Angora Lakes

Saturday afternoon we met up with Shin, Heather, Heather's mom, Ellen, and a couple of dad's friends.  We decided to hike up to Angora Lakes.  J. has never been up there, and I hadn't been since high school.  In 2007 there was a massive fire that hit the area--3,100 acres burned, and many people lost their homes.  It was humbling to see the effects of the fire to this day.

A view of Fallen Leaf lake from the other side of Angora Ridge

Angora Lakes resort is privately owned, but they allow public beach access.  Dogs are not allowed in the water in the main lake, but they can swim in the lakes beyond the bridge.  When I was in high school we would go up to Angora and jump off the cliffs into the water--so even though it looks shallow, it does get quite deep.  Since the lakes are higher in elevation, and glacially made, the water is cold--even during the hot(ish) summer months.  It was a cool day, and we pretty much had the place to ourselves which was really nice, but none of us was brave enough to do more than wade in the water. 

Zuri wanted nothing to do with hiking, and she complained that she was cold the whole hike up, but her frowns flipped to smiles once she saw the water, and suddenly, she wasn't so cold anymore.  Warm enough to splash in the water a bit. 

Zuri pulling major attitude on the hike up

River wanting to walk by herself, no holding hands, thank you very much

I found some snow flowers blooming

The lower lake--this one is dog friendly, but much harder to get to--and no real beach

The main lake! 

The waterfall

Poor puppy wanted to play in the water so badly

Can you spot Shin on the rock?

I found more snow flowers on the return hike

Cabins on the lake.  I wouldn't mind waking up to that sight in the morning!

Tahoe Bound

In June we took a weekend trip to Lake Tahoe.  Our original plan had been to spend the weekend with Shin and Heather in Yellowstone, but with Shin's health not doing so well, we amended plans to Tahoe.  Shin and Heather stayed at Heather's mom's while we stayed at my dad's. 

Somewhere along I-80 in Nevada.  It was so serene that I couldn't resist getting a picture.

We left Utah pretty early in the morning, and made it to Fernley by noon.  We made a pit stop and visited Jaimie, one of my best friends from high school.  We spent a couple hours at a park, letting the kids and dog play as we caught up.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures (what was I thinking?), but it was so good to spend the little time we were able.

River kept getting hurt and was whining quite a bit from being overtired.  She rarely sleeps in the car and that trip was no exception.  At one point she was running and ran straight into the bench we were sitting on.  She fell down, gave a cry and then didn't breathe.  It was as though she couldn't catch her breath.  It was way scary and she got really pale, her eyes rolled back and she did a little convulsion before she inhaled.  After that she started breathing normally and once calmed down seemed fine.  We debated whether to take her in, but since she seemed to snap out of it, we decided not to.  From that point on, however, I was distracted and worried about River, so we ended up cutting our time with Jaimie short.

It really is too bad, because about a week later, another similar incident happened.  River and the dog had a collision while playing and she stopped breathing.  I had time to grab Kai's resuscitation bag and call for J (who was outside) for help before she pulled in a breath on her own.  Luckily I didn't need the bag and she didn't convulse that time.  Having had two incidents so close together, we contacted her doctor, who said that it is something that occurs quite often with kids her age--as long as it is due to some trauma and not just happening out of the blue.  He said to sprinkle a little cold water on her or blow in her face and that will kick start her breathing again.  Sure enough, it happened a few weeks later while playing with her cousins and a quick blow in her face caused her to inhale.  Scary stuff!

We got into Tahoe just as my dad was getting off work, so it was good timing.  We spent some time at my dad's house before heading over to the church for a ward function.  J had started to not feel well on the drive to Tahoe, so he ended up staying at my dad's while the rest of us went.  We met up with Shin and Heather at the church as well.

The next morning, Saturday, we walked over to the beach by my dad's house and spent a little time playing in the water.  It was somewhat chilly, not even 70 yet, so we hadn't really planned on getting into the water, but as my dad said, kids and water are magnets, and evidently dogs too.  Pepper had as much, if not more fun in the water than the kids did.  She leaped through the water like a dolphin, and we all just laughed watching her play.

