What a great week we had in California! I am happy to report that the
Sierras are beautiful this time of year. We stayed at a girls camp only minutes from Placerville about twenty minutes from Folsom, where many Sellers live (my MIL side of the family). There was lots of fun had by all, especially the kids.No time to be bored with the rafts that could be boarded and guided up the damned creek like budding Huck Finn's. There was archery, ping pong, horse shoes, games in the meadow (capture the flag), climbing the flag pole, hiking, reading solitary by the creek, picking blackberries, eating G-Gpa's grapes, listening to G-Gpa and G-Gma talk to the group, swinging on the swings, riding down the hill on scooter/skateboard-like things with snowboard foot attachments (older boys), games, food, hunting for a (mock) buried treasure, visiting, and campfire programs. We took a day trip tubing/rating at Alder creek though who needs a floating device when the rocks were so smooth and the water shallow and swift... we just went on our rear. It was mother nature's water park.
Ethan's favorite part was meeting and playing with Riley, his best friend and cousin. They did everything together (rafts, forts, etc). They exchanged favorite toys and Ethan cherishes the little toy take apart turtle he got. He gave Riley one of his favorite childhood stuffed animals. :( Moses had fun playing with cousins too but also liked picking blackberries, collecting rocks, and searching for funky wildlife (big snails, crawfish, frogs, lizards and snakes). I enjoyed the stress-less atmosphere... very much a vacation for me and not needing to worry about being in charge (even partly) and taking opportunities to be alone if I wanted. Daidra still took up a big chunk of my attention (feeding, changing, keeping entertained, trying to get her to sleep) but it was still fun because she was happy for the most part. Everyone was very helpful too. She slept well at night because I bundled her good and because she was so tired from not sleeping really well during the day. She slept mainly in the car if we went somewhere or in the stroller if I'd take her for walks. The tent was just too hot and too noisy in the lodge with everyone around. Ben really enjoyed being with his family and doing things he'd done many years ago when he was a youth (Camp Nauvoo is a family tradition).
We spent the last evening in Folsom visiting Ben's grandparents in their home. They have a beautiful yard with many year round fruit producing trees. The grapes, grapefruits, and plucots (sp? a cross between a plum and an apricot) we tried were to DIE for. Mmmm. We left at 5 am the next morning to make the 10 hour drive (turned into about 12 hours with the stops). The kids did great on the long drives there and back with the many activities we had for them to do (we bought game boys on eBay and found leap pad interactive books at DI) and stopping when Daidra needed to eat or get out. She was an angel sleeping for long stints. We also found a McDonald's playland in Elko and spent just over an hour there for lunch. Ben and I even had fun playing their foosball and air hockey! They had a redbox there so we rented a kid's movie called The Last Mimzy ($1), which they watched on the laptop in the car, and then returned it to the redbox here in Logan. What an ingenious idea for those traveling because you can return it at any redbox location. And these are new releases too! Actually, we didn't "rent" it because Ben used a redbox code he found on the internet (thanks to free WiFi he got there) to get it free. I'm especially glad we made this work in the cramped spaces of my parents' Pontiac grand prix. Ethan is such a trooper to sit between the car seats and help both Daidra and Moses.
He has grown into such a sweet, helpful kid. What an adjustment he's had going from an only child to sibling to 2 in less than 2 years. He was helpful with the packing too, coming to me time after time saying, "What can I do to help Mom?" He is especially imaginative lately, always coming to me with new ideas for some invention like a trip wire or something for his fort. He often puts them into affect too! Many people commented to me how impressed they were with him, his energy for the games, his positive attitude on hikes, and his inquisitive mind as to how G-Gpa's sprinkler head was engineered. Did I tell you about his piano recital? It was two Thursday's ago. He played his favorite Indian song (with his variations) and a religious one. He did good though he was disappointed that he made a mistake... but I tried to alleviate his concerns. I could send you the video if you want.
Oh, and a little update on Daidra's development: she is sitting a lot and just started turning around on her belly today and scooting herself backward. I love it when she gives me kisses or grabs my face and attacks it when she is hungry. SO CUTE! I'll have to send you a video. She is starting to eat for
sustenance though still not as well as I would like. She seems to like rice cereal mixed with formula the best - even over sweet stuff like peaches. I wish I had some breast milked stored because I have absolutely nothing more to spare. She sucks it all off of me and is STILL hungry. She bites me sometimes and ouch! I flick her mouth with my finger and she usually gets the idea. She has times when the teething is REALLY painful and nothing but orajel calms her down from her hysterics. That girl has a temper and when she is mad, she is MAD. Poor thing, but not cutting teeth yet. Thank goodness! --> That'll be painful. She is such a happy sweetheart most of the time, especially with something in her mouth (which happens to be all the time). :) Everyone we meet comments on how pretty she is, even perfect strangers in Folsom (5 in one hour while shopping the historic district). We are so blessed!I'll write about my Jeppson reunion, with my siblings in Colorado, sometime this week. It was over two weeks ago! What a glorious time that was!
