Family Adventure Day 2013!

I just realized that I did not do an entry last year for our annual adventure day.  We went to Columbia, a gold town in Northern California.  To see all the photos from that Adventure Day, click HERE and HERE.

This year, for our 6th annual Family Adventure Day, we went to the Kings & Sequoia National Parks on 10 August 2013.  We saw the Giant Sequoias and climbed to the top of Moro Rock.  We saw some beautiful country and then drove into Visalia for dinner.  It was a fun day!

Entering Kings Canyon National Park

and Sequoia National Park

A panoramic view of the General Grant tree

Katrina, Rebecca and Amanda in front of the General Grant tree

Kevin and Lora by the General Grant tree

Kevin and Amanda

Amanda, Lora, Katrina and Rebecca climbing to the top of Moro Rock

Amanda, Lora, Katrina and Rebecca at the top of Moro Rock

Video of Katrina and Rebecca announcing their presence at the top of Moro Rock

A panoramic view from the top of Moro Rock

A photo attempting to show how steep the steps are to the top of Moro Rock

Our dinner at The Habit in Visalia

To see all the photos from our Adventure Day, click HERE

The Nehring Christmas Card 2012

All year long I have great intentions to post things on our blog, but I never seem to have the time.  So, here, condensed, is our year -- in the form of our yearly Christmas letter/card.

Merry Christmas!

Family Adventure Day!

It's our 4th Annual last-weekend-of-the-summer Family Adventure Day!



This year we decided to head back to the beach. We went to Morro Bay. We haven't been there for about nine years, so we figured it was about time to go back. Lora's mom was visiting, so we took her with us to Atascadero, where we met with Uncle Rich, who took her to visit with Aunt Lindi.



We drove into Morro Bay and went out to the Rock. We ate lunch at a park, with a seagull standing hopefully by. Nearby a boy started throwing french fries to the two birds that were there, and within a minute, he was surrounded by over thirty birds, including six pelicans!



We left the park and drove to the Historical Landmark and got the answers for an Earthcache. We discussed how the rock was formed, whether by volcanic activity or erosion, and decided that it was both. It was originally formed by volcanic activity, but over the years has eroded to the shape it is now. We enjoy those kind of caches.



After the cache, we drove to the Morro Bay Aquarium. We have been here before, but Rebecca was two years old. The girls got some fish chum to feed the seals that are in the front of the aquarium. I can't believe those seals don't weigh a ton with all they get fed all day long.






The aquarium has seen better days. They used to have an octopus (see the photo of Rebecca when she was two), and the fish look a bit tired. It was fun though. They still have the shark, the anemones, the abalone and the horseshoe crabs. They did have a few fish I don't remember seeing before.



These fish seemed really interested in Rebecca! : )

When we left the aquarium we went to The Shell Shack and the girls got to pick out several shells. Then we walked around the shops, saw some of the sights, and let the girls each pick out a tshirt. We walked along the decks and we tried to get a photo of all of us, the long-arm way, with the Rock in the background. A waiter from the restaurant in front of us came out and offered to take a picture of all of us. The photo was slightly out of focus, but it was very nice of them.



We went up to the Morro Bay Natural History Museum. This is an amazing place! We strongly recommend this museum!! It has some of the most inventive displays we had ever seen. There were earphones shaped like "Rocky" that told the kids facts about Morro Rock. There were displays with drawers underneath them, and each drawer had even more displays in them. There were cylinders that had different pictures of different aspects of each of the ecosystems. There were really cool pull-out "windows" that showed the food chain. There was a great display that as you turned the "wheel" the louvers rotated to show different information. There was also a whale skeleton that the museum had put together themselves. Very cool!!












Lora's mom met back up with us and went down to the beach for a little while.




After cleaning up the sand from the beach, we went to dinner. We checked out a few places, but finally decided to go to the restaurant where the waiter had taken a photo of us. It was called the Flying Dutchman. We had a long wait for a table, but the food was worth it!



Amanda, Rebecca and Kevin had the fish and chips, Katrina had the chicken strips, Mom had the clam chowder in a bread bowl, and Lora had the special which was bacon-wrapped teriyaki tuna with jasmine rice, baby vegetables and cucumber salsa. Mom said it was the best clam chowder she has ever had, the fish and chips weren't overly greasy like some places, and the special was really good! We made sure to tell the manager that we came back because of his employee. They really appreciated hearing that!



Then, we drove home. : ) As usual, a lovely end to the summer!

To see all the photos from our Morro Bay adventure CLICK HERE

Our very late Christmas greeting

Well, here it is, past the middle of January, and I am finally getting to our Christmas card and letter. Enjoy! : )



Greetings to all our family and friends!! We are little behind on getting our greetings out this year. We loved hearing from all of you this year and are happy to hear that you are all doing so well. We appreciate and love all of you and hope that you are planning a wonderful New Year! When we consider our blessings for this year, you are all at the top of the list!!