Independence Day

We spent our 4th of July rather low key this year.  We all donned our red, white and blue and went to Veteran's Memorial Park where they had a carnival.  We spent time at the carnival then went over to the park where the girls played.  However, the day was hot and we all decided to call it early.  We be-bopped over to the grocery store for food for our barbecue.  We ate dinner with my grandparents, with root beer floats for dessert.

My grandparents went home after dessert, and we got River down to bed.  She is in an in-between phase where she still technically needs a nap but doesn't fall asleep until after three, which puts her napping way too late into the evening so she doesn't go to bed.  Not a fun cycle.  However, for the 4th, she didn't get a nap, which put her as extremely cranky for the night.  We decided to forgo fireworks for her and Kai.

So Zuri and I went back out to the park, where the carnival was still going strong.  They also had Hotel Transylvania 2 playing on a giant projector screen.  When we arrived, I asked a couple police officers where the fireworks were going to be lit.  They told me directly to the west of where we were, so Zuri and I wandered for a bit and set up our spot where we thought we would get a good view.

As it grew darker, we could see other firework shows all around us in a 360 view.  At one time I counted twelve separate displays.  It was absolutely beautiful.  But as it got darker and our "show" still hadn't happened, I began to think that maybe that was all we were going to get.  By ten-twelve I decided to bag it and go home.  We packed up our stuff and were walking toward the car when all of a sudden there was a loud BOOM right above us.  We hastily plopped down.  Our show had finally started, and we were not disappointed.  It was spectacular, and loud.  Poor Zuri had her hands over her ears until one nice lady offered us earplugs.

Zuri had a blast and wanted to make sure that I took lots of pictures and video of the fireworks.  She kept saying, "did you get that one?  Take a video!"  She was too cute.  I think she really enjoyed having one-on-one time with me (that wasn't shopping).

Walmart Fail

 With Kai being out of school for the summer, I have had to adjust the way that I do things in order to be able to get errands done.  We are saving our respite hours for our many vacations this summer, so nothing extra is added to our days.  My grandpa has been a lifesaver--honestly, life would be a thousand times harder without his help--but there was one day that my grandpa was unavailable and I had to run a few errands that couldn't wait.

So I loaded up River and Kai (Zuri was still in school--the fun of year-round) and got the errands accomplished.  I also needed a few things from Walmart, so I figured that I could just grab a hand-basket; a cart is very hard to navigate with Kai, and Walmart doesn't have any child disability carts.  I couldn't find any baskets, and when I asked about it the associate was pretty rude to me and said said they don't have any and to use a cart.  I was pretty irritated.  I contemplated going home, but we were already out and I really needed a few items.  I went directly to the storage bin area and found a nifty bucket to use.  I had to balance it on my hip as I went through the store.  I was not happy.  In fact, I even ranted on Instagram/Facebook:

Epic Walmart fail. I had to run some errands today and my last stop was at Walmart. I only needed a few things to make it until the weekend, so I figured I'd just grab a hand basket (because of the weight and bulk of the items). When I got inside, not only does Walmart not have anything remotely like the Caroline cart for Jeremy (see Target), but they don't even have baskets! The Walmart associate was rather rude when I asked. He said to use a cart. 😒 Um...right. I've tried that before, dragging a cart while pushing Jeremy. It doesn't work well. So, I improvised. I saw one of these handy totes and balanced it on my hip as a basket.

My frustration was not only with the fact that there wasn't a hand basket, but with the rude attitude of the Walmart employee.  I don't often get out with Kai by myself because of the very reason of having to push a cart and Kai's stroller.  What is up with Walmart not having hand baskets anymore?  One of my friends said that she was told a cart is bigger so people will buy more.  Ugh.  Some people have budgets and stick with them.  Some people have disabled children in wheelchairs and need a hand basket.

