Sister's visit

My sister arrived last Thursday just in time to help me celebrate my birthday. The whole clan arrived after more than 5 days on the road- it sounded like they had fun taking their time cruising to California. That evening we ate a delicious cake that CD made from Robyn's recipe (super yummy!) and I got lots of presents (thanks for all the calls and cards).





On Friday we headed down to the Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt Redwoods State Park. We were all impressed by the huge trees- especially impressive was the Dyerville Giant that fell back in 1991. It's supposed to have measured around 360 ft. (imagine a 30-story building or 200 ft higher than Niagara Falls) with a diameter of 17 ft. When it fell the mud splattered 15ft up on trees that were 50 feet away and a man 1/2 mile away reported hearing something like a train crash. So I guess that answers the eternal question: if a tree falls in a forest.... I guess you'd hear a "Champion" redwood crashing down within a 1/2 mile radius.



The Colorado Clan


The Dyerville Giant


me and my sis

Saturday we spent at Moonstone beach. It wasn't warm enough for swimming, but it was just great to hang out and play in the sand. Here are the kids:

Emily



Helen



William, champion of the world

Clif and CD


Sunday we relaxed at home, went for a walk and out to dinner. Overall, a great visit with Connie, Clif, William, Helen and Emily. It was great to see them and I think they enjoyed their visit.

Also on Sunday, CD got a hand in the deck-building: