A February Hike

I took these 2 pictures out the back door one evening...trying to pick which one I like best to put on the wall.  I like the colors.

Greg took the boys on a winter bike ride.  Within the first 5 minutes Ronan's tire slipped in dog poo, causing him to fall into it and get all over himself then they froze their buns off.

This was an amazing 6 mile hike we took to Opal Creek.  I was anticipating it to be cold, but was not expecting all of the snow or rain.  We stayed warm, but our feet and pants were soaked.

There was so much to see, including this old mine shaft..."No, you may not go exploring in the mine"  You can just see the three of them thinking about it.

Abandoned mining equipment scattered along the way.

Not sure what this building was used for.

The water was this amazing green color, so pure and clean.  They say it is clean enough to drink, but not testing it out.

Opal Creek, population 3.  Yep, 3 people live in this town.  In the summer, you can rent these great cabins, 2 of them are huge (sleeps 16). For a VERY large fee, you can hike your stuff in 3 miles and sleep in this cozy town.  They generate all of their own electricity using water power and even have hot water.  They have saw dust outhouses.  There is even a little tiny grocery store and vegetarian restaurant.

This was a mining town and was called Jawbone Flats, because while the men were mining, their ladies stayed behind and "Jawboned"...gossiped, I think?

I guess this guy died here, so they left him behind

Pot bellied stoves?

Engines?

Local parking lot?

See the boys?  I hear "Charley, lets race, who's faster?"  There were springs hanging out of the seats, ferns growing up through the floor boards and rain falling from the roof.  How could they just abandon these cool cars? 

Charley won.

The inside of Ronan's ride.  "Hey Mama this one still has gas."

These trucks tell so many stories...I could have hung out inside them for awhile.

Buttons, steering wheel and ferns, we need this in the backyard.  They would never need another toy again.

So Grandma and Papa Reno...Charley used his ToysRus gift card and purchased a Playmobile fishing boat and this Forensic Science Facial Reconstruction Kit?  He spent HOURS putting clay on the skull and shaping it into a scary ape like man. 

New career path?  So serious.

I guess I didn't take a picture of it complete, but he was completely covered with a pound of clay and ears too.

Disneyland 2012

 Splash Mountain pictures...look at Charley's face

Waiting in another line...for the Autotopia ride.  I (Kari) was Charley's passenger and could not stop laughing at how serious he took this driving business!

 

 They refused to get a picture with a Disney character...Charley is mad that I'm even taking a picture of him near one...strange kids.

 

 Who had the most fun on that ride!

 Charley still talks about this shooting gallery.

 Okay they would let me get a picture with bears, apparently they were cooler than princesses.

 

  One very cold night parade!

 

 

 

 Charley after the California Screaming...he kept shouting Fun, Fun, Fun!

 We all needed a break and decided to check out a theater production of Aladdin.  The boys were thinking it was going to be sooo dumb.  Yep that's Ronan on the edge of his seat for the entire show.  They loved it!

 

 

 

 

  The late night light show was great!  Charley was so beat after 12 hours in a park he had to be carried out.  He could walk no further.

 My favorite picture of the whole trip...enlarge it and tell me who is enjoying the ride more.  Those Buzz light year bad guys were eliminated.  All taken out by Greg and Charley.

 This is why we left early....so crowded. 

 Childhood Disney trip...check.

 Tower of Terror...I did not join them.  Boys loved it as you can see from the picture, made Greg a little sick.