Camping in Yosemite

We just returned from our vacation in Yosemite. What a fantastic trip! We camped with 6 other families from church for a week just outside of the park. The weather was beautiful, the waterfalls were at near peak flows, we enjoyed taking in many of the sites, and can't wait to go back and see some more. It just doesn't get much better than that! And to top it all off, we enjoyed devotions around the campfire each evening followed by great fellowship, some music, a little dancing, a bit of wine (& beer) tasting, and of course, loads of laughter.

Just look at that beauty... what a majestic site. It is humbling to look up at these massive mountains. I think this is part of Cathedral Peaks, but I am not positive.

On Tuesday, we ventured in to the Valley for the first time, stopping at Bridalveil Falls on the way in. Once in the Valley, we headed over to Yosemite Falls. We had so much fun climbing the rocks and enjoying the mist from the Falls.

There were a couple of pools of water that didn't have current running through them. Some of our friends even took a dip in the chilly water.

It is hard to see them, but Jon and the boys along with a couple of their friends are way up next to the falls. They are just to the right of the falls in this picture.

Justin and his friend, Isaac, on the walk back from the Falls

After the Falls, we spent some time in the Museum and Visitor Center. The Half Dome hikers had a little planning pow-wow while looking at the route on the relief map in the Visitor's Center.

I don't have any pictures from the Hike, because my camera didn't go on the trip. Jon, Madeline, and Jared hiked Half Dome on Wednesday with 8 others from our group. 9 made it all the way up. 8 of them even climbing the cables to the peak. It was an impressive accomplishment for all of them! And, an experience they will never forget. The rest of us spent the day pool side at the campground and visiting the Museum in nearby Groveland. Stay tuned for picture...I will post some once I get copies from those who had cameras along on the hike!

The next day was spent in the Valley at Sentinel Beach. This gave the hikers a chance to rest their weary muscles. I can't wait to go back to this spot next time! The water was a bit chilly, but we all had a ton of fun playing in the water, riding the current down the river, and running in the nearby meadow. The kids had a really good time, but the grown -ups sure seemed to be having their share of fun, too.

Testing out the water... It took some getting used to.

They decided it was worth the chill.

Pretty soon, they were all hopping in.

The girls warming up on the beach with a little sun bathing.

My boys, in the water, of course!

Jon and I got in as well, but I don't have a picture. We had a lot of fun floating down stream with the kids. We were supervising and making sure everyone stayed safe, ...or at least that was our excuse for joining in on the fun.

We spent our last day in the valley checking out the Sequoias in Toulumne Grove (one of the smaller of the 3 groves in the park). Here are our kids at the trail head.

Me, taking a closer look at some of the cool roots sticking out of the hillside on our way to the grove.

Much of the group in front of the first sequoia on the trail.

Grace inside the base of one of the giants.

This one formed a tunnel on the path. It was cut sometime in the 1800's.

This fallen log had a tunnel you could crawl through.

Jared crawling out the other side of the log... They were so dirty!

How many kids does it take to circle a giant sequoia? Lots.. there were 11 here, and they could barely reach around this one!

On top of a log that had fallen near the path... If you could climb on it, or crawl through it, they did! They had so much fun exploring everywhere we went.

The Taylor kids along with the Lopez and Brown kids in front of the tunnel log.

and their parents... yes, we are all kissing (aren't we cute)!

another shot of the kids along with the James kids, and Alexander's friend Zach.

When we returned to the cars, we spotted a young bear about 50 ft from our car. It is digging in a fallen log just to the right of the third tree over from our van. Justin spots the bear and takes off running. My response: "Justin Taylor, you stop right now" Let's just say, we all found out how loud I can shout!

Our Friend, Roy got closer than I dared for a picture. I was too busy jumping in the van.

Alexander and Zach playing us some good campfire music on our last evening there!

Until next time, I will be dreaming of waterfall mist on my face and floating down the river... and maybe even climbing Half Dome.

16 years ago, today...

I married the sweetest man I have ever met. I am honored to call him mine. Wow! 16 years is a long time, evidenced by how young we both look! Happy Anniversary, honey.

Getting back to blogging!

Wow, I really have been pathetic at keeping up on the blogging for, well, a long time!  So, here is a run down of some of the more blog - worthy happenings these past few months.  

Way back in February... Justin won an award at school!  

Congrats Justin for being the"Communicator of the Year"!  

During Spring Break, we enjoyed a fun trip to "Quail Botanical Gardens" in Encinitas with friends.  

  Grace and her friend, Kirsten.  I can't believe how fast they are growing up!

The three musketeers! Justin with buddies, Isaac and Seth.

Madeline, Kayla, and Justin taking a rest among all the beautiful scenery.

Hmmm, where's Jared?  Oh, behind his hand.  I am not sure where he acquired this ability to position his hand perfectly so as to block his face from the camera... but he has mastered it!  Evidenced by the quantity of pictures I have of his hand and not his face!  

Pretty bird, perched so nicely for my picture.

More to come... Stay tuned.

Easter

Over the past few years, it has become a tradition to have an Easter Open House between our morning and evening church services. We eat, fellowship with family and friends, and have a big egg hunt for the kids. This year we had quite a crowd, nearly 60 of our family and friends joined us!

I love my guest book. It is so much fun to be able to remember who joined us on each occasion and read the comments they left (often they are quite humorous or remind us of some little thing that happened on the particular occasion that we might otherwise have forgotten). I have to thank my dear friend, Emily, for this great idea.

With 60 people coming over to eat, we had to set-up some additional outdoor dining space.

Good Friends!

My sweetheart and me enjoying our Mimosas.

After brunch, it was time for the much anticipated Egg Hunt. Even the youngest guests got in on the fun. Here, Grace lifts up her cousin, Jonny, to reach an egg he spotted.

Those more experienced hunters like Ian struck out to hunt on their own!

Emma showing off some of her loot. I think Megan is trying to talk her into sharing a piece.

Sorting and swaping after the hunt!

We had lovely weather and spent much of the rest of the day in the yard.

And, what's a party with out a minor fiasco to deal with. "The sky is falling!" No really a piece of our open beam ceiling decided to suddenly drop on our guests! Fortunately, no one got seriously hurt! And yes, this definitely made it into the guest book, although there is little chance we would of forgotten this one!

And, thanks to Sunny for these photos, because otherwise I would not have any!

Frog Dissection!

Ah, Homeschooling at it's best.  These are the moments you pat yourself on the back and smile at the wonder of watching your children learn!  Our end of the year Biology experiment was dissecting a frog!  The kids had been waiting all year for this!  If you get grossed out easily, consider yourself warned you might want to skip this post !

Here they are, the shrink wrapped frogs that had been waiting patiently in my closet for almost a year!

Grace showing of her frog's tongue! 

Jared considers a snack!?  Ewww!  But he did manage to remove the intestines and stomach all in one piece!  Impressive!

Once we had finished removing all the insides, and the eyes, and the skin, Justin decided he wanted to attempt to remove the muscles so, he could see the bones.  He worked quite hard to carefully cut away the leg muscles.  Hmm, do I have a young surgeon in the making?  That would be good, since he wants to drive a Ferrari when he grows up!

Hmmm, what should we dissect next!