The Evans Bunch: California, here we come!

In July, the Evans Crew, Shasta included, headed South to visit everyone back in California. While it was hard to leave the picture perfect summer weather of Corvallis for the ...well, not-so-perfect summer inferno of the Central Valley, we were excited to be back home for a while. After all, it wouldn't have been summer if we didn't have a little taste of 105+! We spent about 10 days traveling between Grama's in Merced and Nana and Papa's in Clovis. Here's a little taste of our travels:

On our way down to Merced, we stopped for a beautiful picnic lunch at the Crags National Park. Afterwards, we went for a nice stroll - one of Calebs' first hikes since finally getting this walking thing down.

Once in Merced, our visit began by attending the amazing wedding of our dear friends Leigh and Jan. It was a beautiful evening filled with old friends, dancing, and no kiddos. Of course the tricky part was keeping our little bun in the oven a secret as we hadn't told the grandparents yet!

As we traveled down to Clovis, our first stop was at our friends Brian and Cory's home with their 3 kids, Avery, Cole, and Quinten. The kids had a great afternoon together playing while the adults caught up on life.

One of the hi-lights of our visit to Nana and Papa's house was a trip to the Fresno Zoo. What an amazing day! Ryan had sch a great time searching for all of the animals in the habitats and Caleb enjoyed the view from the backpack. Here, the boys were able to reach into a pool and feel the sting rays as they swam by. What a neat experience!

Ryan and Caleb enjoy a chance to feed the Giraffe some mulberry leaves - check out that tongue!

Another hi-light was a short riding lesson from Nana. While gets to ride mommy's horse, it was neat to be able to ride one of Nana's, also. It also brought back fond memories as I watched my mom teach Ryan just as she had taught me when I was his age.

Whew - Vacations sure can wear a man out!!! (Little did we know that Ryan didn't just fall asleep at breakfast - he actually had the stomach flu....as did the rest of us a few days later at Grama's)

At Grama's house, the boys had a great time exploring all the nooks and crannies of Grama's backyard. Caleb's favorite - squishy mud between the toes!