Merry Christmas! (2007)

Hello everyone and Merry Christmas! We had fun opening presents and ate our traditional Eggs Benedict. We even got our first real snowfall of the year.

David was very excited about getting exactly what he wanted.


Rachel got a "Just like me" doll. Although, I doubt the doll will behave just like her. (I mean the doll could never be as sweet...yeah, yeah...that's the ticket.)


And Adam loves games. Here's one that should keep him busy for a while.


Who asked for snow?

Halloween 2007

The kids had a fun Halloween and scored lots of loot. Tammie made the kids' costumes this year.

Adam wanted to be a bat.



Do not call him "Batman." He'll get mad at you.

Rachel was an Indian Princess.



You can't see them in that picture but we made her moccasins too. She got some good use out of the costume this year. She went to (as far as I can recall) 5 costume/trick-or-treat parties!

David was a werewolf.



It's a fur wolf costume with some shredded clothing, hair glued to his face and hands, and fangs. Adam thought it was the coolest costume ever.

I handed out candy at home while everyone else went trick-or-treating. As usual, we only had about 10 kids show up. So we have way too much left-over candy. It's kind of disappointing having so few kids come to the door each year. Our neighbor does some pretty cool decorations, but he's starting to get burned out since not enough people show up to make it all worthwhile. I'm not sure if the low numbers are a symptom of the times or if our neighborhood is just too tucked away and doesn't attract many people.

Trip report and photos, Yosemite, April 2007

Dates: April 22-27, 2007
(I know, I'm posting this in July when we went in April.)

Day 1 - Driving, driving, and more driving. We left early in the morning so we could make the 12 hour drive and get in before sunset. We made good time, checked into our place at Yosemite Lodge, and had enough time to make the short easy hike to Lower Yosemite Falls before dinner. The weather was bad. Rainy, cold, miserable. I was a bit worried about how the rest of the week would turn out. There was also still snow on the highway on the way into Yosemite. The forecast was good, but I have a hard time trusting forecasts.



Day 2 - Our first big day in the park and the weather, true to the forecast, was beautiful. In fact, as predicted, the weather was gorgeous and perfect for the whole week. We took the shuttle bus to the trail head for Vernal Falls. It's an easy hike for the kids and I was only expecting them to make it to the bridge before the Mist Trail. But once they saw the falls and found out you can hike to the top they insisted on going the whole way. They did very well. We enjoyed a lunch at the top and rested before making the trip back down.

After the hike we went to Yosemite Village and visited the museum and the Ahwahneechee village.



Day 3 - We left the valley and headed to Mariposa Grove to see the giant Sequoia trees. But first made a stop at Inspiration Point for the standard valley shot of El Capitan, Half Dome, and Bridalveil falls.



The trees were magnificent. I'd have to say, giant Sequoias are my very favorite tree.



Then we made a stop at Bridalveil Falls on the way back into the valley.



Day 4 - David and I planned on hiking to the top of Yosemite Falls, or at least see how far we could make it. Tammie, Rachel, and Adam were going to just hang around the valley. Rachel really enjoyed the art class she participated in. She got to learn more about landscape sketching and watercolors. And regardless of how much I protested, David insisted we go all the way to Yosemite Point!



Day 5 - A trip to Mirror Lake (located at the base of Half Dome) and the Ahwahnee Hotel. We wanted to to see the Happy Isles nature center, but it was still closed for the season.



Day 6 - Time to make the drive back home, but not before getting a few more pictures of Yosemite Falls.



All-in-all, a great time. We really enjoyed staying at Yosemite Lodge. It wasn't crowded or overrun by young teens (like Curry Village) and it's location was perfect. The kids had a great time and we look forward to going again next year. Maybe hike Half Dome?

Click the picture below to see the whole album.

Yosemite 2007