Caroline & Jack

I could not resist the perfect photo-op.

Swimming at the Lake

For those of you who have been to Lake Tahoe, you know it is FREEZING all year round. But that did not stop Caroline and Joshua from having a ball!
These two had so much fun playing with this stick

Joshua decided he was done sharing so we asked him

to go find one for Caroline to play with.

This is what he found.

My little girl is getting so big.

Family Camp in Lake Tahoe

We are so blessed to live within an hour and a half from beautiful Lake Tahoe. It is one of our favorite places to be. When we heard about family camp with our church at Sugar Pine Point campground we signed up right away! This was Jack's official first camping trip and Caroline was able to show him the ropes.

We had our minivan "Katrina the Hurricane Wagon" loaded down. As you can see Caroline thought this was awesome!

Daddy was taking his job as "driver" very seriously.Campsite #64

"The Henderson Palace #2"

So far Jack was loving it!

Smile boys!

OK! All set.And ready for bed.Every night was great. We didn't have any major issues with the local wildlife. Some of our neighbors forgot to put away the dog food which made for one very happy bear. Other than that we just had to put up with those pesky chipmunks. This particular guy had his cheeks so full and he was still looking for more!Morning one, so far so good.Caroline has become quite the little photographer. She actually took this picture of us! Hmmm. Are those bags under my eyes?

"What does it take to get some breakfast around here?"This is so cute. Jack now has teeth on the top and the bottom.

He took the cutest little bite out of this chip!

Daddy all ready to go on a bike ride. Jack realized he could see my face if he leaned far enough to one side.

"Hey there Mama!"

Saturday was "Living History" day at Sugar Pine State Park. They had all kinds of free crafts for the kids. Caroline and Jack made hats!

Smile Big Girl!

This is Caroline's little friend Li-Ann. They had a ball riding around in this little trailer.

Getting ready to go on a hike.
One beautiful bracelet.

(The dirt on her face was a permanent fixture while we were camping!)

Enjoying a meal with Vanessa and Joshua

Making crafts with Angelena and Li-Ann
I NEED MORE FOOD!

Unfortunately my camera ran out of battery life before I got pics of "catching marsh mellows" (what we do to marsh mellows when we roast them according to Caroline), riding in the wagon, and all kinds of other things. Oh well. We still have the memories.

The Fruits of My Labor

I have to say, I am rather proud. This was my first attempt at growing vegetables and this is my first yellow squash that was ready for harvesting. It is happily on my shish-ka-bobs right next to the Tri-tip.

Wednesday Night In Nevada City

Sorry it has been so long everyone! I have been a single Mom while Rick has been at camp for 2 weeks in a row. I have not had any time for pictures! Finally the other night my friend Shawn and I took the kids downtown to Cool Nights in Nevada City. It was so fun. I live right downtown now so we were able to just walk there. The kids had a really great time. It had rained all day on Wednesday so it was nice a cool outside.

Mama Shawn with Isabella, Tony, Angelena and Caroline

They walked in a "train" while I pushed Jack.

Caroline getting her face painted with fireworks
Painted beauties
We had to get some ice cream. Caroline had not had a nap that day and needed the extra sugar to make the long walk back up Broad Street.
Here you go Little Brother!

"Yeah that's right. I just sit here and look handsome. If you're lucky enough I'll kiss you with my ice cream lips!"Lately our little Jack has been playing peek-a-boo and talking soooooo much. His top two teeth have just come through and that makes 4!!! He is such a happy baby too. He has been sleeping around 11 hours or so at night and napping well in the day time. He is growing so fast. I have started buying 2T clothes. He just turned 9 months on the 17th!

Our New Uncle Satwinder Bopari

My wonderful Aunt Rana was recently joined in matramony to wonderful man named Satwinder. We call him Monu. They were married in May and last Saturday was their wedding reception. Monu is Indian so they had a traditional Indian wedding reception at The Star of India in Yuba City. It was sooooooo fun. I wish American wedding receptions had this much culture.

Rana & Monu

The Craig's welcome Monu to the family.

Jack and Monu have become great buddies.

Cutting the cake.

In this picture you can see Rana's wedding bracletes.

Traditionally these are worn for 60 days after the wedding.

She's made it 2 months so far!

This beautiful cake was made by two of Rana's co workers.

It was so beautiful and really Yummy.

Caroline was very ready to try some!

The beautiful bride making the rounds.
Rana & Jack. They both share the most

beautiful shade of naturally red hair. The first dance together.
Caroline and Sabrina (Rana's daughter)

danced the whole night away. THE MONEY DANCE

This is when the fun really started. In the Indian culture

dancing is huge at the wedding reception. This version of

the money dance is the best I have ever seen. The bride and groom dance

in the middle of the dance floor while all the men dance in a circle

around them throwing wads of $1 bills in the air. All of this is done to Indian Techno music.

Rick and my Dad throwing money. The dance floor.

This continued for 3 very LOUD hours.

The way these things work are a little different. You show up and mingle, they serve appetizers. A while later they cut the cake. Then comes three hours of crazy Indian dancing and then at about 9pm when you can barley keep your eyes open they serve the most delicious Indian food you have ever tasted. It was awesome. We had so much fun. We wish Rana and Monu the best and much happiness in their new lives together. And thank you Monu for bringing some culture to this very American family.