Track meet...

Emily was in the Hershey track meet yesterday. She did the 50 M, 100 M and the long jump. She placed 2nd in the 50 M in her heat. The finals were in the afternoon and she just didn't want to stay until the end to do them so I check Emily and Jolene out and took them home for a fun afternoon of playing in the sun, eating nachos and building forts out back. When Emily went to activity days later in the day her friends told her that the announcer and the track meet kept calling Emily's name and for her to report to the starting line. This didn't even seem to phase her because she didn't want to run anymore. If you have no idea what the hershey track meet is......all of the schools gather their 3rd graders together to race against each other. The winners go on to some big track meet in the state. There are actually track days for 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th graders at the end of the school year. So ends another day of racing at my house.......
Guess what tomorrow brings for me...Women's conference (my first year going!)

Some days are just.......well, they are great!

When we moved in almost 8 years ago our neighborhood was still being built....
However, we did have next door neighbors. We became fast friends. We put in our backyards together, even putting in a gate between them so the kids could easily run back and forth. After all, everyone needs back door friends!!
We have been to Disneyland together, we have our annual Halloween parties for our kids as well as our fabulous Easter egg hunt. We just returned a week ago from going to San Diego together....(although I have yet to convince them to go on a cruise with us!)
They are the best of friends. I mentioned to CoriAnn that we were going to go geo-caching for a day for our monthly "crush" date, I asked if they were interested. She talked with her husband and he had the great idea of combining the trip with going on a 4-wheeler trip..... So our plans began.
We left Saturday at around 11 in the morning. It took us an hour to arrive at 5-mile pass. The day looked cloudy and we had a few sprinkles around us but the mountains had sunshine around them....Coriann had us all garbed up with boots, wool socks, 3 layers of clothes and a shell jacket...plus I had my thermals under my pants....

Enjoy our trip as you look through the pictures....



All ready to go....Kevin and I were on the 400, Coriann and Weston were on the 800.



Myself, Weston and Kevin as we found a geo-cache. We placed 2 travel bugs this day.



Okay, so as we were riding to find our next cache we were just trying to follow the GPS and the arrow as it would point to a direction we were to go. There were paths everywhere and the trails were not marked. Weston started up a hill......it was muddy and steep. Kevin and I followed. Did I mention that Kevin and I are not 4- wheeling people. I had a best friend in HS that had one and Kevin has driven one to plow snow and maybe one another time. Okay so we head up the hill following. Since there was so much mud it was harder to steer. We swiped a bush as we slipped. Then when Kevin was trying to get it to go we started to slip down the hill. I asked him if I should get off to make it easier....after a few minutes we see Weston coming down the hill on foot to find us. He told Kevin to gun it and he did...only to start slipping again. I hopped off and Weston put weight on the front of it.....Well, Weston and Kevin traded places...Hence the picture. Kevin is sitting on the front while Weston is driving it up the muddy trail and I hiked it to the top.



This is Weston and Kevin trying to figure out what trail to take it make it to the cache.


While They were trying to figure out where to go I took my helmet off. It was so heavy on my head, but it kept it warm!



Our riding buddies and back door friends!








We had to make it down the hill.....Weston just didn't want to go down the way we came up and neither do we.
So we found a different hill to come down. I know this does not look steep, but it was. I am standing up in the back so we don't fall forward and because that was just the angle we were at!









Aren't Coriann and I dang cute!!








When we were at the top of one of the hills, mountains or whatever you want to call it, we watched the clouds roll up the mountain right in front of us. It was a beautiful sight!!








Coriann and Weston in the clouds...



Kevin and I....what a fabulous day we had together!!






We put 27 miles on the 4- wheeler.....We rode through the sun, the clouds, the rain sprinkles, the snow and it was beautiful!!



We came across this mine airshaft. It was so far down. We dropped a rock and it hit bottom around the 8 second mark......way deep!



Our last geo-cache. This is Weston and I. We found 14 this day.
Weston thought it would only take a couple of hours to do the geo-caching.....
We rode for 6 1/2 hours.
We were muddy, tired and full of a lot of great memories with our great friends and neighbors...
Thanks for the day we had!!! Let's go again!!

We bought another memory!!!!

Just about everyone knows I love to go places...I love to see things and I love making new memories with my family and in this case my friends also!!
We started our journey by leaving after school on tuesday and staying in Primm, NV at a casino...Got our rooms for less then $6 each....
On Wednesday, our neighbors, Strebels, and us headed to La Jolla, Ca to check out the sea lions at the beach....


Here is the gang of kids, our 4 and the neighbors 3!



Have I ever mentioned that I LOVE the ocean!!!



My two older girls....I can't believe Kass is headed for her University days in only 2 months!!



The sea lions were sprawled all over the beach....it was fun to watch them come in and out and then there were the ones that just laid around!!!



We headed over to the beach side where the kids could actually enjoy the water!!
Does it look like she is enjoying the wave that caught her!!
Did I mention it was so windy, yet I still loved it!!



Love the beach!!!



Just waiting for the wave to catch them...and it did!!









We next headed over to Old Town San Diego!





Gotta love a hotel with a heated pool!!!



Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy 9th Birthday!!!




Our first day at Sea World....I remember the days when Zach would carry a map and point to where he wanted to go......he still studies the map!!



Emily and Max, her best buddy on the trip!





Waiting for the Shamu show to start.....the gang is all here, including my parents!!
This is where Audrey got her knees burnt!









Emily and Max held hands while walking from one thing to another.....






Just before the night show for Shamu started, the kids were all on the big Jumbo Tron. They were so excited!!!



We went to the Wild Animal Park on Friday!
Just where my kids belong!!



On the tram ride through the safari!!






Lions!








Zach knew exactly what this was called....it must be all of the animal books he reads!



Zach had a quarter in his fanny pack and wanted to look through the telescope at all of the animals that were far off.



Oh yes., the Lorikeet feeding time. Grandma bought nectar for the kids to feed the lorikeets.....





One of them loved Audrey's hair, it was first pecking and searching in her hair, then as Audrey moved her head back, it was just move instead of flying off!!













We all headed to Seaport Village to go on the Seal tour. This contraption goes on land then on sea. Kevin and I went on the duck on in Alaska.






In the harbor we saw more sea lions and seals!



Saturday my parents headed home and the rest of us headed to Sea World.
We met up with the Blattman's, the kids I babysat last year...
Seriously, Annie remembered me. She gave me the biggest hug!! Sweet kids!


Audrey and Annie






Lunch time out at the van!!




Just before the Blattman's left....





Good-bye Hudson...



We ate at the Ship Wreck Rapids Cafe and we had some yummy burgers!!!
Plus, since I had a year pass the food was all 30% off after 4!!



The kids went on the ship wreck ride....all in rain coats!!


What a great vacation we had!!!!!!
Like I said, we bought a memory!!!