Andrew rocks!

Well, after about two years of work, Launch Day has finally launched! Yes, pun intended. God has brought a great group of guys to join this adventure and they had their first gig on Channing's 9th birthday at the O.C. Tavern down in San Clemente. Two joyous occasions will forever be burned in my mind. My little boy is growing up and my man is on stage again where he belongs. I was nervous, he was not. I believe it's because that is what God made him to do...play music! The show was fabulous and they sounded stellar. He looked mighty sexy up there too, I have to add. I can't wait to see what ride God is sending us on. I have been on a high ever since.

Big Bear Camping July 2010

Can we pack any more gear?! On this camping trip we decided to take our canoe with us, since we were going to Big Bear Lake. I'm so glad we did! It was a little hotter than we had expected, so mountain biking and hiking weren't quite as much fun. We did, however, manage an interpretive hike the first day that got us aquainted with the trees and flowers in the area. If there is something like this in a campground you stay at, I highly recommend it. It's so much more interesting listening to your family point out the names of trees and plants they see as you go about your day. For example, we staked our tents under a huge Western Juniper tree and had plenty of Jeffery Pines at our site. When the sun warms up their bark, they smell like vanilla. Who would have thought to sniff the bark of a tree? Go on the interpretive hike! Chase would run from tree to tree sniffing and exclaiming, "I love these trees! I'm going to marry one!" Mountain Mahogany or ironwood, as it is commonly called, is one of the hardest woods around There was also rabbitbrush, Indian paintbrush, and Mountain Buglers scattered about for our enjoyment.

The canoe was a definite highlight! Seth got experienced at helping Andrew load and unload the beast. This canoe is so big that we were able to fit all seven of us in it at one time! It was an amazing experience rowing along a pristine lake watching fish jump and ducklings swim by. We spent a lot of time at the lake to take refuge from the heat.

Another highlight was a night hike hosted by the ranger. The boys thought it was pretty cool watching bats hunting at twilight. Andrew loved the boys enthusiasm at pointing out the surrounding trees and asking questions of the ranger.

I loved the free hot showers and electricity for a hairdryer! I'm now convinced that it's perfectly acceptable to look beautiful while camping! If they have these perks, use them! It felt soooo good! Can't wait for our next trip. Andrew was already planning another one before we were even down the hill!

Carpinteria July 2010

Well, this is our second camping trip this summer and boy do I love Carpinteria! After some confusion with the loops in the campground, we found out that we booked our site in the more "RV" area of the campground. These sites are super tiny; I mean SUPER TINY! God was gracious and gave us the end of a row, so we could overflow onto the median. Unfortunately, we did have to move to one of these tiny spots the last night in order to stay longer. By then, we had watched other tenters put up many a tent in these tight spots. What an experience! Make sure you look closely at the details when booking campgrounds!

Back to Carpinteria! The weather was cool, which made it spectacular for riding bikes along the bluffs at the beach. We even found some single track trails along the railroad tracks. What fun! The boys enjoyed the tidepools and tar covered cliffs. They, of course, wanted to bring ALL their treasures home, even the lobster shell. Hmmm. The dutch oven continued to perform spectacularly, as well as the smokey joe. We have taken meals to a new high while camping. We even got vanilla ice cream for our peach cobbler this time due to downtown being right behind us. Yum! A highlight for Andrew was seeing Rincon, a famous surfing spot. One downside of this campground was the train. The first night it went by three times and scared Andrew and I half to death! Fortunately, the kids slept through all of it. How they did this was beyond me! It felt like the thing was roaring right through our tent! Even so, I loved this quaint spot in the world and hope to return again!