Dirtbiking maniacs

The kids tore it up on their dirtbikes, and I am once again reminded how much they are like their Dad - scary!

Alyssa perfected her turns today and left in a cloud of dust.

We hope Jason can take his training wheels off by the end of the summer. Maybe the kids can show you how it's done, honey.

Hot Air Balloon Races. Rise and Shine!

There is an ongoing debate in our house about whether getting up at 4am (yup - you read that right!) in order to attend the balloon races is worth it. Girls say for sure! The boys don't think there is enough excitement to justify the early rise. But we all agree it was a great way to spend a morning together. Dawn Patrol at 5:30 am sets 5 balloons to music against the darkened sky to "glow." Beautiful!


Then the best part. Down on the field, the crews prepare their balloons for launch - over 100 of them - right in front of you. Eventually you are surrounded by rising balloons and the sky is filled with them. Super cool.

Forget the balloons, though. The kids thought the Energizer ears were the best part. Mike's going to try to pass them off as a "headband" at school. Let me know how that works out for you. Oh wait, the school will probably do that for you.

We finished the morning with an awesome breakfast at Mimi's, which was enough to knock Alyssa out on the way home. Lucky girl. She's still sleeping - 3 1/2 hours later. Zzzzzzz.

Labor Day Hike

After being apart all weekend (Jason on a motorcycle run, Mike at an A's baseball game, and Lis and Mom hanging out for a girl's weekend), we caught up during a hike at Galena Creek (I'm so grateful for the extra day together)! The weather was absolutely amazing.
We took the road less traveled (with Mike as our guide) and did some off path exploring. That's Alyssa checking out her map on the side of a rock. Good thing we had her.
It was great to be out together as a family. We realized we don't take advantage of the incredible outdoor opportunities that are so close to home. There are too many awesome things waiting for us. We should never complain that there is nothing to do.
I'm not sure that nature is ready for us, but here we come!


Jason's super-human strength couldn't save Mike from the falling tree. Aaaagghhh!!

Mike finally crossed the creek on the fallen tree after his sister showed him how it was done. Mike wasn't afraid of anything, of course - he was just watching for bears while we all tried it first - isn't that right tough guy???