...............................I know, I know, it has taken FOREVER for an update!!

Sorry it has taken so long to update but we have been crazy busy here. With 3 kids in 3 different schools, and several activities, our time is very full. The end of summer was fun in Bodega Bay and San Fransisco and then school shopping in Sac. on the way home. School has been fun, Ty is in several AP classes on the college prep track and is also driving so we are very proud of him. Bryce is enjoying his leadership class and is also starting the college prep track in 7th grade also. He is enjoying his soccer season and is really kicking butt if I don't say so myself. Andy is our team referee and Janelle is the team mom so they keep their hands full. Addy is just ROCKING in class, out of 80 2nd graders, she is in the top 3 for reading! WTG sweetie. She just finished her 3rd soccer season and is looking forward to gymnastics and Christmas now. We have gone on several field trips (Apple Hill harvest time being the total favorite) and are now just settling down for our long wintertime. BRING ON THE SNOW!! We love you all and promise, it won't be long before the next update. The above photo is from Hope Valley which is just breathtaking this time of year. It is not "my" photo but just one I found online and loved. I would soooooooo put a print up of that in my home.
Love The Burrow Fam.

...................Fall is here, but we sure played our hearts out before it hit!

Now that it is "September", (the depressing month that just sucks the life out of you when the fun, carefree days of summer are officially over) The kids are gearing up for school and partying their hearts out the final few days of summer vacation. We were lucky enough to have cousin Zack come stay with us for a week and really got to share all that we love about where we live. We squeezed in a few nice long downhill bike rides, a short hike to Angora where we kayaked, jumped off cliffs and swam, a few days on the boat, waterslides, lazer tag etc. etc........(to name a few) I'm pretty sure he had fun and we are looking forward to his visit next year. Then, Ty and Dad flew up to Washington with Zack to spend a week visiting Tori, Jason and the rest of the family and we just got him home last night. Today, I am driving our oldest down the the DMV to take his learners permit test.....................OMG!! How old am I getting? I never thought I'd see the day. Then, tomorrow, it is off to San Fransisco for a day before heading to Bodega Bay for our annual Labor Day trip at another type of beach full of saltwater taffy , sealife and surfers and kiteboarders. Should be fun. I hope you all enjoyed your summer as much as we did and are ready for the comforts of home this fall.
Love Janelle and the Family

...........................Where is the summer going?...

Well, let me start this off by saying
ZACK.....WE ARE SO EXCITED THAT YOU ARE COMING DOWN TO VISIT!!! We are planning boating and wakeboarding for you, a hike to Angora Lake and some kayaking with you (maybe a little lizard catching if you're up for it), waterslides and MAYBE the trampoline warehouse in Sac. with Brycen and Lazer Tag in Reno before you head home if Grandpa Dennis is up for it. SO , SLEEP BEFORE YOU COME DOWN, because we are going to tire you out!!

Back to the normal blogging stuff ,
Summer is running a little short this year, we have had some wierd weather patterns that is making us feel as if summer just started a month ago. Lisa's old reliable boat finally died so she bought a newer Reinell with tower and stereo so we can finish out the summer on it. Our family spent all day yesterday on it and plan the same today with a trip to Emerald Bay for a picnic and swimming . The boys have been wakeboarding up a storm but I think they will tube today since their arms are about ready to fall off.
Our luck at home with pet cats is really sucky to say the least, we lost our FAVORITE cat ever last week when he got out of a screen and a coyote had him for dinner . Our house felt so empty without Sox, that we went to North Shore on Sat. and adopted 2 rescue kittys. Only to find out on Monday that the girl kitty had FELV so we had to take her back yesterday. We did keep the orange boy, Sam and will re-test him in 3 weeks, so please keep your fingers crossed that our stream of bad luck has ended.
Dad and Ty are heading up to Washington in a few weeks so please keep your eyes open for sightings.
We love you and wish you an AWESOME END of summer............party and play your little hearts out.
Love Janelle and Family.

Half down, half to go........Summer months are just melting away.

