Part Two - Two Lakes Three Families

It's a cold rainy day in February and I think I am longing for those warm days of summer. It's been about six months since I last posted on our sad, neglected family blog. But I guess it is now time to add the second half of our summer vacation post. We have kept you in suspense long enough. So here it is. And now I am longing to be back

at the lake....

The second half of our incredible lake vacation included two fun and adventurous families the Downings and the Gharrings. We all shared a big house overlooking beautiful Bass Lake with a dock where we could bask in the sun to our hearts' desire. Here we are (most of us) assembling for the group photo while we tried to figure out the self timer on the camera.

I guess we never quite figured it out.

The fun was non-stop! Boating and tubing

Swimming out to the water trampoline.

Shelby learned to waterski!

Luke and Owen fishing - how cute is that?

We took another day trip to Yosemite (twice in two weeks!). This time we all hiked to the base of Yosemite Falls. Owen decided he wanted to jump in the pool at the bottom of the falls.

It was freezing, but they did it (even with belts and shoes on)!

Summer 2009 - such sweet memories!

Two Lakes Three Families - Part One

For our family vacation we had eleven blissful days of pure relaxation and fun! It started out in Twain Harte, CA, a cute little mountain community with a members only lake where families have been coming back every summer for generations! It felt like a good old fashioned family vacation from the 70s. We shared a cabin with the Warrens, so it was lots of girls and then Owen. He took it upon himself to become everyone's pesky little brother. But they had so much fun together. We did a little bit of everything. Here's some of the favorites:

Visiting the mining town Columbia. We got to pan for gold, ride in a stagecoach, and of course drink some sassparilla!

A day trip to Yosemite which involved lots of rock climbing, channeling Ansel Adams and two bears.

Could there be a more perfect backdrop???


A beautiful bike ride through the mountains.



Girls' shopping trip

A round of 70s style mini golf

Family bingo night at the Snack Shack

And of course the lake!

Thanks to the Warrens for being such great vacation buddies!

Sunday morning photo shoot

We were ready early for church on Sunday so we had an impromptu photo shoot. Unfortunately, we got so carried away, we actually ended up being late for church. But we did get some cute shots.

Best Cousins

Can you believe they will be starting their last year of middle school?

Boy cousin sleepover - not so scary.

We hosted the Keeler boy cousin sleepover. Owen was counting down the days and it did not disappoint. They had a great time. Chris took them to the abandoned house next door to shoot paint ball guns at old stuff on the hill. Sounds really classy, huh? That's the way we roll!

Are we a crazy cat family yet?

Introducing the newest Keeler family member. June the kitten. All I can say is don't even go over to the people with the box that are standing in front of Walmart. And whatever you do, don't look in that box. You never know what might be looking back at you. In our case, it was this adorable little thing. How can you say no to that face? Lesson learned ... sorry Chris.