What does the car say?!

While I don't have any on my car (I stick to bunny ears and reindeer antlers), bumper stickers say a lot about a person

Let's take a look at what we can learn about San Francisco based on the bumper stickers on our street:

Predictably lefty....

All about tolerance & peace....

And playing nice along the way....

Tied with a slightly wacky bow...

While politics are polarizing, I think we can all agree kind weird is better than war

Here's to loving the weird 

You're NOT too old to go to Summer Camp

While I 'fell off the blog wagon' for a bit, a week of camp has inspired an update....

For the past 2 years we've heard a number of friends rave about Camp Mather - a SF Park and Rec sleep-away camp for the whole family.

Like many things SF, entry is lottery based.  We entered our names in January & were thrilled to 'win' a week.

The camp is located a few hours east - near Yosemite - at a former construction camp for the Hetch Hetchy dam project.  When the dam project was completed in the early 20's, the Supervisor of San Francisco - Margaret Mary Morgan - the first woman to hold that role - had a vision to turn it into a family camp.  


It's pretty rural - as evidenced by the non-pigeon or dogs in outfits wildlife....

En route...

By the bath house...

By the dining hall....

Most of the cabins are originals from the 20's (camp opened in 1924).  
We were assigned one of the 'new' ones.  Built in the 50's...

Once you get there, it's pretty much 2 wheels all week - LOVED that!

The 90+ years of operation show in the impressive, extensive range of activities...

There were all the things I associate with camp
Horse back riding...

Canoeing...

Archery...

Abundant crafts...

S'mores...

And way more activities I hadn't really expected...
A ropes course...

Tennis ball machine....

(Soooo fun - until Q got a hold of the settings!)

All kinds of tournaments....

Outdoor movies... 

(They showed Inside Out - I cried like a baby...again!)

And Bingo night..

Q played with dedication - 4 boarding it...

And it paid off...

...won an ice cream from the General Store!


While there were more activities than time, there was also lots of horizontal time...

Aided by the fact that 3 meals / day were provided!

(it's amazing how much more free time one has with zero meal prep)

AND aided by the fact we had no cell service or WIFI - SO fab to totally unplug.

Only way to connect is via the old school 'business center'.....

While I hadn't been to camp in several decades and never to a family camp, I agree with Zoe....when asked if she'd want to return again next year, she replied "I'd like to come again next week"

Here's to family camp, camp Mather & to Margaret Mary Morgan for having the idea

As they say at SF Parks and Rec - 'Get out and Play!'

Sacramento, snowballs & sandcastles

Happy New Year!!!!
We closed out the year & greeted the new one with Sacramento, snowballs & sandcastles.....

Driving to celebrate the holidays is a new phenomenon for us.  

We are clearly rookies - overly ambitious about how much we can squeeze in....

A 'travelling circus' of sorts (5 + 1 dog + 1 cat), luckily we went to a house that has an amazingly high threshold for chaos....

(We joined 5 kids, 3 cats + a dog - not to mention the skunks who invaded the crawlspace & construction crew remediating their flooded kitchen - thanks K & G!)

And while we add noise & mess for sure - we also bring an eager cleaner-upper...

(Lucky catching the juice before it even hit the floor)

McDougal family Christmas morning starts with a kid line up...

In attempt to avoid 'post present trauma', we prep the kids with a 'it's normal to feel let down after it's over' pep-talk.  Turns out this year it wasn't even needed....

Zoe adored the abundant art supplies...

For the boys, mass Legos + and Xbox One = sheer glee...

It was short but sweet - with lots of family and tons of presents

Post Christmas, we were no less squished on the drive to Tahoe...

After last year's nearly snow-free drought year, we were thrilled with an abundance of the white stuff.... 

But even more excited to report.....9 years of back-breaking schlepping and bribe-laden ski lessons PAY OFF!

All 3 kids have finally graduated to the point where we actually stay warm while skiing

Q and I even share the same favorite run

We were so excited, I found myself providing unsolicited pep-talks to exhausted looking families with toddlers & little kids - 'hang in there, I promise it's worth it'.


Comparing it to our 3 years of skiing in Europe, the only disappointment was the 'blah predictability' of the ski outfits.   I had to look REALLY hard to find any that stood out...

This guy was an exception...

And, while more tame, how I wished I had this for International Night...

Post skiing, the hot tub was a fantastic way to warm up...
...or not for our "I'm warm blooded" Zoe

We came home & had mandatory togetherness New Year's Day at the beach....

While the kids required some coaxing, they had fun once we got there....

(I'm trying to numb myself to "But I don't WANT TO go" - else we'd get no where at all)

...and Lucky wouldn't have wanted it any other way

Here's to the fun of the season, having time to enjoy the extra togetherness - even if you have to make it required

Happy 2016!