Tons of pictures and, of course, more to come. We did get our kitchen cabinet renovation completed and the pictures are at the end of the photo essay above. We are THRILLED with the change from 80's style honey oak cabinets to the Winter White look. We also had the bathrooms, hall linen closet and utility room cabinets redone in a dolphin gray color that I will show you next week.
The Family Vacation was incredible. It was a great week with Jennifer, McKenny and Sam. Jennifer and McKenny are great to travel with and pitch in with both work and sharing the financial burden of groceries, snacks and drinks. They bought over $100 worth of gas for the jet ski and even had the wiring for the trailer redone for us at a mechanic in Chester. That was one of the hassles for me as the lights were not working on the trailer when we left. I had bought a new connector and a right turn assembly and installed it, but the lights were shot. Driving up to Almanor without brake lights and signals on the trailer was not fun. I was so thrown off by the issue that I ended up bringing a gas can with two year old gas in the can. I added new gas to it and it ended up completely fouling the ski engine. I had paid $220 to have the ski Summerized with a new battery, new spark plugs, tune up, etc. The ski was running great when we got up there, but as soon as the bad gas got added to the ski, the engine bogged down and we could max out at about 30 MPH and the engine would bog down to about 10 MPH on turns. We bought Octane boost and an engine cleaner and that helped, but I'll need new spark plugs and likely an engine flush.
We talked to the kids about them taking ownership of the ski. We use it once a year and it is expensive to get it ready for the trip. Jennifer and McKenny not only want the ski, but want to trade it in on a new one. I'm game. They were willing to do it now, but we want them to get married, buy an SUV (they will in September) and have a chance to get their feet under them before taking on that responsibility. One more year for me. I drive a trailer once a year and backing for me is a nightmare. I get all turned around and have the kids back it into the lake. It sits for 51 weeks behind my shed and we enjoy it once a year. It needs to get used more.
Unfortunately, the wiring done on the trailer didn't work. I thought McKenny had checked it out when he picked it up, but only the running lights work. The ski and trailer are small and you can see the Explorer's lights around the trailer, but I hate to think the mechanic in Chester took him for $100. The trailer has been rewired, but the problem is the trailer is wired in a 6 wire connection and the truck is 4 wire. The extra two wires for the trailer are running lights on the chassis of the trailer and the extra two wires are superfluous as the lights on the running lights are part of the 4 wire as well. It will have to be fixed before next year.
Sammy is now in Texas with Diane and we really miss her after 17 days of being with her. Darla put her on allowance while she was here and she had chores and part of her chores was to pack her lunch for camp and be in bed by 9 PM and lights off at 9:30. Darla also told her that she had to be up and in a "good mood" by 7 AM every morning. Sam set her alarm and was up every day. She is great at routine and Darla was brilliant to set up those expectations up front. She was wonderful all the time she was here. She slipped a little up in Almanor, getting to bed by 11 each night and was a little cranky a couple of mornings.
You can see the teepee that we built with Sam. Jennifer and I worked hard hauling the wood and we had a blast building it with Sam and Luke. David and Daniel set up their tents near the teepee this past weekend.
Don brought his boat up to the lake and you can see the pictures of tubing and Sam driving the boat (she was so serious). We took the tube from Don a few days and took the kids tubing off the jet ski. It was a lot of fun.
Earl and Frances hosted the family for pizza in town on Wednesday night. Neither of the boys could join us as they were only there on the weekends, but Dan is on a strict diet and can't eat pizza anyway. The kids had fun all week together and were inseparable. Alicia brought up walkie talkies and we had one at our cabin and they had one at their cabin, which was across the water from us on the point, about a five minute walk or two minute swim away. The kids were constantly on the walkie talkies when they weren't together and planned their day each morning. It was great to see them so close. Luke is two years younger than Sam, but they are close enough in age to be friends. Sam gave him a big hug at the end of the trip. Sam also caught her first fish, which was a tiny sucker fish, but she was SO EXCITED. She had been fishing with her Dad, but had never reeled in a fish.
The kids also found a small bird stuck in the rocks outside of the peninsula and we got a picture of it with Sam. Don was able to find the nest and return the bird. They were excited.
Jennifer's friend, Jason Ramos, also drove up on Thursday and spent the afternoon with us. We had tacos and margaritas for dinner and had a great visit. We also headed over to Don and Alicia's and played horseshoes and cards that night. Jason and Jennifer dated for a year, but are great friends and have stayed close through the years. He will be in Vegas next year for Jennifer's wedding and it was nice getting to know his girlfriend, who happens to also be a....Jennifer.
Sam had a great time at camp and met a girl and her sister, Emily and Mia and they live in Antelope, which is the next town over. Darla ran into their mother on Friday when picking up Sam and they ended up getting together Friday night and swimming. It is the picture of the two girls with Sam in the pool. Sam also got to know our next door neighbor's daughter, Jordan who is 8. They became fast friends and were in our pool and their pool every night before we left for Almanor. You can see the picture of the two girls in the pool and of our neighbor, Jeremy, over the fence. Sam has some built in friends at our house now and they will hook up when Sam comes to visit.
The visit with Sam was great. Jennifer used to visit Mom and Dad and get to hang with her cousins every year in Texas over the Summer and we want to set that up for Sam as well. Hopefully this is the start of that tradition. We also got her into church camp, which can't hurt.
That is it for this week. I will be back next week with more pictures and memories. I think Sam is living the dream and even better, I think she knows it. Be well. Ciao.
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