Monday, June 28, 2010

Katharine's Bachelorette Bash!

We headed down to the Russian River last weekend for my Bachelorette Party. It was a blast! Camping right on the river, wine tasting, canoeing, great camp food, and tons of fun campfire stories. It was really the most perfect weekend, and I got to spend it with the best group of friends a girl could have. Thanks everyone!


Relaxing by the river after a long cramped drive to the Russian River. Ahhhh, life is good!


Cary Matthews modeling the gorgeous scenery of our riverside campground.


Katharine of course had to climb up into the Rapunzel Tower on the funky stage setup at the campground...lots of weird stuff at this place!


Everyone was impressed at how Zeena showed up for camping in a white fleece...but she said it was no big deal, its just all about the bleach!!



It's whiskey and campfire time...wait a minute, is that the pregnant girl!!??



Even Zeena showed us her impressive whiskey skills!


And what kind of Bachelorette party would it be without the requisite penis cupcakes!


Does that taste good Sabrina?


Stacia, Sarah, and Cary were all smiles around the campfire.


Sarah, Stacia, and Zeena did a fabulous job chefing up our breakfast burritos.


My Princess Camp Bed set up by the girls especially for me, and complete with penis glitter.



We went on a really cool tour of the flower/vegetable gardens at Lynmar Winery.


Sarah was picking and eating everything in site... Unfortunately we were unable to identify what exactly was the cause of her stomach ache later in the day!


Cool old wagon and barn in the Lynmar Vege Garden.


Sarah and Megan modeling the Balsamic Vinegar making process.


Back at camp, Kat took a trip down memory lane back to the days of elementary school tether ball. Unfortunately she wasn't as good as she remembered being, but that may have had something to do with the fact that this tether ball pole seemed to be made for giants!


And then there was the super cool giant seesaw, pimped out with western saddles!


Yeehaw, ride 'em cowgirl!


Even Sabrina has a little cowgirl in her.


And Megan was getting really excited here!



And then there were the requisite bachelorette dares... First up: Body shot off the pregnant belly!



Next up: Getting articles of clothing off strange men!


Then there was peeing in the men's room.


And the last one was adapted a bit from the original dare... Giving a nuggie to a little kid in the next campsite!


Zeena and Sub relaxing before dinner.


Cary and Megan and all our tents.


Tonight we learned an awesome new campfire activity from Cary...Banana Boats!! Bananas, marshmellows, and chocolate chips...


Wrap it all back up and throw it on the fire. They were totally delicious, much better than smores!!


And, at the end of a long, fun weekend, Stacia curled up to rest in the middle of all the crap for the entire car ride home!

Monday, June 21, 2010

Josh's Virgin Backcountry Skin

Josh, John, and I headed out into the back country last weekend for a final ski before all the snow was really gone. We barely made it! It was also Josh's virgin run, and we all had a blast. We headed up to the top of Mt. Rose, and skied down their infamous Chutes. There was barely enough snow to skin up (had to traverse a few dirt patches), but the snow on the ski down was great. Unfortunately, we then had a good 15 minute hike out though the bushes. All in all it was tons of fun, but after the long hike out we opted not to do the second or third laps we had originally planned!!



Josh and John skinning up the Mt. Rose road.




Yeah, we made it!



Kat and Josh at the top of the Chutes...so happy that Josh is getting into back country skiing!


The brother/sister duo.


Josh was all smiles after a fun run down.


Katharine and the Chutes.


Uh oh...where's the rest of the snow???



John, Kishka, and Josh on the hike out the bottom.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Memorial Adventures in Camping

John, Stacia, Josh, and I headed down to lower elevations in search of warmer weather and scenic camping this Memorial Weekend. Stacia spent some serious time researching the web, and she discovered Mokelumne River down in Eldorado County. When we turned off the highway 30 minutes past Kirkwood, we were a little concerned to discover we were still at 6000 feet and around lots of snow. But then the little road proceeded to drop quite drastically into this gorgeous valley, and next thing you know, it was warm, sunny, and we were at 3000 feet. The camp site was right on the river, and it was totally secluded and awesome! And the big bonus...the Salt Springs Reservoir was just a little further up the road for some fun kayaking adventures. Great weekend with the gang!



Chillin' at the campsite next to the rushing river.



Josh and his buddy Chris enjoying a few afternoon beers after a great game of frisbee golf.



Johnny and Stacia consulting the map and our cool location.



A scenic little creek feeding the river next to our campsite.


Chef Stacia setting up the gourmet camp dinner...she does know how to cook up some good camp grub!



Kishka probably had the most fun of anyone on this trip. What a lucky dog!



Kishka and Aunt Kat enjoying a little campfire action.



The Lange Lounger being modeled at one of it most scenic locations ever. Gotta love that chair!



Josh and John consulting on the preparation of the beans.



Look at this handsome guy!



John and Stacia posing in front of our epic campsite on the way out.



Turns out there was quite a long, steep, trecherous portage involved in getting our kayaks down to the low levels of the reservoir....



And it turns out Josh's kayak is very heavy!!!



But it was worth the trek...very cool lake to explore!




Stacia, Kat, and Josh...the kayakers.



Kat, John, and Josh heading out for round 2.