Amanda turned 13 this year and is in 8th grade. She is one of the best snare drummers on the Middle School drum line and she tried out for Girl’s basketball and made the team!! She is doing exceptionally well in school and volunteers at the local library. Amanda got to travel all by herself to Alaska this summer and visited with Gma Kathryn and Gpa Herb. Among many things while she was there, she got to do a Wolf Encounter at the Alaska Zoo. She liked that very much! Amanda also went to her first year at Girl’s Camp and had a great time!

Rebecca is 10 this year and in 5th grade. She is doing well in school and she loves writing her own stories like crazy! This summer Rebecca got to spend a week all by herself with Gma Carol and Papa in Auberry. She had a great time and Gma Carol helped her to sew her own skirt. Rebecca is also learning how to crochet and is enjoying that very much. Rebecca has continued with her piano lessons and likes to memorize the pieces so she can play them anywhere there is a piano. Rebecca is also growing her hair out so she can donate it to Locks of Love. She can’t wait for it to be long enough to cut off. She likes her hair short.

Katrina is 5 this year and started Kindergarten! She has been waiting to start school for as long as she knew what it was and she is so happy to be there this year. She loves her teacher and is doing very well, reading and writing above her grade level. Katrina loves to read books, and loves to sing, dance, color, and play games on the computer. Katrina is trying to learn her place in the world and sometimes is fussy about not knowing this VERY SECOND. It is very hard for a 5 year old to be patient. Sigh. : ) Katrina got her ears pierced recently and is taking good care of them and looking forward to when she can wear different earrings!

Kevin’s work has steadily increased over the past six months, for which we are very grateful. They now have a backlog which they haven’t had for 2 1/2 years, which is hopefully a good indicator that the economy is slowly turning around. Kevin is involved in many different organizations, continuing his position on the Kerman Planning Commission, and as President of the San Joaquin Chapter of the California Land Surveyors Association. This year he has been serving on Sheriff Mims’ Fresno County Sheriff’s Citizens Advisory Committee and has recently become the Vice President of the Fresno County Neighborhood Watch Committee. He also continues as webmaster of the Honda Rider’s Group.

Lora is doing a lot of volunteer work, helping in the girl’s classrooms, serving on two school site councils, the Bond Oversight Committee for the new school being built in Kerman, and this year became the President of the Friends of the Kerman Branch Library. Lora lost weight this year and then gained it back. Grrr! She continues to work her own business from home and also attends the Temple weekly. She has done a lot of family history this year and is working on trying to compile it all onto a program that she can share!

We have had a few adventures this year. In March Lora and the girls travelled to the coast to see Lora’s Gpa and to have some fun. We also drove to the Palm Springs area in November to spend Thanksgiving with both of Lora’s brothers and their families! It was the first time we had all been together in five years and four of the kids had not even been born then, so it was a wonderful time to spend together. The kids had fun and so did the grown ups!! We have had visits from Lora’s parents, aunts, uncles and cousins, and past missionaries who served in Kerman. And, of course, we see Lora’s Gma Willie often and Kevin’s family almost every Sunday.

We hope you have a great year in 2011. Please keep in touch. We love to hear how you are all doing!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

This was a wonderful holiday weekend!! Absolutely wonderful!! A few weeks ago my brother Jordan -- who lives in Alaska with his wife, Sioux-z, and their two daughters, Isabel and Ivy -- called and said that they were going to be in Palm Springs (actually, La Quinta, a town a little bit to the east) for Thanksgiving, and he was hoping that we could come down to spend it with them. He was also going to call my youngest brother, Jeremy -- who lives in Castaic with his wife, Renee, and their twins, Lily and Zachary -- to see if they could be there too. It worked! The last time we were all together was five years ago. I was pregnant with Katrina, Sioux-z was pregnant with Ivy, and Lily and Zachary were not even a twinkle in their parent's eyes yet.

We left Kerman on Wednesday afternoon and drove out through the high desert and then down to La Quinta. As we drove through Tehachapi it was 29 degrees and there were mounds of old snow that had been plowed off the parking lot of the gas station where we stopped. It was cold, but the sky was clear and the moon was bright! We got to La Quinta very late and quickly unpacked and got some sleep.

On Thursday morning we had breakfast and then went to one of the community pools. It was a heated pool, and the girls had a great time! Jordan and I got to sit and talk and we had a great time. Usually when we are getting together it is for an event of some sort (wedding, graduation, etc.) and the event is the focus, but this time we could just sit and talk and relax. It was so nice!

When Jeremy and Renee arrived all the cousins were so excited to be together!

We started getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner. We had a ham, a turkey, mashed potatoes and stuffing, vegetables, sweet potatoes and rolls. We brought the large patio table in and, together with the dining room table, we had a perfect tablefor all of us. We set the table with the place cards that the girls made with Gma Kathryn while she was here visiting a few weeks ago.

