Kind of laborious, actually...

But very enjoyable, nonetheless!!! Labor Day weekend would have been a 4 day weekend for us this year, but with my workaholic husband, there was no way that was going to happen. So we talked him into giving us a day and a half. I'll take it!! That's more time than we have spent with him in over a month.

Our friends, The Robinson clan, invited us to go up to The Trail of 100 Giants with them. It's about a 2 hour drive (what isn't a 2 hour drive around here?), so we packed a picnic and enjoyed spending some time together. We always have loads of fun with these guys, and it was so great to explore the Sequioas! Hopefully soon, we can go to the National Park.

These trees are MASSIVE, that's the only way to describe it. Pictures do not begin to do them justice, and I'm sure my words wouldn't either. So just enjoy all of these gigantor trees and try to imagine my commentary to go along with it.

We all loved it and want to go back again and again!

On actual labor day, we went for our first family hike. As some of you may recall from last summer, I'm really into family hikes ;) Travis, who works with Nate and also desperately needed to get away from the office for awhile, and his lovely wife Sharon, recommended Onion Valley. Travis had been that way a few years ago with the Scouts and remembered it to be a fairly easy hike. And, it's only (you guessed it!) about 2 hours away.

Evan was a champ! Thank goodness for good friends who let us borrow their baby pack. Couldn't have done it without you!

 

Here's our crew! Taking the first break in the shade.Looking over Onion Valley. (Don't worry, the trailhead alone was at 9200 feet. And then we hiked up!!!  Beautiful waterfall

Our destination was the Little Pothole Lake. What a gem!

Crystal clear water. Ahhh, water.

We enjoyed lounging by the lake, wading in the water, and watching the boys attempt to spear fish. Unfortunately, both cameras died before we could capture said events.

It was a great hike, the weather was superb, the scenery was breathtaking (literally, at that insane elevation) the exercise was much needed, and the baby, thank goodness, could not have enjoyed it more. He loved it so much, in fact, he did not nap until we were about ten minutes away from the car. Impeccable timing.

 (Picture courtesy of my phone- blurry, but you get the idea.)

I think it's safe to say we enjoyed our Labor Day weekend. Only two more weeks until we have a daddy and husband back in our lives again! :) 

Ridgecrest-aversary

Two thoughts:
1. Has it seriously been a year since our lives completely changed, leaving our gorgeous Logan summer and everything familiar, and arrived in the desert, not knowing a single thing to expect, but taking it all on, just holding each other's hand? Feels like that was just last week.
2. (In the words of my sister) "You've only been there a year?! Man, it feels like you've been there FOREVER.
How it is it possible to feel both of these completely opposite feelings at the same time, you may wonder? My only answer: I don't know how, I just know that I do.

A year ago, I was creating a list about this new place I was supposed to call home. A year later, feeling a little more grounded here, here is my new list of what I've learned, which surprisingly hasn't changed that much:
-Nate still LOVES his job. He loves it more every day. For the last month, he loves it so much in fact, he has gone to work in the early hours of the am and spent every day of the week except Sunday there. Willingly. And though it has obviously made him tired, he still enjoys it.
Much like Utah has two seasons: winter and construction, Ridgecrest has two seasons: hot and windy.
-I enjoy having the mailman and clerks at the store (and even the cable guys! unfortunately, they have been to our house that often) comment on how cute my baby is, how much he is growing, etc. You don't get that in Utah.
-I'm completely spoiled by having all of my grocery stores within about 4 minutes of my house. It puts me out when I have to go "clear to the other side of town" to hit the grocery store that's furthest from me. It takes appox. 7 minutes to get there.
-It's still a boring place to be. Thank goodness, I now have Evan to entertain my days. But even still, we both tend to get a little stir crazy sometimes. You can only visit the grocery stores so many times a week. Isn't that how it always goes, though? I'm so greatful for our routine, but it seems like once you get comfortable in it, you also get bored with it.
-The first time we drove into this valley, all I could see was deserted buildings, empty lots, a run down town and heat beyond imagination. It's funny now, I've nearly forgotten about those exterior things, except for the heat of course. Now when I look at this valley, I see what makes up the borders of it. Good neighbors, thoughtful friends, strong values, a patriotic community, and heat beyond imagination :)

When we go visit family, I get the overwhelming, heart warming "home" feeling. The mountains, the fresh air, the grid system of the streets, the familiarity of everything, and above all, our families. When we return to Ridgecrest, I don't get that "home" feeling, but I do have the feeling that this is where I live, where my family is. It's not just a place I'm staying for awhile. In my book, that's a big step. It's now familiar to me. I now have roots here, though not too deep that it would be hard to break me away. :)

A few things I love about my life right now, here, one year later, that I could have never imagined:   

Baby blues :)

Bath time! I had no idea it could be so much fun!!

