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Nevada County Fair – Grass Valley, CA.

Since our Sunday adventures have been heavily weighted on hikes and such, we decided to head to the Nevada County fair for some corn dogs and carneys. Nivek opted to go on a few rides, Kennedy discovered the magical powers of the carousel (twice!), and Matt and I just leaned into the toothless wonderment of a country fair. There is something nice about having carnival rides among trees instead of out on the open pavement like at Cal Expo when the California State fair comes to town. After a few hours, some corn dogs and lemonade, we decided to head home. Overall, it was quiet, simple, and exactly what I had hoped for. I love my family.

Orange Toddler Dress | Gap

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Kennedy’s First Birthday

Keeping things simple this year, Kennedy’s first birthday was spent next to the rose garden on Capitol Park with a few close friends and family. Actually, we were going to go to McKinley park, but rumor has it that they are having a serious flea problem, and that just killed that idea. I considered sending out invitations and having a moderate celebration at home, but I figure there will be plenty of years for obligating friends and they should be off the hook while they can. It was nice to just sit in the park with people who wanted to celebrate with her, eat some of the Lemon Lavender Cake I made the night before, and open gifts.

The birthday suit: One Shirt | Crown | Moccasins

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Amador Flower Farm – Amador, CA.

Flowers

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Today we took a trip to the Amador Flower Farm. If you like lilies, this is definitely the place for you. It took us about an hour to make the drive. We arrived a little after 11:00am and the overall atmosphere was quite beautiful, the weather–ideal. We strolled through the rows of flowers, and noticed that there were thousands of varieties of lilies, but little of any other type of flower. I was really hoping to see a few fields of tulips or wild flowers, seeing I am not a big lily-girl, but that was not the case. After taking some photos and having a quiet lunch in the grass, we decided we would head toward a “family fun farm” that we spotted on the way. Once there, we enjoyed some killer lemonade before heading the rest of the way home. Lovely.

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Hidden Falls – Auburn, CA.

Hidden Falls

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We decided that today would be a great day to get the dogs and kids and head for a hike. We waited until 10am, when Kennedy predictably would be sleepy, made some bottles, loaded the canine children, and headed out. Hidden falls is located near Auburn, CA and is about an hour drive from Sacramento. The trek to the falls wasn’t too far (1.25m) and downhill almost the whole way there. The falls themselves were pretty-ish, but not spectacular. I would guess if you made the hike during a non-drought time of year, maybe they would be more exciting. The highlight really was simply playing down in the creek with the other 20+ people dying of heat stroke. Kennedy loved it, and the dogs loved it even more. The way back was much less casual. With Kennedy snoozing in the carrier on my chest and an uphill climb all the way back, I was much less enthusiastic. I will definitely return with Nivek and the family for a longer trek when it’s a little cooler. There are a lot longer trails, and I’m guessing lesser-known and more interesting sights to behold (according to the map), so it’s definitely worthy of a return trip.