July 4th Celebration!

After our week in Sequoia, we went back to Maggie's new house (in Visalia) for some R&R. We spent a week there, relaxing, swimming, lunching, going to the movies, BBQ-ing, manicures & pedicures, and just enjoying each others' company! We had a blast as usual.
I can't believe I only brought out my camera one of the days we were there. It was 4th of July. It's legal to do your own fireworks there so the guys headed over to the corner fireworks stand and bought the supply for our gang! I love that my kids get this opportunity to do sparklers and fountains like I did as a kid.

4th BBQ:


A little down time out of the sun:


Let the fireworks begin:









Maggie's new house:




The boys entertained us with more skits before the sun went down. This one here they copied from a skit done at camp. Between us Maggie & I have 7 boys, and they are hysterical together. They did a skit where they say "WE ARE MEN IN CAMP SHIRTS...." and then act out whatever comes next. Since the younger boys didn't have camp shirts, they changed it to "WE ARE MEN IN NO SHIRTS..... modeling!" So they chant together the first phrase and then pause and all of a sudden strike a pose. Maybe you had to be there, but we were laughing so hard!!




The ultimate slumber party in the loft:


Summer isn't summer without spending a week at the Schimelpfenings!! Thanks as always for a great time!!

p.s. - Our last night there, and intruder came in the house at 3:30a.m.!!! Maggie got up and saw lights on in the house, walked out of her room and saw him at the opposite end of her hallway. He turned and walked out into the garage and rode off down the street on her son's bicycle. CRAZY!! Luckily nothing more was taken and we were all safe, but it was pretty upsetting.

Sequoia

I'm a bit behind on my summer posts. We've been gone a lot and so busy when we've been in town! So I'm trying to catch up!
The week after Shaver Lake/Chawanakee, we headed over to Sequoia. We couldn't get Yosemite reservations this year, so Lodgepole in Sequoia is always our back up plan. We took my friend Maggie's boys Andrew and Jake with us. And the Farris family was there for the week as well, in the site next to us.


Holly: We brought our dog Holly on vacation with us. She sure loves to be with her family! We were a bit nervous about her traveling up the winding road to get to Sequoia so we gave her dramamine. It worked in that she didn't get sick, but the poor dog was a zombie the whole first day! Not sure if we'd do that again. At night we stuck all the boys in a tent since they had a couple extra friends along. Holly was in HEAVEN when we threw her in the tent too. She took turns sleeping on each boys sleeping bag and was loving life! And it made me feel at ease knowing that if a bear approached the tent, she would hopefully alert us!


Hume Lake: We spent one of the days at Hume Lake, about 30 min. from our camp ground. The weather was perfect! The kids played in the water, rafted, fished, etc. There was a GIANT log floating in the water that entertained everyone for quite a while. Darren caught a fish by pulling a hook around on a piece of fishing line. It was quite a surprise! Poor Ryan tried fishing for hours, only to come up empty handed!


Crystal Cave: We haven't been here in about 7 years I think. It's a bit of a hike down hill (and then back up again!!) to get to the caves so we've bypassed this activity our past few Sequoia trips. But we were with friends who hadn't been to the caves before so off we went. It wasn't as strenuous as my memory had recalled. Maybe it's because this time I wasn't trudging up and down this path of a million steps with twins who were only one and a half years old! They held their own this time and the hike was much more enjoyable! The caves are amazing and a site to see!



Moro Rock: We always climb to the top of Moro Rock. It's a pretty quick climb with an amazing view once you get to the top!



Our hike to the waterfall:
On our way we encountered a couple deer and to our surprise, a BEAR! We often see bears while camping, but I'm never totally comfortable with it! This bear was about 8 feet off our path, picking bugs out of a fallen log. We just kept walking (except for Jason who likes to push the boundaries and gets as close as possible with the camera) and he never looked our way. Whew!












Here's what Jason did to my car when he hit a rock while coming around a corner at the campground. He joked about being able to drive the gigantic motorhome all the way there, up the steep, twisty, windy turns, with no problems, and then gets in my van and 30 seconds later hits a rock! UGH!! Thanks to my Daddy for fixing it good as new!!


I love when everyone plays games together!


On the last night, the kids had glow sticks and ran around playing tag and other activities! Then then performed many skits for us grown-ups and we laughed and laughed! They made some up themselves, and some they recreated from what they had seen the week before at Scout Camp. It was quite entertaining!!

Camp Chawanakee - Part 1

Darren's scout camp this year was on Shaver Lake at Camp Chawanakee. It it a gorgeous location on the Lake, and as a bonus there is a Family Camp on the opposite side. So our family brought the motorhome and camped on one side all week, while Jason and the scouts were on the other side. Myself and three other Scout moms were there with our younger kids at Family Camp sites. There were no other campers in the camp grounds for the entire week! We had the whole place to ourselves for the kids to roam free! What a blast all the kids had together! They loved not being under the thumb of their older brothers all week too. So fun.

Here was our site:


We were right on the lake... beautiful!


Here's the night view. The kids loved all the jumping fish around dusk.



We had lots of fun on the lake: feeding the ducks, swimming, rafting, fishing, etc.

Blake:






The kids kept themselves very entertained playing games, riding bikes, fishing, climbing rocks and many other activities. I barely saw them except for meal times!


Daddy's girl: Jason would come visit us each day while the Scouts were in class. He even was able to sleep at camp with us most nights.



The Hanshaws:

Camp Chawanakee - Part 2

I needed a second post to cover Darren's part of the week. He was at scout camp with his troop and his Dad, having a great time too! We all drove up on Saturday, June 19. On Sunday morning we had Sacrament meeting at our camp site which was also Father's Day! We made yummy breakfast burritos and tri-tip dinner for the Dads and Bishop that were with us. That afternoon, the troop headed over to check-in at Scout Camp.

 

Tehachapi - This is the camp site assigned to Darren's troop


Here is a shot of their site and tents. Below is a shot from the back side. They were right at the water. Those are their tents to the left. These boys were really 'roughing it' huh??






A highlight for Darren is that his best friend Andrew was at Chawanakee with his scout troop during the same week. They had a couple merit badge classes together and got to hang out a little too. They've been best buds since birth - Andrew's mom being MY best friend, Margaret.

 

Flag Ceremony:


Jason enjoying his view from his private quarters:



One of the merit badges Darren earned was Archery. He loved this and is quite skilled at it! He also earned Pottery, Indian Lore, Geology, Photography, Carpentry, and Tracking. The last two were special merit badges, only available to earn this year. It is the Boy Scouts 100th Anniversary, and they offered these merit badges that had been retired many years ago. They will have a special meaning to Darren.