Friesen Family Fun

Yosemite 2014

2014-07-12T17:09:00.000-07:00

When a cancellation opened up a site at Tuolumne Measows in Yosemite, Helene jumped on it and soon we were headed out for a quick camping trip. This was the kids first trip to "the high country" and they had a blast! We spent a day just outside of the park at Saddlebag Lake hiking around to the far side for a picnic. After a lovely lunch we got caught in a summer lightning storm complete with hail. Luckily we had already purchased tickets for the ferry ride home, so we spent most of the bad weather covered. The next day Thomas and I went for a two hour mule ride up to a very scenic overlook. This was Thomas' first real ride and he and I both really enjoyed it. The kids also had a lot of fun playing in the creek near the camp ground and going to several ranger activities including a star talk, bird walk, and several campfires. It was a great camping trip!

Week at the River 2014

2014-07-08T16:51:00.000-07:00

Nonni and Nono rented a house in Guernville for the week of July 4th and then kindly invited us all to come join them! There was a small pool in the backyard and we spent most of the time there, with a few trips into town and a short hike at Armstrong Redwoods. There was also lots of eating, reading, and board games, all in all a very fun and relaxing trip!

Backyard Camping

2014-03-20T08:43:00.001-07:00

Spring is here and the kids are itching for camping season to begin! So much so that they have created a whole campground in the backyard complete with a hand drawn fire. This morning they packed up their backpacks and took a "hike" around the block. They even have the neighbor kids involved :)

Winter Moments

2014-03-01T15:49:00.000-08:00

A collection of moments from this winter

Iron Chef

2014-02-22T20:33:00.000-08:00

The Detwilers hosted their annual Iron Chef Valentines Day party. This years secret ingredient was legumes. The Dewilers drew starter and made a white bean ragu crostini. We pulled first course and made Pad Thai. The Bengstons made a black bean bacon soup for the main course and the Dieters closed out the night with black bean brownies for dessert. As always everyone had a blast. The kids played together and the adults visited, and everyone ate lots!

Disneyland!!

2014-02-04T13:25:00.001-08:00

At the last minute we decided to head down to Disneyland and California Adventure for a couple of days, hoping to beat the crowds by going Super Bowl Sunday and on a Monday in winter.

We drove down Saturday and spent the evening in Downtown Disney. The kids loved the lego store and the Cars RC shop. After dinner I introduced them to one of my favorite parts of Disneyland, the churro!

Sunday we spent the whole day in Disneyland, and I do mean the whole day, getting to the park at 7:30 in the morning and not leaving until a little after 10 that night. The kids did great! Lena's favorites were Space Mountian, all of Famtasyland, and Pirates of the Caribean. Thomas' favorites were Space Mountian, Indiana Jones, the rifle range in Frontierland, and the Tiki Room. Unfortunately Splash Mountian, Big Thunder Railroad, and It's a Small World were all closed for the season.

Monday was all day at California Adventure. Everyone loved checking out he new Carsland and World of Color, which we had missed last time we were there. Lena's favorite was Tower of Terror, which she went on twice and wanted to keep going on cementing her as our major roller coaster lover. Thomas loved Goofy's Flight School and Soaring over California.

All in all a very fun Friesen vacation!

Cousin Camp at Jerry and Linda's

2014-01-28T08:31:00.001-08:00

Everyone gathered at Jerry and Linda's when the east coast Friesens came to visit.

Lenore and David's

2011-09-04T21:06:00.000-07:00

Lenore and David invited us down to have some fun with the Hofmanns. As always Lenore provided a delicious spread and the kids had a blast in the pool with Max and Thomas becoming fast friends!

First Day of School

2011-08-16T09:34:00.000-07:00

Today was everyone's first day back at school. The alarm was set, Seth left before we were really awake and both kids headed down to preschool. Here is our annual shot of the kids from this year and at the bottom a comparison from years past.

From last year:

From 2 years ago:

2011 Annual Chico Camping Trip

2011-08-15T21:19:00.000-07:00

July in Review

2011-07-31T20:46:00.000-07:00

4th of July at the Vineyard Club

2011-07-04T08:09:00.000-07:00

Van and Lydia were kind enough to invite us up to the lake again this year for the annual Fourth of July festivities. This is a true old fashion 4th with footraces for the kids, a pie eating contest, tug of war, and a big BBQ. As a kid we used to go up almost every year and it is so much fun to be able to have my kids participate now.

The Under Five Group at the starting line

Lena is a little confused (notice that she is holding Thomas and the other girl's hand!)

And they are off!

Thomas had a slow start but finished strong

Lena was the youngest participant in the kid's pie eating contest

But she seemed to figure it out!

She was slow, but steady... about five minutes after everyone else finished or stopped she cleaned her plate!

And celebrated like she got first place!

Which then her mommy did in the open division (2 years running!)

Happy 4th of July everyone!

June

2011-06-30T20:49:00.000-07:00

New Roof

2011-06-06T21:02:00.000-07:00

Seth, with the help of Ron and Thomas, tore off our old tar and gravel roof this summer and replaced it with a brand new comp roof. It was a lot of hard work but the finished product looks awesome!

May

2011-05-31T20:48:00.000-07:00

First Ballet Class

2011-05-26T20:56:00.000-07:00

Butterfly Release

2011-05-13T20:54:00.000-07:00

As a fun spring activity we mailed away for caterpillars. We carefully watched them for 2 weeks as they slowly became bigger and bigger and then carefully hung upside down and wrapped themselves into chrysalis. We then watched and waited some more until out came butterflies. When all the caterpillars finally changed we took them outside to release them.

Gymnastics Show

2011-05-02T14:25:00.000-07:00

Thomas showed his stuff at his preschool's biannual gymnastics show.

Getting ready for the show

Warming up

"Your hair is pretty! It's like Rapunzel!"

Cartwheels

Bar Work

And take a bow!

April

2011-04-30T14:41:00.000-07:00

Cars Movie Night

2011-04-22T00:30:00.000-07:00

We invited some friends and neighbors over to watch the movie "Cars" in the backyard. While waiting for it to get dark enough to start the movie we had car themed art projects and activities for the kids. Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time!

Firehouse Fieldtrip

2011-04-21T23:26:00.000-07:00

Today we joined the PMC on a tour of the downtown firehouse.

Lena's First Day at Preschool

2011-04-01T23:26:00.000-07:00

April 1st was Lena's first day of preschool. She was so excited to start school and Thomas was super excited to have her stay with him.

Lena in front of school

Thomas showing Lena the ropes

March 2011

2011-03-31T00:40:00.000-07:00

Bowling

2011-03-13T19:25:00.000-07:00

We met the Morgans at the local bowling alley for an rainy evening of bowling fun!

Feburary 2011

2011-02-28T23:32:00.000-08:00