Punkin Chunkin

So somewhere between Halloween and Thanksgiving, we had some extra punkins sitting around, and we didn’t want them to go to waste.  So we took a trip to Auburn to the “Big Bridge” as we call it, (the Foresthill Bridge).  It’s California’s tallest and 3rd tallest in the country. 

When I was a kid, we used to talk mom and dad into taking us to the “Big Bridge” and we would bring small items to throw off (paper airplanes, frisbees, cats, etc).  We would like to get in the middle of the bridge, because when big trucks came over, the entire bridge would shake and vibrate.

Anyhow, back to the punkins.  We went with Brian and Phil (some of my crazy friends) and something happened to the punkins. They ‘accidently’ fell out of our hands and dropped. OOOOOOPPPPPPPPPPSSSSSSSSS!

Here is the view looking down:

Just in case you get any ideas! Remember! Someone is there to help!

No Brian!  Make that call!

 

 

Brian carrying his ‘babies’ . They were covered so the sun wouldn’t shine in their eyes. They have sensitive eyes you know!

 

We first tested some with a small drop – just onto the dirt:

Just a small drop

 

Then it was time to go to the middle. Over the river.  And it was windy there! We were trying to hold onto the punkins, but they slipped out of our hands.

Punkins On The Rocks anyone?

 

How about a little water with your Punkin?

 

Minced Punkin

 

Hmmmm.  Anyone have any extra watermelons?

***  PS: Before you start calling the SPCA on me, we really didn’t toss kitties over.  My mom and dad wouldn’t let us.  Besides, even if we did, it would have been fine. Cats always land on their feet you know!

Cancer Camp

Way back in October, we went to Cancer Camp. For some reason, it never made it to the blog, so here it is.

The Me-One Foundation raises funds all year to put on a weekend camp for families who have or have had cancer in their families. Last year we were invited to go, and we were invited to go this year as one of three returning families from last year. The kids have been looking forward to it for a long time. It was so fun last year and this year was going to be even better.

This year it was held in the redwoods near Santa Cruz, just a few miles from the ocean.

On the way there, we passed through all the windmills and we always love driving on this stretch of freeway to see them.

We made it to the camp and were greeted with balloons and signs. As you pull in, the volunteers make a line on the side of the road waving and clapping as you drive in. 

Our room was in this building:

We had a great little room, and it was full of “swag” for all of us.  We were in for a fun weekend!

This year, the families attending wore the yellow shirts, and the volunteers and hosts wore the red shirts. Our host that was assigned to our beck and call 24/7 was Marianna who was THE BEST HOST EVER! She was so nice and kind and sweet and fun.

As others were arriving, there were carnival games to play, and fun stuff to bounce on.

Hannah was quick to make some friends!

Snow cones were always available at any time all three days! YUM!

The first night was Western Night. Everyone dressed up in western wear and dinner was a nice BBQ, and hoe down dance and smores by the fire.

 

Grab Your Partner!

 

 

YEE HAWWWWW!

 

 

The next day was full of activities.  Tons of cool crafts – the motto here is NO CRAPPY CRAFTS and they are not crappy!  At all! Those 18 and over get to spend some time in the spa. I was lucky to have a full body hour massage, and then an hour facial/scalp massage and then a 30 minute chair massage. All were wonderful!

Here they are turning one of the cabins into the spa. It took a lot of work, but it was wonderful!

Family Photo:

And with our fantastic host, Marianna!

Also this day was spent with high adventure sports and fun. The most anticipated one was ‘Big Ben’ which is a ladder, straight up a tall redwood tree, 15 stories up! That’s a long way when you’re climbing up a ladder!  At the top, you jump off!  All the kids, even Hannah loved it!

 

Long ways up!

 

 

Marissa was first!

There was a zip line, swimming, and a ropes course, and no ropes course would be complete with the ‘Flying Squirrel’ where the “squirrel” gets tied into the rope, and then ‘tail’ of the squirrel, in this case, some ‘red shirts’ pull back on the rope as you (the squirrel) run forward towards a drop off. The result is high flying antics!

Jake as the squirrel

Meghan’s Turn

Hannah’s Turn

Marianna–our super duper awesome host!

The kids found a wheel chair sitting around, so of course it was inviting them to play with it.

The first night we were there, Jacob found, in the dark, a rubber thingy down one of the hillside. He and some other kids started sliding down it, with flashlights. It looked like some drainage runoff thing. The next day, we saw what it really was. A water slide. Now it wasn’t like it was summer or anything, and super hot. It wasn’t cold, but just right. No matter. It looked fun so the kids started sliding down it again, in the day. Well, Jacob being Jacob, was not content with just sliding. He found the water. And turned it on. And the boys all went back and got their shorts on and they had fun sliding down this home made water slide. Until the dudes that run the camp came over and got them in trouble because they were doing it unsupervised and they shut the slid down. BOOOOO!   But me, being a good adult, videoed it, instead of telling the kids they shouldn’t be doing it,  totally ignoring the sign that said they are not allowed to use the slide without camp employees supervising them.  OOPS!

Water Slide

Here is what our surroundings were like. Very nice!

The next day was winding down with lighter activities, and hanging out, more crafts and getting ready to (sadly) leave.   This post is getting long so I don’t have space to post about the kids and teens activities, movie nights, casino night, hypnotherapy sessions, inspirational and moving fireside program, tye-dying of tee shirts and pillowcases, bath salt making, archery course, face painting, volleyball, rock wall climbing, ice cream parties, nature hikes, and good friends!

Since Santa Cruz was only a few miles away, we took the time to drive down and just spend a little while on the beach.  We love the beach, but it’s so cold here in the Pacific.  The kids still had fun.  Since we decided at the last minute to go to the beach, we didn’t have a change of clothing, so we were all matching in our bright yellow shirts!

We had a GREAT time!  Thanks Me-One! Next year, our goal is to go again, but this time, we will be wearing the ‘red shirts’!