We got to bed late the night before and then Allie had a bad night’s sleep (the kids have all been sleeping great here, so we were fortunate that this was her first bad night of sleep). We got ready, ate a quick breakfast, and got in the car. We hadn’t been in the car for 5 days, so I thought the kids would be just fine. Our plan was to drive out to the Sequoia National Forest, which is about 40 minutes from Hume. As soon as we got in the car Allie was asking for “Baby, Baby” (Justin Beiber). We got her song going and she was singing away. As soon as her song ended…the screaming began…”I want Baby Baby, I want Baby Baby.” We had agreed before the trip that we would listen to all the songs on a CD and not continue to repeat the same song over and over (mainly for dad and mom’s sanity). So she kept screaming and screaming. We saw a patch of snow, so Andy pulled over to try and divert everyone’s attention. The kids jumped out…Andrew slipped on his butt on the snow, Luke didn’t want to take a picture, and Allie was afraid of the snow. So, I took a quick picture of Andrew and we hopped back in the car. Well…our 2 minutes out by the snow caused for some extremely muddy shoes. I am trying to corral 6 muddy shoes in the back of the car and get dirt off of six dirty feet while Andy decides he needs to go pee. As I am trying to get the six muddy shoes I feel my foot getting wet. My lovely husband was trying to go pee between the two car doors and unfortunately for me, my foot was not in the proper place. I start yelling at him (because I am disgusted) and he calmly says, “oh sorry.” So back on the road we got with muddy feet and a foot covered in pee. Allie starts screaming again, I threaten to have Andy drive me back home to Rocklin, and the boys are poking at each other in the back seat. I ask Andy to pull the car over. We sit and wait until Allie decides she is done yelling. She finally decides she is done, so we get back on the road. Finally a quieter car as we wind our way through the mountain roads. 10 minutes later Allie starts screaming again and wants to get out of her seat. A bird had pooped on her window and it was freaking her out. Bless daddy’s heart he pulls over again and wipes the window off. So…back on the road AGAIN. Mommy is just a bit grouchy and daddy is wondering where the Sequoia National Forest is. Finally we see the sign for The General Sherman Tree. As we drive in the parking lot I read the sign that says, “Highly Populated Bear Area…cover all food in your car.” We park, get out of the car, and as we are walking to the bathroom Luke announces, “I brought the graham crackers with me for a snack.” GREAT…so now we can be the tourists that get attacked by a bear. Andy grabs the box to carry and we start our walk to the giant Sequoia Tree. Luke starts crying because he claims to be freezing, but really was afraid of the bears. Finally we reach the General Sherman Tree (the largest tree in the world) and the only thing our kids are concerned about is the tiny chipmunk running around (see his picture below). We literally have to pry them off the rail to get a family picture in front of the tree. Andy and I roll our eyes at each other and start the hike back to the car. When we get in the car we decide to drive a bit further into the Giant Forest. The kids were excited to see the giant Sequoias. The boys were counting them and after they got to about 20 trees Andrew announces, “Ok, I think I’ve seen enough Sequoias.” I couldn’t have agreed more with the boy. We drive our way to the tunnel tree, which wasn’t nearly as impressive as we thought and then it was time to get some food. No food was in sight, so I said please just start driving back to camp. Luckily on the way back we found a little store where the kids picked out a small souvenir (another time that I just need to “release” and let them pick out what they want…a tiny stuffed animal, a rock, and a Frisbee..wow…would not have been my choice!). After it took Andrew a good 20 minutes to make a decision we found the kids lunchables in the store and checked out. We ate outside and then got back in the car for our trek back to camp. Thankfully miss Allie fell asleep and the boys were chatting in the back. Andy and I sat quietly listening to our music. We attempted to go to the Buck Rock fire lookout on our way back, but the road was closed (no big surprise after our day). We got back to camp and rested…daddy was a trooper and entertained the kids for a bit in the afternoon so I could rest. I had a bad headache (can’t imagine why) and then we headed to dinner and the kids went to their day camps for the evening. Andy and I enjoyed a quiet evening together with a milkshake by the fire overlooking the lake. Everyone crashed at bedtime and thankfully today has been a much better day. I can’t wait to put Miss Allie in the car again!!!
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