SS Abraham Lincoln

Today Wayne decided we should go on a one day vacation. Earlier in the week he notice that this week was Navy Week. Los Angeles hasn't had a Navy week for 22 years. We went down to San Pedro or The LA Port in hopes to see the SS Abraham Lincoln. There were three other boat in port but the exciting one was the aircraft carrier. Over 6,000 sailors live on the ship. We knew the line would be long so we left the house at 7:15. Tours started at 10:00. We couldn't believe how long the line was. First we got off the freeway and thought we could just pull into the parking area. Wrong. We had to turn down the road, go for a few stop lights, make a u-turn and get in line. That took about and hour. Next we got in line to get on a bus. Another 2 and 1/2 hours. We were shuttled to where the aircraft carrier was docked. We walked around for about and hour. It was fun to see. It is the size of three football fields. To get back to the car we stood in line for another hour. By this time we are hungry. We went to Lucille's, a favorite BBque place. To end the day we saw the last Harry Potter movie. It has been long enough ago since I read the book that I didn't remember all of the events. It was pretty good. It made a good ending to a fun day.

Steamboat Springs

We had such a wonderful week in Steamboat Springs. We did miss Tim, Tanya, Marisa, and Natalie.

This was the first Sunday. Luke and Trent had to leave early to work.


Our first adventure was the Alpine Slide. Everyone had fun.

Tanner getting ready for a ride.

The ATV ride was really exciting. The little boys loved to go fast in the mud puddles. You can only imagine how muddy we ended up getting.

It was absolutely beautiful at the top. We even found snow. A few snowballs were thrown.

The rest of the group met us at Steamboat Lake. The little girls really enjoyed the mild, cold water. There were so many different kinds of wildflowers in the open meadows.

Even Ryder enjoyed the day.

I thought this was the cutest picture

Wednesday was our hike to the top of the gondola. Anyone who gets to the top can take the gondola down the mountain for free.

The kids were excited about fishing. Several of them caught their first fish. This is one caught by Brynn. I wasn't around when the other three fish were caught.

Tubing was another adventure. Even the commerical companies weren't in the water yet. We found a section of the river that was very slow. It was cold but fun. Carin's tube got a hole and she was connect to Leah's tube. It made Leah a little anxious. Carin could touch the bottom of the river and was able to get out with just a little extra effort.

While the men went golfing the rest of us went for a walk to see Fish Creek Falls. It was well paved. Right before we went, there was a summer thunderstorm. It was a good downpour which also included peas size balls of hail.

Horseback riding was an activity the kids could hardly wait for. They looked so cute in their $5.00 cowboy hats.

I love this picture. I just wish the lighting was better. My camera was not focusing or adjusting correctly, but it is still a fun picture.

Our last event was the rodeo. The older kids tried to grab a ribbon off a young cow's tail.

The younger kids tried to grab the ribbon off a little lamb's tail. It was funny to watch.

Everyone left for home very tired, but it was worth every minute.

More Summer Fun

I now remember why I haven't published a blog for awhile. I have so much trouble getting the pictures uploaded. Once I upload they aren't in the order I want them. Just the same I'm going to keep trying.

The next few pictures were of Haylie's birthday in Santa Monica. Getting there was awful, but it was fun once we got there.

I didn't take very many picture right at the beach. I have ruined several cameras through the years because sand gets in them. I took the camera down just once and then took it right back to the condo. M0st of the kids didn't want their pictures taken.

The Calls had already taken a family picture before I got to them. I hope Kari will post some of those pictures.

Beach Week 2011

This is my first attempt to do a blog in over a year. I had planned on putting a few pictures from our fun week. This is the only one it will let me upload. I may have to keep trying. It so nice to have some of my girls together. We missed Carin and Tanya. Actually we also missed the boys and the rest of the grandchildren. Luckily we get to see a few more next week.