The Big 7

DP 'aka' "Little Man" turned the big 7 today.

Wow.

Does not seem possible.

He's such a cool kid.

Fun. Vibrant. Always on the go.

And he can talk your ear off.

About anything,

Space. Time travel. Legos. Science. Fishing. Koala. Dinosaurs. God. Gardening. The future.
Dexter's Lab. Insects. Animals. Weaponry. Anything.

He is super sweet & thoughtful. Never wants to hurt anyone's feelings. Loves to to do 'special' things for those he loves. Literally bursts into tears at the thought of someone getting harmed.

He can be quick to get angry too. And to 'lay hands' on his little brother...

I can't imagine how boring my life would be with out him.

And I thank God for him every day.

:)

Can I open them now? Can I? Can I?

A new Hank! Whoo hoo!

Love the faces...

What every country boy craves...more fencing.

YES!!!

His very own ukulele.

(what? every 7 year old doesn't want his own uke??? Whatever.)

A quick cording lesson from sister.

The request was for a 'werewolf' cake. This was the best Mom could do...

Happy birthday...

toooooo...

Yooouuuuuuu!

Happy birthday Big Bub!

We love you!

Blessings.

Bumpass Hell

Our last full day of camp we did a group hike in Lassen Park.

Being, as it were, the 'cruise director',  I chose an "easy" trail suitable for all of our hikers from the elderly & infirm down to the extremely short-legged variety.

HA!

They lied!

While not a difficult trail it was a quite a bit more than "easy."

And unfortunately quite a bit more than some of our hikers could handle.

Two of them made it about 3/4 of the way & then pulled up a shady log & waited for the rest of us. One made it the whole way & then the steep ascent out gave her some dizziness & heart issues.

:(

As guilt is my spiritual gift, I was feeling pretty schmucky by then.

Sigh.

But, ultimately, we all made it  out & most of the group enjoyed the experience.

FYI: if you choose this trail be forewarned it is quite rocky & steep & shaky footing in some areas.

Highly doable for even moderately fit folks but it's a bit much for the older folks with any health issues or a lack of sure-footedness.

It is also long & hot.

But the end result is really, bizarrely cool.

Bumpass Hell is a geothermal  area of mudpots, fumeroles & hot springs.

Really, really hot springs.

Like 230* hot springs.

Ouch.

The name comes from Kendall Vanhook Bumpass who had the unfortunate experience of coming across the area while cowboying. He broke thru the thin crusted ground & was so severely burned his leg had to be amputated.

:(

I cannot imagine just stumbling across this place with no warning.

It looks like the surface of the moon.

The ground is white or yellow. The waters are turquoise blue. Steam vents are everywhere. Boiling mud spouts up into the air.

And speaking of air ~ the stench of sulphur is overpowering.

Blech.

It is really a fascinating & bizarre place.

Most of our group starting out.

Big boulder.

Pretty flowers.

This is how NJ made much of the trip. Either on me or his brother. It was a rough hike for him :)

Bumpass Hell.

Look at the color of the water!

Hi!

See the mud boiling up?

See the yellow from the sulphur? It was actually really pretty.

Blessings!

Deer Creek

One of  the main pass times at Family Camp is fishing.

This year we had several streams to choose from but a a fellow camper clued us in to the "sweet spot."

Deer Creek. Just down stream from Elam Campground.

The first day we limited out.

The second day we limited out.

The third day we limited out.

Are you sensing a pattern here? :)

It got to the point where every cast caught a fish.

It became a frenzy of cast. Catch. Remove your fish. Rebait your hook. Repeat.

Even the little boys were catching fish.

On their own!

Best. fishing trip. Ever.

Catch me a fish Dad!

Got one!

Reeling him in.

See him? Right there! In front of the rock.

Got him!!!

DP's turn. Setting the hook.

Expert advice from Dad on when to give & when to take.

He was a fighter!

Into the shallows.

Victorious!!!

My turn Dad? Mine???

Yes!!!!

Can I hold him? Can I hold him???

Hmmmm. Not so sure about this after all...

Big brother reeled 'em in like mad.

Our fishing buddy. He hung out close to us the whole time. Pretty sure he was hoping we would catch him a few...

Working on his own.

Cast. Catch. Remove. Rebait. Repeat.

Can you see the fish? Just above the rock on the right? (i love my camera)

The catch of the day.

The catch of the next  day.

The catch of the last day.

Best. fishing trip. ever.

Blessings.