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!

Build-A-Bear with Papa

My Dad, a.k.a. "Papa" to Ethan, came into town and decided this would be a great activity for us to enjoy.

 I think Ethan whole-heartedly agreed. Of course, we had to gently steer him away from the glittery unicorn and pink confetti bear, but I think someday he will thank me. At least John did immediately.

 Here is the heart to his bear. Just starting to beat in his warm hands.

 Here, we get to stuff away. Ethan wanted no part in this process - it was far too noisy.

 I think he was just a little confused as to what was happening.

 Now the bathing part was a completely different story. He must have come back and given his bear a bath at least 47 times.

 He is a very clean bear now.

 Now to MY favorite part -- accessorizing and dressing!

 Making of the Birth Certificate. This part was actually pretty amazing! Ethan was hmm-ing and haw-ing about a name and I kept thinking that a "B" name would be appropriate for a Bear (I'm a big fan of alliteration). I randomly spewed out, "How about "Bobo?" My dad's eyes total lit up in agreement. He looked at me in awe, and told me that he was amazed that I remembered. Uh, what? Remembered what? Evidently his bear he adored as a child he named "Bobo." 

 Ethan finally settled on a fireman's outfit (after a few more baths).

 Dressing this bear was surprisingly difficult. Maybe to make it harder for those bears to get neked.

 With a few extra hands we were able to get the job done.

 Yep. This feels just about right. Although maybe he wants another bath?

 These boys look pretty happy and are ready to finalize their decisions with the purchasing process.

 Ethan is still in the hiding phase in case you can't tell.

 But we finally got his distracted enough that we could catch all that smiling he was doing throughout the whole process. Thanks Papa for a fun afternoon!

Random Moments from Aug 2010

Jane found this darling hat for Ethan and he is total obsessed with wearing it!

 He wears it around the house, to the store, and especially to SHARK games!

 Just a little mama and "E" time.

 The other day, Ethan told me he was "hooking up daddy's trailer". What a genius.

 Lincoln got to borrow this fabulous BUMBO! I've been wanting one of these but didn't want to fork out the $35 plus buckaroos for something that we would use for a relatively short period of time. Wah-la! A friend offered one to me! Yes, it is purple, but I will have you know that the original owner - i.e. the person who used it, I think, 5 kids before me, was a BOY, so you can forget all those preconceived notions of color, thank you!

 He seems to be liking this new perspective.

 Ethan is definitely in the imitative stage (maybe kids never get out of this stage). He occasionally will have over-nights with grandma and decided that he should wear a "nightdress" just like grandma does. This is Grandma's solution - her tank-top.

 John was horrified. Ethan was delighted. 

 Every morning, Ethan loves to walk daddy out to his car and knock on the window. John will roll the window down.

 Ethan does a pull-up on the edge of the door to give him kisses. I won't show you the picture of what happens if Ethan misses this very important step in the day. I'll just let you know it's fairly traumatic/dramatic.