Yosemite

We spent August 3rd - 8th with the Husen's. They rented a wonderful house in Pine Mountain Lake. We were spoiled and got the master bedroom since we needed the most room in order to accommodate Faith's crib and Bryce's sleeping bag. The room had a very tall bed and when you looked at the window from this vantage point you could see the lake and the hills across from the lake - so beautiful.

Unfortunately Justin wasn't able to go down for the first part of the week so Emily and Mason rode down with us. We took a detour to the town of Muphys to visit Ironstone Winery. The grounds there are beautiful and the wine is good. For such a long drive, the kids did surprisingly well.

The second day was spent at the lake. There was a wonderful swim area with a giant floating trampoline. The guys and kids had a great time with this. Bryce was fearless and loved jumping off into the water. Faith finally fell asleep in Nathan's arms.

The following day we drove to Yosemite. We were about 40 minutes from the park gate and about an hour and a half from the valley floor where the visitor center is located. After crowding on a few different buses and a stop at the visitor center, we decided that we would hike up to Mirror Lake. The hike itself was only about 2 miles roundtrip. However, rather than have to deal with multiple buses we walked another mile or so to a place where only one bus ride was required in order to get back to our car. The buses were an issue because they made us take the kids out of the strollers and collapse and store them up front - what a pain.

When we woke the following day it was raining. We had intended to spend the whole day at the lake, but instead spent most of the day at the house lounging around. Justin arrived mid morning, and after naps the weather had cleared enough so we went to a playground and to a fishing pier. Gramps and Nathan each caught a tiny little fish. The boys thought the fish were great.

On Friday we headed back to Yosemite. The drive was extremely long. We had to make a few stops just shortly after entering the park because Hannah's friend Brooke got car sick. Then we got stuck for 30 minutes waiting on construction. When we finally got up to the Sentinel Dome trail head it was time for lunch. We ate at the trucks and then started our hike. The hike was only about a mile up, but it was steep. I carried Faith in the pack the whole time. Bryce and Mason were troopers and hiked a lot on their own, but when they got tired Nathan and Justin carried them. The view from the top was amazing. You had a 360 degree view and could see falls, half dome, the valley floor and the mountains in the distance. It was majestic. At the top of Sentinel Dome is the Joshua tree made famous by an Ansel Adams photo. That evening we took a quick trip down to the lake. Gramps, Nathan, Justin and the little boys took a quick swim.

Each night people took turns cooking dinner. We had some excellent meals. Once the kids went to bed us adults enjoyed ourselves by playing games, talking, watching movies, and enjoying wine and other yummy drinks.

Nathan, the kids and I packed up Saturday morning and headed home. The rest of the group didn't leave until later that afternoon and Sunday morning. However, we felt we needed to get home since we would be moving back to our own house after being at Nanny's for almost two months. We knew there would be lots of packing and unpacking and organizing to do.

Thanks to Grammy and Gramps for a wonderful trip!