Yosemite or Bust- The Sleeping Situation

In our yurt (3 walls and a curtain) we had a full size bed,

 

and a bunk bed. I didn't love the idea of one of my kids

on the top bunk without a rail, so I made that my bed.

 

Kali slept like a princess

 

but would sometimes sneak onto my bunk,

 

and would wake up in the morning like this:

 

Griff waking me up one morning

Yosemite or Bust- Day 2

The second day of our trip was the most jam packed with silliness,

adventure, and a bear hunt.  We kicked off the morning by riding our bikes to some Indian caves that are NOT marked on maps.  Our instructions to find them, were basically to "ride to the end of the road, look for the outhouse, follow the horse trail to a huge flat rock, and walk toward the rocks from there." Well we followed the instructions, and found the caves that I climbed around in 15 years ago with my 8th grade class.  The kids were in heaven and we were so impressed with Griff.  He would march around in his little boots like he was a pro.  Every time I would lend him my hand, he would say, "no, I can do it myself!"

 

 

 

In this particular cave, you had to lower yourself down into.  We sent Kai down first, and passed Kailer, Kali, Jordyn, and Griff to him.  It was pretty dark down there and we forgot all our flashlights except for Kai's headlamp.

 

As soon as we climbed out of the main cave, the kids found a rock to take a break on.

They were pooped. 

 

We had so much more to do though, so we sallied forth on our bikes to Mirror Lake. 

We hopped off for a minute to check out this river, and I chucked Griff in. Not really.

 

Man and Mountain

 

We didn't get the memo that Mirror Lake was something we would want to play in, so no swimsuits.All the kids stripped down and for some reason had no problem playing in

freezing cold ice water.

 

 

Love this pic.  No clothes, but he was careful to wear a hat.

 

Back on the bikes to get to camp for a late lunch.

 

Passed out, but gripping tightly to his bow and arrow.

 

On our lunch break, Aaron fashioned a dagger for Kailer, out of a piece of flat wood.

Now he was prepared for our bear hunt.

 

Drove to Bridal Veil Falls. 

There is waterfall in this pic, you just cant see it.

 



 

After the falls, we stopped off to check out a cool bridge, and ended up on a bear hunt.

I saw this creature out of the corner of my eye and figured it was either a huge dog or our lucky day.

 The bear got a little camera shy and walked off into the woods.  Aaron and Kailer thought it was a good idea for them to follow it a little. It was okay though because Kailer had his dagger.  As they walked in the direction that it went, the bear popped his head up like a jack in the box from behind this fallen tree,

scaring the heck out of Aaron and Kailer.

 Made it to the bridge we originally wanted to check out.

Yosemite Falls in background.

 

My favorite pic from the whole trip.  So peaceful.

 

Back at camp.

We had a bonfire going in minutes.

 

Nightfall in the valley.

Yosemite or Bust- Day 1

 

We went to Yosemite and we liked it a lot!

My family of 4 joined my brother's family of 5, filled a U-Haul full of camping supplies and bicycles, and took off for Yosemite National Park.

Warning- most pictures contain a waterfall in the background because they're everywhere!

 

So long Little Saigon! 

 

There were several pit stops such as this along the way

 

Just outside the tunnel that takes you to this beautiful view with

Bridal Veil Falls in the background

 

Once we unloaded our bikes, we hopped on them and rode to Yosemite Falls.

This is our bike crew:

Kailer, Kai & Oliver, Kali, Jordyn, Katie (preggo),

 

with Aaron and Griff bringing up the rear.

 

When we got back we let the kids play in the river, while we sat here watching.

Can you tell we loved it?

 

I didn't realized Aaron carved this on the log we sat on,

until I saw this pic on the camera the next day

 

We went on a deer hunt and got lucky

love this pic of deer gone wild

 

late night camp sillies- check out Kali's serious boots!

Mommy and Me Day

Last week was Mommy and Me Day at Preschool.

Of course Kali insisted on wearing one of her fanciest dresses for the occasion.

We painted pictures for each other and then surprised each other

Then, outside we painted a picture together,

and played on the swings together.

 

When it was time to give the moms their gifts, Kali sat down with mine, and opened it for me before giving it to me.  Thanks Kali.

 

I think we should keep up this tradition of me coming to school with her for the day. 

Do you think she'll like that when she is 16?

Dressed For School

When else in your life can you go out as a butterfly or monkey towel boy?

Hello Summer 2013. I've Been Waiting for You!