Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Yosemite Aug 2010

We have been meaning to make a trip to Yosemite for - it seems - years now. We got the opportunity when a friend of ours planned the trip for us with a group of some of our favorite friends. We couldn't be more excited to finally make it on this trip!
It seemed like a long drive, but thankfully our boys are fantastic travelers! We finally arrive in Yosemite!
 Just minutes after our arrival, the kids are buddy-ing up and climbing the rocks.
 Lincoln is testing out the Bumbo in the camp situation.
 The first night was F-ah-REEZING. We didn't stay in the valley (it was too hard to get a group site), and didn't realize that the outer part of the valley was going to be so cold. I was absolutely certain that Lincoln was going to freeze to death during the middle of the night and I think I didn't get too much sleep. Thankfully, breakfast was perfect... it was HOT!
 Pancakes!
 Do these kids look cold? Ethan has never, not ever, complained of being cold. He has a huge tolerance for what temperatures are acceptable. As long as there is fun/adventure he can tolerate practically any temperature. He still didn't complain in this instance, but I think he was close to it!
 It was so cold, the propane gas started to freeze!
 But as the sun came higher and higher in the sky, our smiles got brighter and brighter.
 Todd helped out with cooking with each family. Each family was in charge of providing a meal, but Todd was our organizer, and totally helped out!
 Bellies are full, time to get hiking!
 We followed the ranger's ever-so-clear instructions for taking a nice "stroller-friendly"hike.
 All the kids trucked through the undergrowth with no hesitations.
 We had a few rest breaks.
 By that, of course, I mean, we had to stop, let Todd run ahead a few miles to figure out why on the earth we hadn't reached the road yet, and why on earth we were basically carrying our stroller through the brush and over logs on this "stroller-friendly" path.
 Todd returns with bad news. He ran ahead 2 miles and still no road. So we decide to turn around.
 But not before snapping a few choice pics of our fine-looking group.
 Ethan took up some flower-gathering techniques from Lauren during the hike. I like him to embrace his feminine side.
 Our friend April came husband-less on this camping adventure -- with 6 kids! I wouldn't be able to handle this, but this girl can handle anything. She is such a trouper.
 We took another hike to a fantastic lookout. Here's our fam in front of Half Dome! Love it!
 And another group shot. It's amazing we could wrestle everyone together for this one!
 We decided we had burned enough calories to warrant a nice ice cream sandwich.
 And stopped in the shade to enjoy our goodies.
 Todd opted to not have an ice-cream sandwich, then changed his mind after all of our satisfied lip-smacking. April wasn't about to give up a bite of her sandwich and licked the whole sandwich around to stake her claim.
 Silly April, Todd was not deterred.
 I love my boys.
 
 We had a minor major blowout up on the rocks. Lincoln didn't mind getting a little aired out way up there.
 Lauren managed to win the prize for getting the dirtiest on the rocks back at camp.
 We might have enjoyed two desserts that day I suppose. But there is a cardinal rule about camping and s'mores that cannot go overlooked.
 Yes, we were all thrilled with our trip to Yosemite!

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