adventures at the lake

Our first big family trip of the summer took us to Donner Lake.

This time the snow was melted and we were looking forward to a break from the hot weather, lots of family time



 and fishing.

Peter picked out his own fishing pole and had his first experience putting it in the water,

it only lasted about 2 minutes and then he was off to mess with Hannah's pole.

Which, of course, earned a big "NO" reaction from her 

(a much more patient, serious fisherwoman).

life on the dock

 

Our third day there Matt reeled in a Mackinaw Trout

 

 His biggest catch to date - 18.5 inches long and 2 1/2 lbs

 

 

(just for scale - no we definitely did not eat it like this)

Four days into our trip our friends' the Seitz's came up and joined us.

The kids had a blast playing in the cold water,

 watching the Canadian geese swim past them

 A "cheese" smile for the camera.

Roasting marshmallows for S'mores was of course a highlight

This was Joshie's first s'more

I'm pretty sure he enjoyed it!

As did the rest of the little people.

When two families are sharing one cabin and this sweet little face wakes up super early,
 it means a 6:30am coffee date with mommy.

Wild Cherries Coffeehouse in Truckee has great coffee 

and absolutely delicious blueberry scones!

The weather unfortunately turned extremely cold and we exchanged beach life for throwing rocks in the lake.

Peter was pretty excited about it!

 Our friends' went home and we entertained ourselves with Toby's tricks:

Jumping over both kids

and going through a Hannah-Peter tunnel

With the sun out again we were off to explore Stampede Lake - a lake you have to 

off road 1/2 mile to reach

more rocks

splash!

 And yes, I was on this vacation (not just behind the camera)

and I joined in on the rock throwing fun

and if you're wondering about the bump on the front of me - 

yes, next year on our Donner Lake vacation there will be three little Robbins' kids holding on to me!

(I'm pregnant)

jam

As a city girl, the art of homemade jam is both foreign and fascinating.

I love fruit and the idea of having your very own trees sounds glorious.  (Now, I can tell you by experience that getting trees to produce fruit has proved a harder test of patience  than I expected.)  And the idea of having so much fruit you can't eat it all is amazing to me.

So yesterday, when a friend offered me a lot of apricots off her tree I jumped at the opportunity to make jam (with some very specific directions from her - a seasoned jam maker).

 

 I got everything out on the counter and ready.

Put Peter down for a nap (a seriously key step in the process).

And Hannah and I got to work.

Apricots, fresh lemon juice, pectin,  

  

add the sugar and our jam is boiling! 

 

 It passed the taste test!

Jarred, sealed and ready to enjoy!

Feeling pretty proud of myself right now.

goodbye school, hello summer

Last week Hannah finished her first year of preschool.

In terms of last days, it was pretty awesome.
Peter and I tagged along for it because the whole day was rearranged into a carnival.

The kids earned tickets for every activity they tried.

There was face painting

 

pony riding,

bowling, ring toss and so much more!

As soon as they had two tickets they could trade them in for a "prize" - a new to them trinket (that we parents had cleaned out of our houses the previous week).

Hannah and her buddy Sailee finished the year, where their friendship first began - at the art table!

 

It was pretty sweet!

Peter decided art wasn't for him and would rather crash trucks together with Barrett.

Last circle time.

Teacher Jackie and Mr. Monkey singing "It's time to say goodbye to our friends" for the last time.

A last hug for Teacher "Kath -uh- leen" (as Hannah calls her)

Goodbye School.

Hello Summer!

We kicked off summer with a trip to Impossible Acres (a local, family-owned farm) to pick some fruit!

 

Oh yes, and to sample some along the way.

The trees were laden with apricots, white peaches and cherries!

Peter spent the whole time either eating fruit (from the trees and the ground) or
running to catch up with us.

My attempt at getting a picture with my kiddos.
(I think my 50mm lens is too short, either that or my arm is.)

 

 

Happy, berry stained face by the end.



Our delicious pickings!

I love summer and the fruit it brings.