first stop... well, the very first stop was breakfast. but then.... looking at sea lions from the pier!

^ there they are! doin' the same thing they were doing last time i was in town. =P


^ my dad with the boys. trevin's having a moment here. something about him wanting to run around and us not wanting him running around that close to a cliff into the ocean.

^ me and my 3 boys! i'm so glad they all smiled and looked at the camera for this! ;-P

^ the mermaid on a whale carving. also, the closest thing to a playground the kids could see. so they climbed it!

^ after the sea lions, we drove up to the redwoods! we saw some big ones, but couldn't find a crossing to the REALLY BIG ONES. oh well, to the kids, they were all huge! this is me in the super cold river.

^ my dad, teaching teagan to skip stones.

^ it's SOOOO GORGEOUS there!

^ maddie, doing the classic maddie pose; blowing kisses. =)

^ then it was down hwy 101, by the beach. this is from a look out over the pacific ocean.

^ what a view!

^ joanna, me and beckie

^ next stop, the trees of mystery! although we didn't pay to walk through the big trees, we still managed to hang out for a while, chatting with paul and babe here.

^ me and a redwood.

^after the redwoods, we drove down to my g'ma and g'pa's house. here's some of the gang in the back yard. my dad, trayson, uncle jim, aunt nancy, g'ma rogers, g'pa rogers, and my cousin michelle w/her son.

^ my dad holding trayson. both wearing their harley davidson shirts. =)

^ my dad's parents. g'ma dorothy and g'pa jim.

^ all the little kiddies loved playing in g'ma's backyard! lots of fenced in room to run around in. =)

^ joanna and trayson

^ my dad and his mom

^ joanna pretty much took care of trayson for me. they love eachother! =)

^ taking a break from the mischeif making to have some grapes. yes, he lost his shirt. i forget if this is when it just got dirty or when he threw up on it. both days we were there, he managed to lose his shirt. =P

^ little emma bean (my sister beckie's youngest) with her g'ma.

^ looks like she fell asleep! g'ma's happy she can relax now. =)

^ me with my g'ma and trayson

^ the next day, we went to a bbq at my cousin's house. this would now be the other side of the family, my mom's side.

^ lots of family! it was SO GREAT to see everyone again!

^ the kiddie table! =)

^ birthday cake time!

^ my mom, with a sleeping emma and my aunt jan, with trayson

^ next day! vacaville for the nut tree restaurant and shops. here's g'ma on the train ride w/the kiddies.

^ skyler, teagan, trevin and maddie on the see-saw as beckie (w/emma), my mom and my dad look on.

^ riding the carousel

^ skyler!

after some fun at the nut tree, we drove back up to WA.

i had SO much FUN! thanks to all who went w/me!!!! nothin like a drive w/7 kids 4 and under along! =)