Little buddies

Thoughtful friends, who spend hours creating a most delicious surprise for me, to then have it melt because of our awful heat, in the 2 1/2 minutes of driving it takes to get from her house to mine.

Fishing close enough to make my husband happy.

Views from on top of the world and such good friends that take on adventures.

And most of all, that he would think to call me, on top of the world, during said adventure. (Awww... )

A year ago, my cousin gave me the best advice: "Embrace it, cause what other option do you have?" So Ridgecrest, since I have a feeling we are going to be getting to know each other a little better than I had originally hoped for, I am embracing you. Please continue to reveal your hidden treasures to me. So that I don't have to count down the days until Christmas for our next trip "home" ;) 

Beating the Heat

It is still ridiculously hot here in Ridgecrest, so last weekend a few of us decided to go up, up and away from it all by visiting Kernville for the day. It's a lovely drive through mountains that almost makes you forget you are in the desert. Only about 45 minutes away from us is lovely Lake Isabella, which on the last Saturday before school started, was much too crowded for our taste. So we curved around the scenic lake to the Kern river. The river was also pretty crowded, but we found a great place right on the bank of the river to set up our chairs and let our feet rest in the cool water.

The boys took Kendall's raft down the rapids, and had a blast!

We had the perfect view from our banks of the best rapid! (Ok, so it's no Snake River rapids, but for little Kernville, it was great!)

Floating away! They were like little kids, having so much fun.

Kendall was able to find a perfect recliner, somehow, in the middle of the river! So relaxing.

Evan, as always, LOVED playing in the water. The water felt so refreshing.

The boys had a blast just splashing away!

Evan now gets a kick out of splashing water on his face. All of this time in water lately has made bath time pretty interesting. I love that he isn't afraid, though!

He pretty much dunked himself, he was that excited to just be playing in it.

What a wonderful break it was to not be melting! Nate has been working A WHOLE LOT lately, so not only was it great to play in the river, Evan and I were so happy just to be able to play with daddy! We are glad we got to have such a fun day with such fun friends.

Back at home, where it's not so cool and refreshing, this is how we spend a lot of our awake time.

He may or may not be teething. :)

Beach Birthday Extravaganza

Since my birthday weekend consisted of driving all day to attend the funeral, then turning right back around and driving all the way back, my dear husband went above and beyond for me the next weekend. We had MY perfect day. Beach, shopping, eating out, and cake. :)

What a stud. Evan is too cool for his own good. This was his first experience with sand, and I'm quite sure it's his new favorite thing.

He LOVED raking his hands through it, over and over.

And got a kick out of burying his feet and finding them again.

Here he is strolling the beach; out favorite thing to do. I love this picture, even though he looks liek such a big boy.

When big waves were coming, the sound made Evan a little nervous. He couldn't seem to figure it out.

It was a little chilly in the water at first, and Evan would just go totally stiff. Is it mean that I thought it was so funny?

After a few waves, he seemed to get the hang of it. And I like to think he really enjoyed it!

We strolled, searched for seashells, and explored the pier...

And played in the water more, of course.

Evan might look angry here, but it really was just too bright for him, I think. He actually started splashing at the waves when they would come to him.

Don't worry, I would hold on to him when the waves would come, so he wouldn't get taken out to sea. Though Nate was down in the water taking the picture, so I'm sure he could've caught him. :)

Best Birthday gift ever. Ah....

I sure do love me some beach. I kept telling Evan if he was going to be a true California boy, he'd better get used to this.

Cuddling up, drying off, and getting warm.

I can't think of many things better than laying on the sand with my two guys , soaking up some rays, smelling the salt, and listening to the waves crash at our feet. Let's make every weekend a birthday weekend, okay honey?

My favorite picture of the whole trip. TOO cute.

We had barely pulled out of our parking space, when I turned around to look at Evan. Don't worry, he fell asleep, while taking a drink. Goodness, I love him.

My birthday was completed with none other than a Cherry Dr Pepper cake!

WOW, to an absolutely wonderful birthday!