The Wilson Family: August

Adam was with the young women at our cabin for their high adventure.

The kids and I wanted to get away while Adam was gone, so I booked a camp site (very lucky to get a site last minute; usually have to book 6 months in advance) at Fort Bragg.

Set up camp and then went to get some fishing supplies and found a really yummy place by the pier to eat clam chowder.

Went to glass beach a couple times and came home with lots of sea glass.

The first time we were at glass beach we saw a sea otter playing on the rocks. We went over by it and he just let us get really close. It was so cool. My phone battery had died so unfortunately I didn't get any pictures. :(

Cool seaweed that felt like leather.

Spent most of the time at the beaches. It's pretty chilly (high in the low 60's, which seemed so strange in August), but the kids still managed to get all wet.

Spent many hours in the tide pools. Noah and I could have spent all day there discovering cool things, but Ava Grant only liked it for about an hour.

Tried our hand at ocean fishing, but we're just as bad at ocean fishing as we are at lake fishing.

Making dinner over the fire. My kids love to camp and cook over the fire.

Found this sandy beach and played here for a few hours. It was really foggy at this beach. Grant hanging on the tree and Ava and Noah are in the background on the right.

In July we discovered that Noah is taller than me. :( He's growing like a weed.

The kids spent a good 2 hours building this tiny house out of driftwood. Love their creativity.

Putting my mom's survival kit cup cookers to use.

Found another super yummy dive for fish and chips.

Watched some seals playing around while we ate. So fun!

You couldn't look away for a second or these birds would eat your food.

Cooking and eating some clams that we harvested off the rocks. We later found out we were 3 days past clam season. Oops. They were tasty though.

Camp ground fireside where we learned about space and had s'mores.

Purple crab

Purple starfish

Ava pretended to have food and these squirrels came over to eat out of her hand and then bit her when it realized she had no food. HA!! Such a fun camping trip. Only wish our dad could join us on these adventures, although he doesn't especially love camping.

August garden, very lush and productive!

Last hurrah before school started. Sunsplash.

Ava 5th grade

Grant 4th grade

Noah 7th grade - we decided to home school Noah this year. I was super nervous about it, but had a definite answer to my prayers that this is the route we are supposed to be on this year. (2 months in and we are loving it for the most part)

Date night with Grant to Topgolf.

Camping trip #2 - Fallen Leaf Lake with friends. These boys were so proud of their quadruple hammock accommodations.

The kids and I went up a day earlier than Adam. We went on a hike to a couple of the smaller lakes near Tahoe. It was beautiful.

Obligatory ice cream at the ice cream shoppe down the road.

Spent the day at Fallen Leaf Lake.

Not quite sure what the boys were thinking, but they came running through the camp with their shirts on their heads and yelling like madmen. Weirdos!! The first night we were there (with no dads), a bear comes walking through our campground. He was only like 15 feet away and our kids were SO LOUD and it didn't even care. The ranger warned us and said he really only responds to flashing lights. They call this particular bear Freddy the Freeloader.

The kids, as usual, had a blast. They love camping. I seriously rarely see them. They just play and play and play.

The benefits of home school - cookies and milk while you're taking the required state testing. You don't get that kind of treatment at public school. :)