Dinner was lovely! As we began to eat we offered a Thanksgiving toast and then Jordan asked everyone what they were thankful for. Most of us said how grateful we were to be together this Thanksgiving! After dinner we had pie (I made the pecan and pumpkin), checked out the deals for Black Friday in the newspaper (nothing enticed us out early), and watched A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.

We also tried to Skype with Dad and Mom. There were 13 million people on Skype, so we had a bad connection with Dad. Later, we got to talk to Mom on Google video chat. (I forgot to take a photo of that one.) It was great to be able to have all seven grandkids waving in the camera for each grandparent to enjoy. And for all three kids as well. Technology is pretty cool!

On Friday morning we all went for a hike up the Indian Trail. When I say up, I mean UP!! The trail went up the hills behind the community. Sioux-z, Amanda, Rebecca and Isabel forged ahead and got to the top long before the rest of us. Katrina did not want to hike up, so she and Kevin stayed at the bottom. Jordan, Jeremy and I, along with Lily, Zachary and Ivy, worked our way slowly to the top. About 3/4 of the way up, the rest passed us on the way down. Sioux-z took the little kids, and Jordan and Jeremy and I finished the climb together and spent a few minutes at the top of the climb.

In the afternoon the kids went on the boats with Jordan, Jeremy and Sioux-z and then they went to the pool again while Kevin and I went to see what was in the area (we hadn't left the community the whole time), and Jeremy and Renee drove around so their kids could get a nap. Kevin and I found a few caches and then drove back.

Friday night, after the kids had gone to bed, the six adults sat in the kitchen and played Go Fish and War with Hello Kitty playing cards. We all laughed and talked and laughed and laughed and laughed some more! It was so much fun!! We wished that could have lasted forever!!

Saturday morning we packed up and headed for home. It took us seven hours to drive down, and we had a few other stops to make along the way, so we started how at a little after 10am. We all waved and yelled good-bye and waved some more! It was hard to leave after such a great few days!!



As we headed for Riverside, Katrina suddenly yelled out that she could dinosaurs on the side of the road, so we stopped in Cabazon to see the dinosaurs. It was incredibly windy, so we snapped a few photos and then got on the road. In Riverside, we went to the Riverside National Cemetery where my grandfather, Donald Caman, and his wife, are interred. The last time I saw my Gpa Caman, was when Amanda was 18 months old. I have a photo with me and Amanda, Jordan and Jeremy and Gpa Caman together. We found their headstone and took some photos.

We travelled back towards home, stopping here and there to find some geocaches. We stopped in Tehachapi for dinner, and we had sleet on the window. There was snow on the hills surrounding the city. It rained on us all the way down into the Valley and on and off all the way home. We got home before 9pm and were happy to be sleeping in our own beds! It was a lovely, lovely vacation!!! It was so nice to be together with my brothers and their great wives! The kids had a great time together and had a wonderful time!! I hope it won't be another five years before we all get together again.

It's been three years now, so I guess we could start to call it a tradition……

Each year, on the last weekend before school starts, we go on a family adventure. This year we decided to follow the route of the Climb to Kaiser. We started by driving through Burrough Valley and stopped at the top of Wildcat grade to do some maintenance on our WIldcat cache, which turned eight years old yesterday!! We traded the plastic cache for an ammo can. That should last another eight years, at least!!

We then headed up through Tollhouse and up the mountain! We stopped and took a photo of the view!! All the way along we told the girls stories and information about the bike ride.

We drove into the town of Shaver Lake and stopped at the Sierra Historical Museum. The lady at the desk answered a few questions and then asked if we knew about the caboose that was being restored next to the museum. We told her that Kevin's dad was one of the volunteers restoring it. Turns out the lady knew Kevin's family from when he was young and used to live around the corner from them. Small world.

At this point we started adding in information about the hydroelectric projects in the Sierras, as we were driving past much of it during this trip.

We drove down into Big Creek and looked at the Powerhouse there. As we started to climb out of the town of Big Creek, we stopped for a cache and while we were there, we saw a deer very close to us. That was pretty neat!

We climbed up Big Creek, which takes you up underneath the dam at Huntington Lake. None of the lakes in this area of the Sierras are natural. They are all man made with a series of dams and power plants that provide water and electricity to the Valley. We stopped at the Billy Creek Guard Station Museum. They have a beautiful museum and a great display about the WWII bomber that crashed in the lake, but you are not allowed to take photos in the museum.

We went around to the head of Huntington Lake and stopped at the Portal Powerhouse there. It is pretty impressive.

We drove up to the top of Kaiser Pass and the girls got out for a while to climb on the rocks and stretch their legs. We wished we had time to go for a hike. Next time.

We headed down Tamarak Pass back down into Shaver Lake. We stopped at The Hungry Hut for dinner. We sat at the counter, at Katrina's request.

The sun was setting as we headed from Shaver down through Alder Springs into Auberry. We stopped at Mom and Dad's for a few minutes and then we headed home. It was a lovely day! The weather was gorgeous and we learned a lot!

To see all the day's pictures click HERE.