Lake Tahoe....again

 Our LAST weekend in CA and we decided to go to Lake Tahoe one more time to play in the water!

We went to King's Beach and it was sooooo fun!

We lucked out by getting there early (waking up at 5am pays off!)

We got the last jet ski slot for the whole day!  This was an unexpected decision, but what the heck, our last Saturday in our vacatio life... GO FOR IT!!!

It was AWESOME!!!

Ryan first took the Bs out...

Old Mama got on and off like a pro! I drove that sucker fast too...it was so much fun!  I stayed pretty safe though, because Brynnly was with us and on the back and I kept worrying she'd fly off!  Plus she was freaked out.  

Best Friends!

You are just THEEEEE cutest little bug in a ....life jacket! ;)

You loved Lake Tahoe.

I am so proud of how brave you are and adventurous!

Before we left we got some souvenirs and ice cream!

First Day of 5th Grade

Brynnly on her first day!

I can not believe this is her last year of Elementary school!

My last baby in elementary school.

Such a bummer of a way to wrap up this era, but maybe they'll be back in person before next May?

That is the great hope right now!!

She has been a champ adjusting to the online platform.

She even was excited.  She is definitely a leader and Ryan gives me updates as he listens to her interact with her class and teacher. She's the bomb!

I love she wore her tie-dye shirt and pj pants! Ha!! There has to be some perks of online school.

I love that this technology exists so she can start in CO even though we are still in CA.

She really is missing out on absolutely nothing, it is incredible!

So many things during this pandemic have really played to our advantage!

Lake Tahoe

This was the first time I had ever seen Lake Tahoe.

It was overwhelmingly gorgeous!

When we turned the corner and it was just there it literally took my breath away!

I had no idea!

We had no idea what we were doing.

So we parked because you could tell that parking was an issue and we walked to where we thought we were going. But it was the wrong way and treacherous behind the guardrail! So dumb!

We did get some gorgeous pictures though...

 

We happenstance found the trailhead.

We played Hunger Games at this awesome open area at the base of the trailhead.

The pine cones we chucked were HUGE though and we had some injuries! YIKES!

This was a GOOD HIKE!

It was challenging enough..probably felt harder than it was becasue we been held up in a house for 5 months! Our bodies were surprised to be moving for real again and for a consistent amount of time. It helped so much that a little rain could hung over the sun on our way back so we were kept cool. THANK YOU JESUS!!!!

We played a little in the water, but everyone is nursing some INTENSE sunburns, 

so we couldn't stay too long. Blisters had developed on everyone at this point and it was no good!

Girls Trip!

It is OFFICIAL:

We are MOVING back to Colorado!

So my exploring mind went into hyperdrive and knew I had to check off a few final bucket list items...

first on the list, visit Solvang, California.

Next stop- tacos in Santa Barbara!!!

This is a favorite stop of our for delicious tacos and a gorgeous view.

Next Stop: Downtown Disney!

Disneyland is still closed, but we could go and shop and eat.

We did some reminiscing and I shed a few tears.

Me and My Girls In Our Favorite Place!

So this trip was supposed to be a one day thing, but I was tired and wanted to go to a beach, so we slept in the van in a Beverly Hills neighborhood!  Too funny!!

We could not get over the houses we were driving by!  This state is so nuts that there is such a disparity of wealth.  We felt very safe and actually slept pretty well.  We took off around 6am and headed home.  I remembered seeing Ventura beach on our way into So Cal and thought that would be a better beach than the ones we drove to in Santa Monica that were teeming with homeless people.  It is soooo bad in LA.  We drive past tents after tents that had America flags on them, I knew they must have been government issued to try and give them shelter and space during COVID, but man it is obviously not enough.  They homeless population there is explosive!  We're talking thousands and so ver y very mentally ill and filthy.  It is unconscionable in the United States that people are living like that.

We headed North...

We eventually made it to Ventura Beach and we were so happy!

This was a NICE beach!!

I don't know if it was because it was a weekday, or it was early in the morning, but it was almost empty!

My little baby love, loves her mama...

This was such a fun trip, I hope it becomes a tradition for us in the future, to just take time to be together.

I love us!

Heros and Villans

For the last 2 week Brynnly has participated in PAYA (performing Arts Youth Academy) doing Heros and Villians.  She got a narrator role! Then also singing and dancing roles in Newsies and Friends On The Other Side.  I was PETRIFIED to let her go and do this with COVID-19 cases rising and the irresponsibility of people. She agreed to all my demands, she would do ANYTHING to be allowed to do this, she LOVES theatre so much.

My biggest demand was wearing an N-95 mask, which was extreme, but a lot of kids wouldn't wear masks at all. She had to promise to keep her distance and be very very good about using antibac.  I wanted her to eat her snacks outside and not around other people.  She only cried one time when they brought in donuts and I said she couldn't have one. Poor thing.  But I would never forgive myself if she got this virus and ended up in a hospital without me.  My anxiety is very high, I try to keep it in check, but I do that by adhering to the recommendations, and this activity doesn't really fit in those recommendations, even though it was allowed. 

In the end her performance was not supposed to be live, but even that attempt failed.  It was recorded to watch later and one parent was allowed to come and watch in person.  Ryan and I switched halves and each got to watch ehr.  She is SOOOOOO GOOD!

I mean she is TALENTED and I know going to do amazing things in Jr. high and High School!

I am most amazed at her ability to memorize her lines! WOW!

She's a natural performer!!!

I am so proud of her!!!!!

Camping in the Redwoods

What a HUGE privilege it was to get to camp and hike in the redwood forest. It was so serene and beautiful. We loved it and wished we could ahve stayed longer...but finding even one night was a miracle in California during a pandemic when being outside is pretty much the only thing allowed.

 

There were so many different things to be a part on this hike.  Walking under and through old fallen trees and even living ones! Climbing into hidey holes in others.  It was just a very cool place to enjoy and explore.

NATURE IS AMAZING 

 

We stopped at a beach along the way home, I just can't pass up an opportunity to be a beach, it is unbelievable we live here!!

Audition

Miss Brynnly Kathleen auditioned via Zoom for a PAYA musical this summer.

She has been practicing all the songs and memorized her audition monologue in a day!

She is made for the theatre!  She loves it!

Her audition was FANTASTIC!

Good Luck Miss!!!