Jumping on Beds..........

A little more Yosemite today

 
Merced River ......

 
Jr. Ranger Badges......

This is the "project" I was working on before we left....... I printed out the National Park symbol onto fabric and sewed together a passport book for each kid.....they stamped the passport stamp in for Yosemite and added pictures and info. on the parks we have been to, plus we bought an actual Yosemite stamp that they stuck in their books!  They have passports books you can buy but I wanted to make something more personal for the kids.
More deer:
We drove on the Tioga road over to Tuolemene (can't spell and too lazy to look up) meadows and passed it to the very end of the road (the east entrance of the park) and found snow:
We found some patches and "played" in the snow.....funny to have kids who don't really understand snow or have many experiences with it, considering I grew up ice skating and having snow days off from school and then in my older years had the "joy" of scraping it off my car window before work!! 
That wraps up Yosemite...I took too many photos to share......hopefully I will make a photo book and scrap some of them!! 

Having a fun day today.....met Laura for breakfast and we were joined by my friend, Kim, from school. 

Still unpacking and doing laundry!

Bye.

Yosemite Rocks!

I am sorry, it is corny but  i couldn't resist saying Yosemite rocks b/c it really is all about the rocks there......granite to be exact! Lots of granite!! Granite, granite, granite!!!

We drove over to Yosemite last Sunday and got there in time for check in and dinner.  It was a constant drizzle and our hotel was set in a forest of tall trees....related to the sequoia I am sure, so the rain wasn't that much of a bother b/c the trees covered us.

Our hotel was nice.  We stayed in the Tenaya Lodge.  The main hotel  has a conference center feel to it, which I didn't like but we stayed in the cottage area in the forest so it was cozy.  We were only there for a little bit though, so it didn't really matter, just to sleep in reality.  We woke on Monday morning, packed up Felicia and set off to explore the southern areas of Yosemite.

I sort of see Yosemite in 3 sections....the southern area (Mariposa Grove, Wawona), the middle area (Yosemite Valley) and then the northern area(Tioga and Hetch Hetchy).....we explored all 3 areas, literally every road......and I feel the best areas are the southern and middle section. 

First, we hit the big trees in Mariposa Grove....
we "hiked" this day.....leisurelywalk is more like it....the kids were fascinated with this little squirrel gathering bark....
I loved the big sequoias!
More on trees:

then we hit the Wawona Hotel (historic) and had a picnic on the grass.  
After, we went to Glacier Point to get a great view of Half Dome(big granite rock ;) and the Yosemite Valley(picture above with the bird is there.....that is my favorite picture, love the raven sneaking in my pic). 

 
Aren't the clouds beautiful?

The weather was nice this day......We were happy to see the sun.  We also checked out the Yosemite Valley.

My Yosemite top 3:

1.Merced River....gorgeous.

2. Glacier point

3.Mariposa Grove

We spent some time on the Merced River.....the kids and Mannie threw rocks in the water.....I took pictures and constantly scanned the area for bear! We never saw a bear......we were there for 3 days and never saw a bear.....I have decided that the bear try to stay away from the humans and only come around at night to look through the garbages, so being afraid of a bear attack is a waste of energy.  I finally figured that out on the last day!

Actually, looking at my top 3 list, I noticed all 3 of my favorites spots were on this day so I guess this was my favorite day in the park!

Cara kept saying over and over how much she loved Yosemite! This was a gorgeous day!

Then we were headed over to Yosemite Village area (still in the Valley) and came upon some deer eating dinner under El Capitan(big granite rock ;).... 

we sat and watched and of course humans didn't bother them at all, just like it is in Yellowstone.  The animals are so used to humans.  So we got to sit and watch.

Then we went to the Awanahee Hotel (another historic hotel in the park) for dinner.  We ate in the bar area, the menu was smaller but we all managed to find something(over priced).  A bat flew into the hotel so we got to watch the bat fly around the restaurant trying to make its way outside.  The kids thought this was sooooooo cool!

Then we headed north (about 1 hour) to a new hotel, my favorite hotel! Cute little cabins set in a forest! Adorable!   and historic...originally built to house some of the workers on the Hetch Hetcy dam (boring dam we went to the next day ;)  But anyway, the hotel has been around for a while! We stayed here for 2 nights. Rates in the hotels in the Fall are discounted btw.....that was cool. We checked in and hit the sack for the night.

 Isn't nature amazing???? ?Wow, we are lucky to have all this beauty around us on earth!!

Santa Barbara...

 
Last weekend, we got the kids out of school a little early and headed up the 101 for a weekend in Santa Barbara with friends. 

My friend, Julie, was turning 40, so her hubby, Jeff, organized a camping trip to the El Capitan resort in SB. We stayed in the RV resort/camping grounds right next to the El Capitan.  We rented an Airstream trailer (vintage, 1967, I believe) from a nice couple who own the company, Santa Barbara Safari's.  I booked the campground through Ocean Mesa and then SB Safari comes and sets up the trailer for you.  At the end of the weekend, you walk away....nice.  