I can't believe that school starts in 4 1/2 weeks. Count me in as the mom that dreads the start of the school year. We have been having so much summer fun. Uncle Bob, Auntie Marta and baby Max are visiting us and have been joining us on all sorts of day hikes, swimming and fun. Temps have been in the high 80's (100's in Sac. while we were there for soccer, I am such a HEAT WEENIE) and it has been just beautiful here. We have been at the pool, Fallen Leaf Lake (many times LOL), and made the little hike to Angora the other day. Ty swam across Angora Lake and BACK...... with Andy and Bryce in a kayak next to him for support. YAY TY-TY!! We also got to discover a place in Kirkwood California called the "Potholes". It is where the Consumnes River flows over tons of huge boulders and creates swimming holes on a beautiful mountain. Kids enjoyed seeing something new and I got some good photos. On the way back, Andy and Bryce tossed thier fishing poles in Kirkwood Lake but had to leave empty handed. Ty is taking DRIVERS ED! Already and is counting the days until he gets his permit. He may be joining Uncle Jason in Bellingham for a scuba dive or two the end of August. Bryce is back to training and we have professional soccer coaches for a private camp next week in Tahoe. (should be fun, it cost the team 1000.00 ) We partied it up in Fairfield last weekend and discovered some amazing swim spots along the American River on the way home. Addy has had a few sleepovers and is just lovin' on Uncle Bob during his visit. I am sure some tears will be shed upon his departure.
Summer dreams to you all...........come visit........
Love Janelle

Summer~ Swimming~ Saving~

Still partying it up at all of our beautiful lakes and the Truckee River here. We floated the river the other day, the weather was almost 90 degrees and it took us almost 4 hours over a 3 mile stretch. (Yes, the water was moving V-e-R-y slow). At the end, we had neglected to organize cars and our return drive home, and a complete stranger offered us his truck on the river bank to drive all the floaties up the hill to our home. We took him up on it and left his car parked in front of his house. I will be baking this week as a thank-you to him. Talk about trust in a small mountain town. GOTTA LOVE IT!
We are spending lots of time at the pool also, now that Addy is a swimmer, that is pretty much all she wants to do. We did spend a day at Fallen Leaf Lake (Janelle's favorite place in Tahoe) and the boys all caught crawdads (crayfish) and spent hours in chilly alpine lake water. I am so ready to go back to our spot there.
Our (or my LOL) goal this summer is to have our family be a bit more "green" . So far, I have hung over half of my laundry to dry, upped the recycling efforts and have only bought one case of disposable water bottles in 2 months. I make our own "detergent free" laundry soap and am starting to cut back on the chemical cleaners around our home. Who knew that vinegar could do so many things. I am really trying to lower our carbon footprint one step at a time. I am also planning meals better and cooking extra and doubling some of it so we have freezer meals for those nights we just don't feel like cooking. I have also started major couponing and will share about that next week. Talk about a high when you save over 50% on your grocery bill on stuff that you use regularly. (I'll stop at that our this post will become a novel and get boring).
Happy summer , we love you all.
Love the Burrow Family.

......................Summer is in full swing.

Even though our summer got off to a rainy start, it is turning out to be beautiful and sunny as always. (I knew I should have never doubted mother nature.) The kids and Janelle pretty much center their days around what body of water they want to play in, Lake Tahoe, Fallen Leaf, Angora Lake, pool etc. Addy has learned how to swim, see video below of her new "underwater front roll", she can float on her back and swim back and forth across the pool until the cows come home. Brycen loves the water and enjoys it even more when we drag along other soccer boys to play with. Tyler is still gracing us with his presence occasionally, he has been hanging out with his buddies alot and riding miles and miles on his new ride. Tyler also started his drivers-ed course, and is counting down the days until he can get his permit. We got in some disc golf the other day and are planning a float down the river and a trip to the waterslides and trampoline warehouse in Sacramento soon. Andy is still enjoying his job even though our summer traffic is a nightmare and is starting to play online fantasy poker, he got out today for his metal detecting and is enjoying having the kids around this summer. Of course now, that he is a safety trainer for the bus drivers, he is constantly on my A$$ to take a safe-driving course.........................Yah...........will NEVER happen. I'm sure I could make a few safer changes to make him happy though.
Our beloved dog of over 12 years is gone , she lived a long a wonderfully love-filled life. We love you KAYA!
I hope you are all enjoying your summer as much as we are.
Love,
Janelle and the Fam.

A reason to celebrate (or two.....or three........)

Congratulations Brycen and his "Tahoe Aces" soccer team for winning the 2009 Capital Classic tournament in Carson City !!

