First day of school

Today was the first day of school for the kiddos!  We had a wonderful summer, visiting three national parks, the beach, my brother's family in Portland, my parents in San Jose, and enjoyed LOTS of swimming in friends' pools!  But everyone was ready to go back to school this morning...ready for the routine of school days, the excitement of seeing old friends and making new ones, as well as looking forward to the sports leagues that we will be signing up for soon! Here's a picture from this morning...my big 1st, 4th and 6th graders!  

Silly "thinking" faces.

And just because...Audrey's first day of kindergarten, a mere 6 years ago! 

Day camping with the Cos!

Last weekend we joined our friends, the Co family, up in the mountains for the day.  We had hoped to go up for the whole weekend and tent camp alongside them, but Isaiah was showing some signs of stress during the week and hadn't been sleeping great so we opted to keep his routine as stable as possible, sleeping in his own bed, and go up for the day instead.  He truly is adjusting well and "fitting in" like he's been with us since the beginning, for which we are so thankful!  So sometimes, because he is such a happy, funny, boisterous kid, we have to remind ourselves that he has only been with our family a little over three months and we need to take the time to help him feel as comfortable as possible when needed.

We left our house right after a quick breakfast and stayed up in the mountains until after sundown, so it was a full day of fun, playing in the dirt, eating yummy food, hiking to the Big Trees, and enjoying a campfire before heading home.  

Climbing on "the rock", which was right across for the campsite!  We even relaxed and had reading time on top of the rock while the two youngest rested in the afternoon.

See why I call it "the rock"...it's the biggest in the campground!

While the Co family was setting up camp on Friday afternoon they discovered a bird's nest in the middle of a grassy area in the campsite!  The momma bird sat in a tree nearby and came and checked on it frequently, as well as chirping loudly if we got too close!  We set some bright cups around it to remind us where it was so we wouldn't step on it!  And good thing too...one of the eggs hatched Sunday morning! 

Isaac and Jackson in the Gamlin cabin

Holdin' up the log on the trail to the big trees!

The girls' turn!

I put a few more pictures that included Isaiah on our photo album that is password protected, HERE.  If you would like to see them and do not remember the password that I emailed out a couple of weeks ago feel free to shoot me an email and I will remind you what it is!

Thank you Co family for inviting us to join you camping!  Next year we will all be fully adjusted and will definitely be able to spend a whole weekend together!!!