Yosemite!

We had a great time in Yosemite this week.  It was the longest camping trip this little crew has attempted, and we'd have to say that 3 nights was the perfect amount for us with a 1, 4, and 6 year old.  The weather was quite a bit cooler than we expected, but the nights were warmer than the last time we camped.  The scenery was beautiful, the kids were excited, and the 6 hour drive was well worth it, in spite of a very sad teething baby screaming for a good 2 hours of it.  Luke was in his element as the master mountain man, and I took a few steps forward in my camping momma skills.  There are still a few things I would do/bring differently, but I'm making progress!  I did make it the whole time without a shower, which was an accomplishment in and of itself ;) 

We're finally here!  First waterfall - 

Hamburgers and s'mores on night 1 - 

The kids both thought the bear boxes and bear-proof trash cans were pretty cool.  We'd hoped for a non-threatening bear encounter (like seeing one walking by 100 feet away), but there were no bear sightings.  We did see deer a few times, tons of blue jays near our site, and many squirrels (including the one that got into our van).  

Heading out for our early morning hike after our first night in the tent - 

Lucy is pretty content in the back pack, especially if she has a stick or "tickler" (long grass) to hold - 

The kids attempting to count the rings of this tree - 

Isaiah had a great time using his "own" camera during the trip - 

Mirror Lake - 

Deer!

The above morning hike ended up being quite a bit longer than we'd expected as we couldn't find the way around the lakes.  We ended up carrying the kids across a shallow section of water.  Luke had gone back and forth 4 times before I joined him and I was amazed that he'd done it w/o hollering.  It was COLD!  

Hooray!  We made it!

Our little site was nestled in with the 1000's of other campers at Yosemite.  It was surprisingly quiet, even though there were people everywhere.  The trees helped absorb the noise, I guess.  And they provided lots of shade.  

Pinterest meets Tallon family camping!  Chocolate chip muffins cooked inside orange peels, wrapped in foil and cooked in the fire.  They were good!  

This is what Lucy slept in - t-shirt, socks, jammies, full-body fleece w/ hood, and sleep sack.  She was nice and warm and was able to stay in her pack-n-play rather than sleeping in my sleeping bag w/ me.

Early morning hot cocoa for the kids and espresso for the grown ups.  

Here is Luke on the phone w/ our realtor working out the final agreements on our house-buying contract.  We were up against the end of our "option period" while we were there.  I guess standing in the shadow of Half Dome isn't a bad place to commit to buying a house.  

Where's Isaiah?

It was chilly hiking over the top of the waterfall - 

Where's Isaiah?

Luke and Isaiah went a little farther and longer on this hike than the girls.  On the way down from the half way point of Vernal Falls, Noelle kept saying that she couldn't believe that we'd hiked Mount Everest.  She was pretty confused about Mount Everest and Half Dome, but I think she's got it now.   The guys, however, made it to the top of Vernal Falls on the Mist Trail.  The way home took a little longer than expected.  Isaiah was a tired puppy, but he had a great time and was very proud to say he'd "hiked half of Half Dome."

Lucy was stunned by the beauty of Bridalveil Fall...

If you can't read it on their faces, Noelle is thinking, "This is too bright!" and Isaiah is thinking, "I'm about to throw up," which he did immediately after this pic.  The roads through Yosemite are full of hairpin turns and he'd hit his limit at this point on the way to another hike.  

This was an evening hike where we'd almost all hit our limit of hike-ability.  I was very proud of these kiddos and their perseverance.  We gave them options to bow out and not go to the top, but they didn't want to give up.  

This is part of the view that awaited them at the top of Sentinal Dome.  

Where's Isaiah?  

Lucy and I didn't quite make it to the very top.  I wasn't feeling very stable on the "50 foot rock scramble" at the end of the hike.  It was still a pretty good view from where we sat and tossed rocks for a while.  Can you spot us? 

Thank you, Mr. Man-from-Columbia for taking a family pic of us up on the dome.  

In front of the tent before packing up and heading home via the Sequoias - 

Getting to the Shadow of the Giants National Trail on the way home added a few hours to the journey home, but the kids were all thrilled to see the Giant Sequoia grove - 

Isaiah was amazed by the pinecones!  These are actually not from the Giant Sequoias but from the Sugar Pine tree - 

Woah.  

He's not in front of a rock - It's a tree that fell 100's of years ago.  

The bark of the redwoods is really soft and perfect for squirrel nests  - 

This little pinecone is a giant sequoia pinecone.  Isaiah was astonished - 

Lucy on the edge of a very big tree!  She learned a few words this week including hat and "whoa!"

After 2 full hiking days in her "grippy" hiking shoes, this little one had tired legs and "hurty toes".  We let her do this last hike in crocs, which worked well in spite of having to take breaks to dump out dirt - 

All in all, it was a great trip and we're so glad we were able to do this before leaving California.  Luke and I were there 10 years ago on our own.  It was pretty sweet to take our little crew back a decade later.  We're still tired and my hair still smells like a campfire (even after washing it), but it was a sweet trip full of exploring a little bit of God's awesome creation.