The trailer was adorable...here are some pics:

Cami and Cara.... Mannie and Cami slept on the benches that pull out into beds....(the first night).

Cara slept on the floor on our futon, which we have decided is a very well traveled futon. 

This is where Charlie and I slept the first night.....cozy bed!!! 

 
The weather stunk....what can I say, it did!!  But we still had an amazing weekend with friends in Santa Barbara.  

We had an absolutely gorgeous ocean view from our campsite.....one problem: the sun never came out!!! oh well, can't win them all!!! :)

Speaking of winning.....Jeff made a fun scavenger hunt for us all on Saturday.  Jeff wins "husband of the year" award for planning a fabulous getaway for his well deserving wife!!!! 

He broke us up into 3 teams....and then set us all off to run around downtown Santa Barbara in search of random things, such as ketchup, wheatgrass and historic buildings.  Overall, a great way to get to know the area better but most importantly have a memorable weekend with good friends!!! Here is our team......

After the big hunt!! (we lost) ....we headed back to our trailer to rest......oh, except, one little minor problemo......ant invasion where Mannie and Cam had slept the night before......SO, we tried to manage the problem and then headed over to the gang's camping site (luxury tents) for a big 40th birthday campfire cookout!  Jeff baked up some delicious baked potatoes, chicken and tri tip.  We did have a kid injury, which was a damper.....our friends, Jen and Mike's little guy, Tyler, fell into an unlit firepit and hurt his nose really badly.  So, we all felt really bad about that.    

I didn't take any pics of the cookout since it was dark....but I will remember the night nonetheless.  It was fun to be away with friends and celebrate Julie's big day!! She is the best you know!! 

I posted the rest of the pics on Facebook, so if you are a "friend", you can check them out.

The kids enjoyed running around with lots of other kids, just being kids, out in nature, having fun.

We left the party and headed back to the trailer.....and the problem with the ants that wasn't really "managed".....so in the end, I slept in the car with Cara and Charlie.  Mannie and Cam slept in the cozy bed in the trailer.  We slept okay in the car though and Cara said, it was the "best night of sleep" she ever had. 

So, Sunday morning, we packed up good ole Felicia and headed East to Yosemite to continue our National Parks tour!! complete with Jr. Ranger badge earnings.......a detour on our trip to visit family up north......we took the kids out of school for the week for this field trip!!! 

They learned a heck of a lot on geology, animals, native americans and geography for starters.  

I will post my Yosemite pics next!! I got some really pretty pictures.....

Bye Bye Airstream!

 

Scrapbook Present

Suzy made this adorable mini book for Charlie!!  Look at all the stitching and handmade felt pages!! She is amazing!!!

Check it out on the American Crafts site!!! 

Suzy, that was beyond thoughtful and Charlie was so happy when I showed him the project you made for him!! Thanks for making us feel so special!! 

 

Love you!

We found FALL!!

We went in search of fall and found it!!

and a bit of winter too!!

Will post when I get over the "carlag"..Thanks Libby btw....nice to be missed! :) I was out of  the computer world for the past week except for Mannie's Facebook app on his phone....and even that was sketchy with the phone coverage.

Hopefully, I will post tomorrow.

Birthday Today!

Today we are celebrating another birthday!!!  This 2 week period is funny, it feels like it is 2 weeks of partying in one form or another.

But after today, the birthday train officially pulls into the station (for our family anyway!)

Charlie woke to Pumpkin donuts and candles today!!!  And then it was off to school.

After school, he has a playdate with his new BFF from school, then present opening, then dinner with Gia and Gramps.

I finished my project and will try to post later today....I am still in busy mode, lots to do today.

In other news....John Wooden would be 100 years old today!!!  Such an amazing guy! Love his pyramid and philosophy on life! 

Well, I must get ready for the day.....it is rainy right now, and gloomy!!

            I won't be around much for a little bit.....I will be busy in search of FALL!!!  and looking for these:

 

Legoland Rocks!

 
We took the kids to Legoland yesterday to officially celebrate Cam and Charlie's bdays....this is instead of a party.

I wrote about the minifigure mania yesterday so I won't go into that again......but look at the cute guys......I know, I am juvenile. Oh well.
Okay, one more!

We went to the waterpark .....the weather was absolutely perfect for us....not too hot, not too cold.  We went on the slides and the lazy river.....I haven't been to Wild Rivers since pre kids, but from what I remember, I think WR is most likely way better than this waterpark......but that is probably a good thing, considering we wanted to explore the whole park and not just the waterpark.

We did the trick or treating which is one of my favorites....I think this is the cutest and better than the California Adventure trick or treating party(just my opinion based on experience)....I think because they have cute little houses set up and give a variety of things......candy, apples, trading cards, a Lego piece, pencils. 

 
We hit the "Monster Show".....which was cute/dumb all in one.

We did all the other "usual" stuff.....drove the cars, went on the slide, various water/boat rides....and then rode on the King Tut car ride, which was cute too.

And look who we ran into!!!! That was a fun surprise!

