Adventurous Run

I didn't get any pictures because we were running, but our run last night definitely deserves a post! We usually go about 6:30 or 7 so it's getting dark and it isn't so hot. For some reason, we didn't get out early enough last night and ended up leaving at 7:30 so it was almost dark. We also forgot that we were increasing our run time and we were going to be gone for over an hour. So we head out and we're a little sore, but we're ok. We get all the way to the Watt Avenue bridge before our workout chimes the halfway point, so we decide to cross the bridge and run home on the other side. It's a little longer because we can't just stop at the Howe Avenue bridge, we have to go all the way to the campus bridge. So as we are running, it starts getting really dark. And we are on the other side of the river so there's no turning back. When we're almost to the Howe bridge, we start getting dive bombed by bats! Some were pretty small, but there were a few that had about an 18 inch wingspan! It was crazy! By the time we get under the Howe bridge, it's pitch black dark and I know bums like to hang out around there so I start speeding up. We make it out from under the bridge and now we're feeling like we might actually make it home. We get almost to the campus bridge and something runs across the trail. So we stop and try to figure out what it is. Then, it lifts its tail at us! Skunk! So we start backing up and it is running around like crazy. It finally goes up and over the levee so we start sprinting away. We were sprinting so hard I started laughing and I couldn't stop! We sprinted until our workout was done and we could see the campus bridge. By now the only lights we can see are the lights on the bridge. So we get on the bridge and a guy in street clothes is running at us. I get a little freaked out, but he just runs by. But, as he goes past, he shakes his head at us and says, "watch out for the crazy bum!" So I say, "is there one?" He yells back that yes, there is. Great. So Jarrel hands me the stroller and says, "if I have to fight this guy, you run." Perfect. I am deathly afraid of homeless people anyway (a scar from my childhood). So we are on high alert as we go across the bridge and through campus, but no bums in sight. We decided to walk the long way around through campus instead of along the bike trail home. It was almost 9 by this time, and we didn't want to risk the bike trail. We finally got home at almost 9:30. Summer had been asleep for a while, but Ricky fought it the whole way and was still awake. It was a great family adventure, but we will be running earlier from now on!

Jelly Belly Factory

While Alison was here, we decided to go to the Jelly Belly Factory!  The kids loved it!

The kids loved their paper hats!

Summer liked eating the samples along the way and she liked watching the "robots" (machines) working.  She liked the videos they showed, too.

Overall, it was a GREAT trip!  I really enjoyed getting to talk to Alison a bit and it had been a while since I had hung out with Eileen, too.

Lake Tahoe

I'm already falling behind!  I never did get around to posting about our trip to Tahoe!

We drove up 80 to Kings Beach on the North Shore and while Jarrel took his test, the kids and I played at this park.

Then we drove to Tahoe City and had a picnic lunch in the park and played.

We drove South along the lake until we got to Highway 50 at the southern end of the lake and drove home.  It was a beautiful day!  Jarrel didn't get the job, but it was worth the trip.