What a great weekend, 80 degree weather and just chock full of soccer. Brycen's club team placed first after 4 games of which Brycen scored a record 9 GOALS! The last team we played was a friendly team and we all went out to dinner with them and their coach after the tournament. Even though the team lives 3 hours away, all the boys were sharing phone numbers and promises to keep in touch. I love the sportsmanship exhibited by these two teams, and look forward to playing against them again.

All the kid's schools are winding down for the year, Ty is holding to a straight A report right now, we'll see if it sticks through the next 2 weeks. Brycen finished his school soccer team (which placed first) and is now catching up on his reading and training for 2 more tournaments to come with his club team, we are also watching to see if Brycen can pull off another honor-roll report card for the end of his first middle school year. Addy , well, she is just excelling in school and loves reading and art. Janelle taught some formal art lessons as part of our "Elementary Arts Program" this year and we got to go to the art show at the end of the year and check out some of the fun stuff we did. Addy is really into reading the "Animal Ark" chapter books and is getting ready to participate in the local library summer reading program.

Andy still loves his job, and recently attended a great luncheon BBQ with some favorite clients of his. His summer schedule has given him 3 days a week off so we are hoping to catch up on some camping and fishing this summer. He got his first promotion at work and is really loving what he does.

All in all, our family is well and happy. We are anxiously awaiting the end of the psychotic school year so we can chill and sleep in late and get a reprieve from our crazy school days. I'm sure I will miss schedules like this when the kids grow up and move out but for now, I welcome the break.

Happy summer ya'll. Congratulations to Lesha on her expected baby girl and Andrea on her new announcement. Our family is growing by leaps and bounds.

Simple yet satisfying.

I am sitting here, looking at all these fun pictures from our Mothers Day at the beach and I am just so satisfied and content. While I do miss our family that live away from us, and those that have passed on from us, Andy and I really enjoy simply playing with our children and taking in all the nature that our beautiful and much loved "Lake Tahoe" offers. Doing activities outside seems to do wonders for the mental well-being for everyone involved and it really renews my own spirit as well. Life is chaotic and so full sometimes, we just really need to take advantage of our down times and enjoy the company of those around us that we occasionally take for granted. Auntie Doneva once told me ,"The family that plays together, stays together", and even though I was young and thought I knew better, she really was RIGHT!! Kind of funny that it took several years of parenting to really see the benefit of that simple statement. Thanks Doneva. (We heart U)
Love the Burrow Family.

Time for fresh air and outside activities.

Spring is in full swing around here as far as activities go. Ty has been riding the mtn. trails and even though they are a little slushy, he is loving them. He routinely comes home with the telltale splash marks up his back from riding through the slushy meadow. Gotta love that kid and his laundry!! Lucy the lab is his riding partner, we have actually had to up her food intake since she has been burning so many calories running with Ty-Ty. Ty is now dreaming of a 2400.00 bike, (guess what we told him LOL). He wants to get the "Kona Stinky" , built in Ferndale Washington! We keep reminding him that he needs to save his $$ for a car next year, that is a hard realization when you are only 15.
Brycen is going strong in soccer. He was chosen as only one of two sixth-graders to join the first ever "South Tahoe Middle School Timberwolves Co-Ed" soccer team. 30 kids tried out and our little Bryce was one of the chosen ones. We are so proud of him. Now, he is often going to 2 practices a day which includes running and conditioning for both teams (club-travel and middle school). He has washboard abs that would make Hulk Hogan proud. We played in the rain today at our local college field and we kicked some MAJOR booty!! WTG Guys.
Addy is loving her little brownie troop activities, check out the photos below to see her in action during our reforestation project in our local burn area. She is reading the "Ramona" books that I remember reading in 3rd grade and has a little crush on a cute boy named "Juan". "Juan" is a keeper for sure, the little man wore a 3 pc. suit to kindergarten graduation last year and is A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E. How many boys that you know wear suits to kindergarten grad??? I will have to find a photo to post so you can all see how cute he is.
Andy and I are the same-O. Carpools, soccer games, driving Ty and his buddies all over town etc. etc. I really can't wait until that boy can drive.
Until later............
We LOVE you all and miss you dearly, Kim and Lesha, I would love to see belly pix!
Love The Burrow Family.