Why is it called Labor Day when you don't work?

So this Labor Day the Clan took a mini-vacation up to Grandma's vacation house in S. Lake Tahoe. That house has been a vacation hot spot for our family for years. Being close to the lake, it makes a great summer getaway and during the winter, the snow is the main attraction.

Friday afternoon we piled into the truck and headed up there. Arriving some time in the early evening, the kids managed to make the most of the last drops of light from the day, playing in the backyard which happens to be the National Forest.

Early next morning, we attended First Saturday mass at St. Teresa's. The rest of the day was spent at Richardson's Beach, one of our favorite spots since it comes with a dock to jump off, a volleyball court, nice bathrooms and cool shade. Being Labor Day weekend, it was a bit too crowded for our tastes but what could you expect? Little Man and Angel, having perfected their swimming abilities this summer, nerved themselves up and took a plunge off the end of the dock with Edna and Dad.

Running on water!!!!

                                                               

            Meanwhile, Coco entertained herself by building sand castles and jumping over the waves.

Meemz alternated between wading and typing out an essay. Yes, even on vacation she still had homework. She also took eating and art to a new level with her strangely awesome apple.

Twitter (typing out jare-jare-binx takes a while so he now has a new name) declined from swimming but didn't object to getting a little wet. He splashed around in the waves and chased any unfortunate water fowl that came near him.

Mom was photographer for the day and whiled away the hours taking pictures of her kids.

Next day, we went to a Traditional Latin mass in Nevada. Dad decided that since we were in Nevada we might as well see what we could. What we saw was this: a view of Carson City and Reno reduced to the size of postage stamps. Having heard about Virginia City, supposedly a big tourist attraction, Dad took us up and down winding roads through the mountains. All the boys having a lovely fear of heights, our car trip sounded something like this, "MOM! It's so creepy." "Dad, let's go back down!" "Don't look. It's so high!! I'm freaked out!" Although it probably didn't help, we stopped at a nice promontory over-looking the valley. 

Twitter holds on for dear life. It was scary for him but at least he went up. He relaxed after a little but was much happier once we got back down.

A lovely view

Dad pretends to enjoy the view but gets too nervous watching the kids leaning over the edge and heads back down.

Virginia City was not quite what we expected. It was a small town primarily devoted to old west themed boutiques, gift shops and restaurants. However, we did get to visit the oldest church in Nevada and its museum. St. Mary's in the Mountains was built in the late 1800's and has gone through a series of renovations and restorations. The museum, attached to the church, held interesting artifacts such as the old vestments, tabernacles, paintings and books used throughout the church's history. 

Monstrance

A painting of Our Lady and St. Anne

First Holy Communion Certificate

Vestments worn by the priests

The church itself was beautiful: tall stained-glass windows, lovely statues, and a beautiful altar. The kids were most interested in the stall doors on every pew and took great pleasure in swinging them open and shut. 

After leaving behind St. Mary's, we took a food detour through Carson city then headed back home. We didn't stay there for long though. Instead, we took a short hike through the woods to play in a river. It was lots of fun splashing about in the freezing snow-melt water, skipping rocks and looking for the seemingly non-existent fish.

Coco gets the royal treatment and catches a ride across the river in the arms of Meemz.

Little Man goes looking for fish but is disappointed. He does find a clam though which brings back the smiles.

 Last year, Twitter noticed a golf ball under the water in the middle of the river. He had made several attempts to retrieve it but it was too deep. He'd have to go under to get it and that didn't quite agree with him. This year though, he toughed it up and took the plunge, coming up victorious. Hail, the conquering hero!

                                    
Coco dabbles in the mud looking for shells and rocks.

Angel caught in an angel ray. 

Toughing it up.

"The sand is so soft and beautiful. It feels like the stuff on moth wings." -Little Man

The girls mess around with the camera.

We left the next day, rested and ready to labor on,

School Is In Session

   Technically, school started for us two weeks ago but they were really just a warm up.  Math drills, poetry memorization, nothing too strenuous.  But the big guns came out this week with the start of our church co-op and classes with MODG. Hard core stuff - Chemistry, Advanced Math, Latin.  Surprisingly,  it hasn't been too bad.
   Mom has made a big push to get Little Man to read. He's almost there; it's just a matter of holding his attention long enough to finish a single page. Jare-jare-binx can't stop reading. He's discovered how fun actual books can be, as opposed to the comic books he's been absorbed in for the past few years. Right now he's plowing through the Great Brain series, one of  Mom's favorites when she was a kid. Angel just keeps on keeping on. Coco is dying to "do school", even asking at ten o' clock at night if she can do her school (why is she up so late?). We try to keep her entertained with coloring books, pattern blocks, and learning games on the computer but she's not satisfied unless she can do whatever Little Man is doing. Edna, beginning her junior year, has started studying for the SAT and suddenly realized how short two more years of school is. Meemz is entering high school with mixed feelings, rather daunted by the sight of weekly essays and Algebra 2 but still enjoying the fact that she's officially a big kid.
   So school is off to a smooth start.We're hoping it stays that way.

Meemz - 9th grade

Coco- Preschool

Little Man- Kindergarten

Angel- 2nd Grade

Jare-Jare-binx- 4th grade

Edna- 11th grade

Summer Snapshots

  This summer the kids pooled their money together (literally!) and bought a soft side above ground pool. The little guys have had a blast keeping cool all summer. Little Man has gotten pretty good swimming underwater, looking for all the world like a tadpole. If only he would come up for air. Angel and Jare-jare-binx are also getting good practicing their swim strokes especially since they know they can just stand up if they get tired and want to stop.

During his time off, Daddy took Coco and Little Man to the State Fair. They had crazy amounts of fun and didn't stop talking about it for weeks. 

For her (belated) sweet sixteen party, Mom bravely took Edna and four of her closest friends for a three day trip to Lake Tahoe. The girls had plenty of good times swimming and playing beach volley-ball at the Lake, stuffing their faces with endless amounts of sweets, and staying up late watching movies. 

Outside the Lake Tahoe Ice Cream Parlour, Edna saw a huge red bicycle structure and had to attempt riding it. As you can see, she needs to grow a little more.

 Meemz turned 14 in July. Big Bro took her and Edna, along with some cousins to watch X-Men: First Class. Afterwards, we had a small family party full of barbequed salmon, ice cream cake, Egyptian War and lots of laughter.

    



Our busy summer has come to an end and we're getting ready to plunge into yet another school year. So long, sweet summer. See you next year.