Overall, a great day! I love LEGOland.

Today, I have been completely side tracked with a project I will share when I finish...a project I have been meaning to do and got started on it this week, of all weeks...but once I have something in my brain, I have to just do it, otherwise, I won't be able to focus on all the other stuff that needs to get done...if that makes any sense whatsoever.

Time to get back to the end of the day activities.......aka, bedtime!!!
P.S.......here is a "Trojan" attacking  the UCLA dude....this guy was traded later in the day!! Hee Hee.

 

10 *10*10

Wouldn't it be cool to have a 10 yr. anniversary today???

Ten on Ten/Ten/Ten:

1. I slept in a ten(t) all weekend..........{in my family room}.

2. I was afraid to sleep outdoors in a tent.......might make camping a challenge.

3. I can't seem to fall asleep in my bed tonight.

4. Spent the day at Legoland today.

5. I actually had the courage to walk around the waterpark of Legoland in my bathing suit......you have no idea how self conscious I get in a bathing suit.

6. We found a wonderful "as close to NY Pizza" place as I may ever get out here......we all loved it, no overly garlic taste.

7. Confession: Today we went into the Lego store to purchase "Mystery Mini figures".........I was just as excited to see which "Mystery Lego Minifigure" the kids would get as they were.....and I was just as much on a mission for Cara to help her find the witch Lego mini figure.....apparently, once you  have a mini figure, you can trade with any Lego employee who is wearing a figure on their name badge.......at the very last moment, we found a photo employee who traded Cara the witch for her Disco Dude.  Cara had actually said a prayer asking God to help her find a Lego witch......I told her that maybe praying for something like a toy might not be the best thing to ask for.....ya know, save your prayers for safety, health.....that kind of stuff......so, after she got her Lego Witch....she says to me, "See Mom, I knew God would answer my prayer"........okay, apparently God is really into Lego Mini Figures too!!  What do I know!?

8.  Today was the most gorgeous day.

9.  At 10:10 am.....we were standing in line for our Legoland tickets......I told the kids we all got 10 wishes........the first one to fly out was the "I hope my family lives forever" wish......followed by "I hope this line starts to move faster"......then after a few more, I gave Cam a look and proded with....."Anything about a cat perhaps??"......she said, "No Mom" with a knowing smile. 

10.  I have a big "To Do" list for this week....more than 10 things for sure.

Nighty night.

Back on the Mac!

Oh my gosh....I have been away from my MAC for too long!!!! 

I have been "computering" from Mannie's office and it is a dark, dreary place....for ME, not him....it feels so good to be back in my scraproom....I have missed this so much!!

I also got a little quick freak out and password protected.  Sometimes, I really have to think about maybe password protecting and giving out the password to blogging friends...but for now, I will leave it be.

Anyway, enjoying our weekend and happy to be back on the Mac.

Off to have dinner with friends.

bye.

A glimpse of happy part 2

This is the girl version....

Taken yesterday during the rainy FUN!!!  Cara teaching her little sis how to read......wonderful on so many levels.......makes my heart happy.

As much as i love the rain, it did feel good today to get out and about.

It has been a busy week.....feels like a blurr too.

Here is the latest and greatest at our home:

We had Back to School Night last night and it was interesting having to hit 3 rooms and just me....Mannie stayed home to babysit.  It was great to hear the teachers, especially Cara's since I knew the least about her.  I like her alot and Cara loves her which is the most important.  I think this year is going to be my favorite year for sure.  For starters, all 3 kids are in one spot......AWESOME!!! I feel more comfortable among the other moms and the kids all seem to like school.  I got to volunteer in Charlie's classroom yesterday and I really liked his teacher and he has his buddy now so all is going well in that department.  Cami is keeping me busy with playdates galore.  She absolutely LOVES school the most.  She got in the car the other day at pick up and rolled down the window as we drove away and screamed, "I love you Ms. C!! You are the best teacher in the world!!!" to which teacher replied, "I love you too Cami, the best kid in the world!"......could it be any more perfect??   Cara and Charlie each had playdates this week as well......so all in all, it has been a very social year for all 4 of us.

Oh and I didn't sign up for the kindergarten memory book and guess what?? No one else did.....so I felt bad about it all, so this morning I mentioned it to some of the other mom's and 4 of us are going to do it together.....piece of cake since there are only 13 kids to make books for!!! 

Homework is way easier this year too THANK GOODNESS.  First grade changed it up a bit(eliminating this dreadful spelling program that killed us the year Cara was in first) and that along with Charlie's level has proved to be a breeze.  Cara is in a good place as well and Cami's homework is just reading 20 minutes each day so that is a breeze too.

We are about to start up another birthday marathon with Charlie's bday next week.

Mannie has been working from home this week which is good and bad...bad, because he is on the only computer working......good b/c we got to have a date today and it was so nice to sit and chat over a bagel!!!

That is all for now......suppose not the most exciting post.....just wanted to write something so I could veg out for a few minutes.....time to get moving on some other chores.

Have a great day!!