san francisco

pier 39. there are sea lions in the background . . . look closely.

alcatraz
pier 39's double decker caurosel
a crazy twisty tree in golden gate park.

eugene (i may be in love with oregon)

reno

We celebrated the 4th of July in Reno this year. On Saturday, we were in a parade!!!

We spent the afternoon in Virginia City NV. They love gold, gambling, and Mark Twain.

On Sunday, we enjoyed a lovely barbecue with family. There were s'mores:

homemade ice cream:

and some badminton. We had a fabulous Fourth. Hope you did too!!

lake tahoe

We got to spend a week in Lake Tahoe with almost all of Brent's family. The weather was amazing and we had a blast. We hiked to Vikingsholm in Emerald Bay:

There were some very friendly geese there.

About 2/3 of the way through the hike, we stopped at a small beach and there was a lovely little lean-to in which to rest our weary feet.

There was a waterfall.

Spencer was an awesome little trooper. He was my hiking buddy and did a great job telling jokes and singing songs to keep things interesting.

I'm still learning how to take sunset pictures: Here are Brent, his brother Dave, and his mom Camma.

We spent a full day at the beach and though the water was chilly and there was a little wind, we had a great day. I'm not used to seeing snow-capped mountains across the water when I go to the beach.

Nor am I used to seeing entire lady bug colonies on a log. It was a day full of new experiences.

We also did a little kayaking and jet skiing.

We loved Lake Tahoe.