Ladd Photos

Summer is officially over. Connor has Mr “B” (Betschel) for 5th grade, and Gavin is back at Oak Valley for 8th. Both are kings of the campus this year.

A beautiful day for a hike along the bay, and to learn about the big guns that defended it during WWII.

Smoke filled the bowl that the lake sits in, so it wasn’t beautiful like it should have been. We’ll have to visit again when the world isn’t on fire.

We learned a lot of Oregon history at the site of the first provisional government on the West Coast… before a flood washed away the town. There was a nice trail along the river where we hiked and ate wild blackberries.

My parents showed us their zoo, where we got to meet one of the elephants during feeding time. The zoo in Portland is the perfect size for a nice afternoon visit.

My mom wanted photos of the entire family, since it has been so long since we were all at the same place. Then we had a BBQ and celebrated Zander’s birthday.

We took a short walk along the Tualatin river in Cook Park, near my parents’ house. Then the boys talked Michaela into playing a little wiffleball.

We started off walking around the California State Capitol. Then ventured down to Old Town Sacramento, where the boys talked me into buying them way too much saltwater taffy.

The fire damage from the Creek Fire in 2020 made the mountains look like a moonscape. But the lakes persist and we enjoyed visiting them.

Huntington Lake, where I used to go to Scout camp, was still freezing, as I remembered. But Shaver Lake was pleasant so the boys and I decided to have a swim.

We took in two of the biggest trees in the world, the General Sherman and General Grant. Along the way, we met a beautiful young buck, just hanging out under a tree.