Sooooo, want my list of excuses as to what is taking me so long to write about the last part of our big family vacation? No? Well, I’m excusing myself anyways. Ummmm, I started working more hours a week, my phone is messed up, making it difficult and annoying to type stories, I have been cleaning my house instead of blogging (yeah right), I’m lazy (don’t you know?). Yeah, all of that (minus the lie about cleaning my house. Not happening).
So here it is… Part Three: Family Fourth in Mount Shasta!
We woke up in Redding and drove on up the hill to beautiful Mount Shasta City. We were greeted by my lovely family: my mom, stepdad, cousin Caitrin, sister Maya, brother in law Kevin, and most importantly, my crazy amazing nephew Emmett!!!
We jumped right into play time and really had an amazing time. It was so much fun to watch Josephine with her cousin. He’s a year old now and is getting so mobile. His little words are starting to form, and he’s a curious one. Josephine and Emmett played well, other than some sharing mishaps where my “angel” decided it was ok to push and hit. Not gonna happen.
My mom has the perfect setup for kids of all ages, and always seems to know exactly what toys to put out for maximum playtime fun! Way to go Grandma Carol!
When Fourth of July hit we were ready to go with our red, white and blue clothes. First up on the patriotic docket was walking down the driveway and watching the Mount Shasta race participants run by the house. We marveled at their fitness while we dreamed of the homemade ice cream sandwiches waiting in the freezer.
Josephine and I are in training for next year. I think we’ll win it, don’t you?
We hung around until the not so serious runners passed the house, like this guy in the American flag suit. He was having people sign his suit, which I’m pretty sure was just a ploy to flirt with my 16 year old cousin, but whatever.
Next we hit up the parade. Now, maybe I’ve just lived in Oakdale too long where parades consist of about one million horses, some dancing kids and a few clowns, but the Mount Shasta parade was loud and just one car after another. Kind of a let down. Next year I’ll skip it. One car did have people handing out American flags, so it wasn’t a total bust.
We met up with our friends Heaven and Sunny, who just happened to be in Shasta at the same time we were. We all headed back to the house for play time, goofing around, tractor rides, and finally, those ice cream sandwiches. Yum!!
After eating and relaxing we moseyed on over to the neighbors for some fireworks. Boom, bang, crackle. Josephine loved the sparklers, and the popcorn the neighbors served her! Such a nice community my parents live in. Everyone was so friendly!
Our vacation continued with lake fun. My mom took Josephine kayaking, we all swam around, and we had a wonderful, family filled fun. I love lakes and Josephine loves swimming. What a beautiful lake to swim in, and just five minutes from Grandma and Grandpas house. Perfect! Watching my mom and Josephine kayak was awesome. She’s been itching to get that kid on a kayak since she was born, and it was finally time. Of course, I had to get in on the kayak action too. Now I want a kayak of my very own. Anyone want to give me one?? (just kidding, unless you want to give me a kayak for reals, because I totally will accept the gift).
We had a lovely time. I feel really lucky that my parents live in such a beautiful area. We get to vacation in style and comfort. Couldn’t ask for more! Before we left we hit up the fish hatchery to feed the fishies, an instant hit in a toddlers book!
And so our trip ended, with kisses from Grandma and sweet memories of Josephine and Emmett getting their first real play time in. The first of many. I can’t wait for Fourth of Julys to come. We are a lucky family.
Our drive home was a quick four hours and blissfully uneventful. As always, coming home is a treat, since our home is so beautiful, and was especially nice since our neighbor mowed our lawn while we were gone. Score!
Festivals, forests and fireworks. This family vacation thing is definitely the way to go! I like my little family. Taylor and I have always vacationed like pros together, and our kid definitely inherited the Websterson vacation style! Go team!
And so it ends, the longest running triple post (and possibly the most photo laden) on these here internets. I’m feeling relieved, and ready for some posts about other things. Like about how I’m lazy and have let some thistles (dun dun DUN!) flower (I know, I know, after I worked so hard to rid our property of them). Happy summer!!
lazy to living 