Okay, rant over.  On another note, we've had to cut River's hair.  It made me so sad--I seriously cried.  When she goes to bed at night she's been pulling her hair, to the point that over time she has created bald spots.  Zuri went through the same thing at her age, only Zuri would also do it when we were present so it was easier to catch and put a stop to it.  River's pediatrician isn't overly concerned at this point, and said it's something that some toddlers do for comfort.  River has never been a thumb or binky baby, so I guess this is her vice.  Honestly, I'd rather deal with the binky.

Lastly, next week was supposed to be when we get Kai's new wheelchair, but there's been a delay, so as of now, we don't know when it's going to be ready.  We are really disappointed, but hopefully it won't be too much longer!

Car Update

We have a happy ending!  My car was recovered, and in one piece!  The thief (thieves) took it for over a 150 mile joyride, then ditched it in a residential neighborhood less than a mile from where they stole it.  They left the car mostly unharmed.  There was a plastic piece that holds the driver's side visor that was broken off, and the cubby on the driver's side door popped out--I don't know if that had anything to do with them breaking into the car.  Other than that, the car seemed the same.  They stole J's Bluetooth wireless speaker and a few cd's, although they left the majority of cd's behind.  They definitely rifled through everything looking for cash or something of value, but luckily, we don't keep valuables in the car for that very reason. 

He/She/They left only one clue other than garbage as to who he/she/they were.  A yellow sticky note pad with some writing on it that the police confiscated (after verifying it wasn't ours).

We honestly hadn't expected the car to be recovered, and figured that if it was recovered that it would be in pieces, so imagine our shock when we received the call that not only was our car found, but it was in driving condition!

We got the car back late at night and debated what to do with it.  Three cars! Just before our nurse left in the morning, he expressed interest in buying the car.  Then not even two hours later, one of our neighbors who knew the situation, wanted to know if we were selling the car.  Their oldest just graduated high school and needed a car for college.  Her current car is a gas guzzler.  They came over later and took the car out for a test drive and definitely wanted the car, so they bought the car then and there.

So less than 24 hours after I got my car back, I let her go again, but at least I know that she's gone to a good home and will be cared for. 

For the Love of a Car

My grandpa made this for my scrapbook

April 2004 I bought my little 1999 Honda Civic.  It was the first car I bought myself; my second car ever.  I loved that car and it took me to and from California more times than I can count.

With a growing family, a two-door car just wasn't practical.  It was a pain to get car seats in and out, but it worked for J's commute to and from work. When we went out as a family, we used our other car.  The outside was showing it's age, and it probably only had a few years left, having over 250,000 miles on it, but we had plans to hold on to it until we could get our SUV paid off, then trade it in for a newer car.

However, someone had other plans.  It was stolen.  12 years.  I had that car for 12 years and it was taken from me.  It had a full tank of gas, newer tires, recent oil change, and it had just been registered for the year.  The kicker--a few years ago we took off comprehensive coverage and went to liability only for car insurance--all to save money.  I mean, the car was old, but it was my car and I loved it.

I'm not a car person--I could care less about tires and engines and body, and whatever else.  I have no interest in any of that.  I know how to check fluids and change a tire, beyond that, I don't care.  But it was my car, and someone took it.  Just took it.

There was nothing of monetary value in the car.  A phone charger.  A blue tooth speaker.  About 30 of my favorite CD's, old--late '90's to early 2000's, many of them mixes.  Not worth much, but precious to me.  A picture of Kai and Zuri when they were younger.  A tennis racket.  All out of sight except the phone charger and speaker.

J's work is about 20 miles from our house, and he often uses his car during work hours for work related reasons, so he needs a vehicle.  I have appointments for Kai, carpool and extracurricular activities for Zuri, as well as errands like grocery shopping, so I also need a vehicle.

One car down leaves us with having to go out and buy another car, which was definitely not in our budget.  We have been doing some remolding to our home--and now that has been put on hold in the middle of the project.  Hopefully just temporarily.

The silver lining?  Well, we got a new car!  We really didn't have much time to look and our specifications were pretty specific, but we found a car that we love.  Although J is going to primarily be the one driving, it has the ability to hold all three car seats/booster seats for the kids.  Not enough room for the wheelchair though.  It has theft protection not only in the car, but through our warranty, because unfortunately, we have learned that crap happens.