Ahhhhh, August!

One of the best kept secrets of being a mother is the coveted role of Recreation Specialist.

I'm so glad my season isn't over quite yet!!

We started off the month with our long awaited, Cabin Bike Ride!

Bekah graciously dropped Joseph and me off at Jeremy Ranch where our fun began.  

 We rode to the Polar King in Oakley where we met Rebekah for our traditional, greasy lunch.

We had beautiful weather and saw lots of sun.  The final six miles up the dirt road were, predictably, torturous.  

 Take a last glimpse of our beloved yellow bikes.....

(Thanks to Bekah for these lovely cabin shots!)  

Then, from Aug 6 -  13 Bekah and I were finally off to North Carolina to be with our wonderful family!

We met the beautiful Lillian Pearl - and what a sweetie she is!!  

Lucky for us, Ben and Celeste and family also live there!!

(I had a fine photo of Ben in my phone in his long white doctor's coat....but sadly it was destroyed in the car fire.)  

 We had a fun outing for ice cream to Maple View Farm (I think that's what it's called).

We did lots of swimming at Dave and Anna's pool

And we visited the beautiful Duke campus and gardens.  

 We had an overall great time.  We were so grateful to be there!!!


 Sooooo, to our next adventure: On August 15 (Ben's birthday) the five of us (Michael included) drove to Las Vegas, NV and spent the night on our way to the beach.

Thanks to my parents, we stayed in beautiful Wyndham resorts.  Above is the night view from our room down on some of their pools below. 

glass sculpture

 The next day, the unexpected happened.  Joseph was showing us his wonderful freeway driving skills when our car engine caught on fire.  This picture was taken after running a safe distance from the acrid smoke. We were able to pull our suitcases out of the back, but the bikes, boogie boards and scooters on top were toast...as was the car!

After a 4 or 5 hour delay, we were back on our way in a white rental truck from Barstow CA.  We finished our journey to Oceanside late that night.  

At last, at the peaceful beach

 A day trip to Tijuana

 A whale watching excursion that was cut short because of boisterous waves.

 Thousand Steps Beach tide pools at low tide - awesome!

 We held onto every last whisper of our wonderful summer....

And the kids were only two days late for school :)  

 (Soaking rains the day after our return.)

                                            The Lord smiled upon our family again this summer!

We feel so grateful!

And how we also feel blessed to know and love you!