Airshow

On Saturday morning we drove up to Lake Tahoe for the airshow. We took our bikes so we could ride to the airshow since we were not sure how busy or where the parking was. As it turned out, there was a lot of parking and not many people at all. It was a very nice airshow and there were a lot of military planes there. James loved the Hercules C-130 and stayed in it for a long time. The rear drop gate of the plane was open for you to go into the cargo hold and see the inside, then you could go up into the cockpit. It was real neat.

After the airshow we went to get something to eat, then we went down to Camp Richardson for an ice cream. From there we went to Pope Beach to play in the sand for a while. The water was so cold, but James had a good time making a sand castle and burying some other children's father in the sand. We rode our bikes down to the beach, so after that we went for a bike ride along the Tahoe Lake Trail. James has been on his bike a few times here, but where we live is so hilly, it is hard to do it much. We were impressed by his riding ability and we rode for about 4 miles. He had a couple of spills and after the last one, where he was going a bit too fast, he got up and was holding his tummy. We were a bit concerned as he fell flat on the ground on top of the bike right into a pile of pine needles. When he got back on his bike he stated, "I guess that is why I shouldn't be cruising along like that".

A few days ago, James asked me "Why do they put luggage in the tummy of the plane?" It was so cute to hear that terminology used for a plane.

Canoe Day

On Saturday, we put the canoe on the car and drove up to Silver Lake. It is a nice lake deep in the National Forest and not real busy. It is south of Lake Tahoe and on the south side of Highway 50. The south side gets a lot less traffic than the north side of the highway and is great when the weekend crowds come up as people do not come down that far from Tahoe so it stays relatively quiet. The lake is small but very pretty. There were only a few power boats but lots of paddlers. It was very windy, though, so it made for a hard paddle but very enjoyable. We sat on the shore for a while, ate some lunch, had an adult beverage, watched the birds and boaters, and just enjoyed the day.

The birds we saw at the lake were an eagle and and a pair of osprey. The osprey were fishing the whole day and we saw them hit the water many times. Not sure if they were ever successful in their fishing, but it was neat to see. The eagle flew over and was there only briefly.

First Day Of Kindergarten

Today was the first day of kindergarten.

Uneventful.

James likes his teacher. He says he is a terribly nice guy. We are glad he likes him as we requested him as his teacher. We met his daughter at REI Folsom (Sacramento) and talked with her for a while, she said her father taught in Pollock Pines and she went to school at Pinewood. We decided to ask for him.

James went into his classroom, sat where he was assigned, was called to sit in the circle in the center of the room, he ran to the circle and sat down. We said good by and I gave him a High Five and we left.

James couldnt have been happier.

Kindergarten

We went to Pinewood Elementary School on Thursday 9th of August, 2007 for an orientation for the incoming Kindergarten class. James will be attending there starting on Monday from 9 am till 3 pm every weekday. Mr Haslam, the principal, gave us a welcome speech in the auditorium when we arrived. It was a rather moving speech and he reminded us that we need to communicate with our children every day. Ask them how their day was and what they did. Good advice, I hope everyone takes it to heart. He also brought the room to tears by telling us that our children will be in the class of 2020, it seems so SOON! I know that everyone says, make sure you spend time with your child, they will be grown before you know it. I tried, but it seems like he is already out the door and off to college.

James's teacher will be Mr. Ferris. he has taught at Pinewood for many years and seems like he will be a fantastic teacher. I think he will offer structure and discipline to the kids yet he understands that learning also takes place outside of the classroom. We actually met his Daughter in REI down in Sacramento a few months ago. She was very nice and helpful and said her Father teaches at Pinewood, well we had to ask for him to be James's teacher.

Sunday, 5th of August 2007

Jaimie and I went for a hike up to Immigrant Lake on Sunday. It is a nice hike up to the lake and part of the trail follows the shore of much larger Caples Lake. The water is beautiful and clear and has a very picturesque shoreline. Reminds me of the Sechelt Peninsula in British Columbia.

After we left the parking lot for the hike we looped through the lodge we spotted from the other side of the lake while we were hiking. It was a nice place with some small rental cabins on the water called Caples Lake Resort. Quite an adorable place and the lake was nice as there were only a few boats on it and no speed boats like on Jenkinson lake near us.


http://www.capleslakeresort.com/

Sticks

The other day Jaimie was joking with James Fyffe about beating me with a stick and Jamesy responded, "That's why I collect sticks!"

The back story. Any time we go hiking with James, he collects 3, 4, 5, or more sticks, he will carry as many as he can along with him, asks us to carry some too, and tries to bring them all home. We have since instituted a "One Stick Law" which allows him to transport one of his beloved branches back to the "Twiggery".

Robbery!

On Thursday night, while we slept evil visited upon our deck. From the beginning. In mid July, Jaimie and James came home with a couple of gold fish. We do not have an aquarium or an air pump so I was concerned about the longevity of the fish in a bowl. That night when we went to sleep I inquired about the fish and Jaimie said they would be fine. The next morning they were swimming upside down and not too fast, if you know what I mean... On Wednesday, we purchased a fish to put in our water garden. On Thursday we bought some fish food for it and on Friday morning I went out to feed the fish. I found the water muddied and the fish gone. The water lily had been pulled out and eaten. The water lily was packaged in some black netting with some rocks in the bottom to weigh it down and coconut fibers around it to protect it and keep it moist (I presume) in transit. All of the lily packaging was scattered over the deck. The lily in the water garden for a few weeks and it had finally sprouted out some shoots. This photo is from our security camera and is who we believe to be the suspect. We have the local police department on the case and hope to apprehend the perp soon.