Big Tall Sand Hill

Just north of County Line on the PCH is this extremely high sand hill. Lee used to have to train on it at Pepperdine, and it is so high that guys would be puking at the top. We stopped by on Monday evening and thought we'd give it a shot. I know it doens't look like much of a challenge, but you are deceived.Grayson made it up...with a lot of help and being carried most of the way.

Carissa was more interested in posing.

Lee somehow dragged his legs up there. (I heard all about that later.)

Isn't it crazy how much lighter the shot is when the sun is at my back??

Then we all raced back down. I am ashamed to say I was dead last, even behind Derek.

Random Sampler

It's the end of May already, I haven't done my visiting teaching, I barely was able to enjoy Spring, and I have yet to post Derek in one of his new basketball outfits!!! This outfit was on moments after the package from Placerville was torn open. Lately, Derek has taken to tucking in all of his shirts, basketball shorts included.Last week we went to the Kidspace Museum, which would only be made better if it were spelled "Kidz Space". It is across from the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, and the most exciting part of the day was trying to find gas for 25 minutes while driving around with the gas light on. No thanks to Ali and Susie, who had called me on my cellular during this fiasco and unsuccesfully navigated me to a gas station, I finally found an Arco and all was well. But that's beside the point. Kidspace is a museum devoted to kids and science and bugs and stuff. I'm not convinced that the kids really learn anything about science at these places; Lex and Derek spent the whole time playing superheroes. There were some cool climbing towers.

And a very exciting rain simulator that Derek and Lex found interesting so long as they could splash each other when it "rained".

Look at how old Grayson is getting!!
Here was a rare moment of solitude and peace in the house for me.

Cute Caleb

Wearing overalls and being cute.

March Review

Here are a few pictures from March or February or something.
Standing in Eric's kitchen, looking out the former back door:
Stair to his new master bedroom and bath

Kev cooking Dutch pancakes at Sara's

Clyde and Dad at the open house. Speaking of Uncle Clyde, yesterday (May 16) those of us whose schedules allowed, met at the Sacramento Temple to do sealings of Rosenvinge families whose names Dad brought back from Norway in 1968. He translated the text and Clyde has had Evie doing the ordinances in the last couple of years. President Steed of the Sac Temple was the officiator, and families from as far back as the 1500's were united. It was cool.

Back to March----still room for toys in the new great room

And the Day family made it! Evie and Mike now live in Monterey.

Janness and Marion smiling for the cameraMike and Wes chatting in the kitchen

while the younger set are busy in the bathroom!

Hot! Hot! Hot!

Just a little post from Pvlle. Nothing much happening---Kev is still working for Eric Miller, bless his heart-----Dad and I planted a little garden. I'm posting some pictures from Clarksville Day last week and some from Kev's open house that didn't get posted. Clarksville, if I haven't already told you, is an old settlement just off Hwy. 50 as you pass El Dorado Hills headed east. It is on private property, but for the last three years has been opened to the public for one day. It was kind of cool------what is left of businesses and houses clustered around a remnant of the Lincoln Highway of 1913 or so. We found that one of the remaining houses is the Albert Griggs house--we never knew that he lived there! So, here ya go:

One of the three remaining walls of the 1850's Wells Fargo Office
Dad admiring an old Ford

Ben was desperate to take a picture. I think he has promise as a photographer!

Old timey music with some very accomplished musicians, including Cowboy Dave.

No pictures of the pony express riders---they were punks!

Cousin Bath

These kids were DIRTY. I decided to keep Caleb out of this one. But it sure looked fun....

"I'm dirty. I'm dirty. Dirty, dirty, dirty."

Out on the Oregon Trail

We are waiting out a big rainstorm in Florence Oregon today. We found a library where we could post some pix. Way back in Olympic Nat. Park we took several hikes in the rainforest. It was mossy, ferny, and overgrown.

Mom is standing in the midst of the wreck of the Peter Iredale - a four masted steel ship that was driven aground in the late 1800's. It is just one of over 2000 wrecks on or near the "bar" of the Columbia River.

Astoria - We were overwhelmed once again with the feats of daring and persistence of Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery. This is a rebuild of Fort Clatsop where they wintered over in 1806 before journeying back to St. Louis.

All the way up and down the coast we have stopped to check out fantastic views of water, rock and trees.

Yes, it is the world's largest Spruce Tree - a giant Sitka Spruce
that sat in the loop where we parked our trailer at Lake Quinalt in WA. We had hoped to go into the Oregon Dunes on a buggy today but it is too rainy and windy.