Hello 25 Weeks!

I am now 25 weeks...life is great :)

And I am only going to get bigger!

Eureka...again

Mark and Cody at Sequoia Park

Visiting the Victorian Town of Ferndale (this is where they filmed the movie The Majestic)

The coolest cemetery ever in Ferndale

Grandma saying goodbye from her house for the last time :(

Eureka!

It was so much fun to relive some of our favorite childhood memories while were in Eureka...and lucky for you, you get to walk down memory lane with me!

Eating at Porter Street BBQ

Eureka isn't really known for its restaurants, but several years ago we found this little BBQ place that makes the best tri-tip sandwiches and we had to go there one last time!

Me, my brother Kevin, and his wife Jessica

Me and my brother Mark

After the Trees of Mystery, we decided to do something I've always wanted to do - eat at the Samoa Cookhouse. It is a really yummy family style restaurant that used to feed the loggers after a long day of work.

Mark and Mitch acting like the tough loggers in the picture behind them

My nephew Cody playing with the logging memorabilia in the restaurant

Couldn't resist this picture!

Lots of cool antiques!

It is tradition to take a picture with the fisherman whenever you come to Eureka!

The Carson Mansion

Funny story: So, the Carson Mansion was built by William Carson, a lumber baron, in 1884 and is known today as the most beautiful and famous Victorian home in the US. Well, the home is now owned by a private gentleman's business club and now goes by the name of the organization that owns it: the Ingomar Club. So, when we were deciding what things we wanted to see in Eureka, Stacie, my sister, declared that she wanted to see The Brothel. Needless to say we were all very confused and asked her what she was talking about to which she replied, "you know, the brothel, the gentleman's club." Knowing of only one building that could possibly meet that description, I asked her if she meant the Carson Mansion. After quite a laugh we explained that is wasn't THAT kind of gentleman's club!

Just south of Eureka is the tiny town of Loletta...and they have a cheese factory with FREE SAMPLES! If you go early enough in the morning, you can watch them making the cheese, but we were content just to eat lots of yummy cheese.

Kevin and Jess getting their fill!

We love cheese!

The Public Has Demanded...

The first of many belly shots

21 Weeks

Hello Paul Bunyan!

For the first time in almost 5 years of marriage, Kevin took ME to the airport and I got to take my own little trip. I flew to the land of the Redwood trees, Eureka, CA, to spend a couple days with my family. After 50+ years of living in the same house, we were moving my 89 year old grandmother into an apartment a little closer to family - just 5 minutes from my Uncle Ralph instead of the full day's drive that she was from any of her kids.

When we were kids, we would make the 12 hour drive from Yorba Linda, CA (Orange County) all the way to Eureka (almost to the Oregon border) almost yearly so it was very sad to say goodbye to our childhood retreat. Even though Eureka is one quirky little town with a mixture of crazy potheads, tree-huggers, blue collar fisherman and loggers, and the rare normal person, I will always have fond memories of our trips to Grandma's house.

In order to celebrate our last trip to the Redwood Coast, we drove up to the town of Klamath to see The Trees of Mystery. Basically a walking tour of cool looking trees, this neat little stop boasts the world's largest Paul Bunyan, complete with Babe the Blue Ox! Paul not only stands guard of the park, he also talks, waves his hand, moves his head, and can wink! But he doesn't just say recorded things, there is a man presumably inside him or nearby that can hear what the visitors say and he interacts with them as the booming, brawny (haha! get it?) voice of Paul.

Without my husband, I just couldn't help myself and started flirting with Paul by initially yelling out "Paul's Hot!" like a teenager and waited for the response...I was not disappointed. Paul and I continued to have quite the interchange that even broached the topic of his ridiculously hairy chest, which he ashamedly mentioned was not quite as cool as Austin Powers'. Paul got my name and I think he would have asked for my number had he not been a 50 foot animatronic statue...it just wouldn't have worked out!

Stacie and I standing on his large boot (please don't judge me for looking HUGE in these photos...I am wearing about 3 extra layers because it was in the 50's the entire time and I was freezing!)

Acting very mature standing next to Babe's unmentionables...

As we walked in the park entrance we saw this sign...I am not sure what action of a fellow park patron made it necessary, but I guess I am glad it was there as a good reminder?

My brother Mark, Kevin, my nephew Cody, and my sister's boyfriend Mitch standing in front of the "Brotherhood Tree"

The Cathedral Tree

Several times a year they hold hippie weddings here

Looking up

Cody, Mark, and Kevin

Nana (my mom Jeanette) and Cody

This is the "Family Tree"

If you look closely, you can see that there are 12 separate trees growing from the branches of this tree - crazy!

We even got to take a gondola ride up the mountain to see...NOTHING!! It was so foggy, we couldn't see anything from the top, but the ride through the trees was awesome!

Mark and me

That's for you, BABE! (and no, I don't mean the big blue ox!)

We had a fun time!

Okay, this is probably the coolest thing EVER! It is a giant cross section of the trunk of a massive tree. Counting back on the tree's rings they put markers next to some of our major historical events, starting with the Magna Carta and spreading out through modern history.

Petty Family Reunion

It was about time the Petty's (Kevin's maternal side) had a family reunion - it had only been 20 YEARS since the last one! With me being preggers, I couldn't do a lot of the cool things Estes Park, CO had to offer (namely horseback riding and whitewater rafting) but just beating the heat of Dallas for a week was enough for me (oh, and the 90 minute prenatal massage and facial I treated myself to!)

Kevin, on the other hand, had a great time rafting and horseback riding and if you care to, you can read more about those excursions in Karen's and Lisa's blog posts.

In the middle of Estes Park is Lake Estes with trails around it, stunning views of the mountains, a cute children's park, and boat and bike rentals. We opted for the "speed racing" pontoon boat and loaded everyone up for a snail-paced ride around the lake. Even though it didn't offer the thrill Kevin was by now used to after his other excursions, we had fun and even let the little 'uns drive!

Walking around the lake

Kevin, me, Lisa, Derek, Lydia, Brian

Playing around at the park

Enjoying the views from the boat



Artis and Kate

Second cousins, Caleb and Kate

Karen and Kate

Lionel (with his welding glasses) and Brian

Beautiful Estes Park and the Rocky Mountains

The Greatest Show on Earth!

We went to the circus! I have been begging Kevin to go and he finally humored me! We were able to get great seats at an even greater price and had a great time with Karen, Mike, Kate, and little Dylan.

Favorite part: Watching the elephants...they are so amazing!

(photo taken from Karen's blog...thanks Karen!)

Least favorite part: Being reminded of Dumbo while watching the elephants