Sensational Saturday!

Took a drive up to Yosemite today...what a gorgeous day it was! The sun was shining, the snow covered the ground. Not sure I have ever been up there when there has been so much snow on the valley floor!

Brialveil Fall....wasn't much water there but the snow stuck to the cliff walls was beautiful.

Boys waiting to get on the ice at the rink! It was chilly but they had fun!

Boys and I up near Tuolumne Meadows...we wanted to go snowshoeing but that didn't work out so we just went and played in the meadow before heading down and going ice skating.

Hoping to post more on my blog...and have more photos! Some of my friends are doing a 365 days program where they take and scrap a photo a day! Not sure I can do that...so I am going for at least once a week! I am not really good about taking photos of everyday events....usually just when we go out on a trip, or something special.

Wonderful Weekend

We spent the long holiday weekend up in Yosemite with Dave's family. Other than the HUGE crowds of people also wanting to visit one of the most amazing places on Earth, it was a GREAT weekend! The boys had fun with their cousins, Anthony and Tanya. Evan and Tanya (who is almost 5) were inseparable. Where ever he was...she wasn't far behind! They rode their bikes around the campground loop DOZENS of times.

On Saturday we took a hike to the top of Sentinal Dome....about 2.5 miles, the hardest being the last bit to the top of the dome. BUT, once up, the view was AMAZING! Beautiful 360* views of mountains and more mountains! Got this photo of the boys with Half Dome in the back! Climbing Half Dome is on Evan's list of MUST DO's!
Sunday, Dave, the boys and I got up early, and headed to the top of Nevada Falls. We had been to the top of Vernal Falls (on the way to Nevada Falls) but never to the top of Nevada so had NO idea what we were in for! Above is a photo of the trail to the top of Vernal Falls. Something like 600 granite steps up the side of the cliff! Talk about the ULTIMATE stair climber!!! LOL!
First good view of Nevada Falls (not flowing very fast this time of year).....kept asking myself if I REALLY wanted to go to the top! It's WAY up there! The hike between the top of Vernal and the top of Nevada is just over a mile but you climb 1000 ft in elevation!
We made it! Here are the boys at the top of Nevada Falls. Both did AMAZING! Evan has always been up for an adventure and lead us up the trails most of the time, never stopping to rest (unlike his mom who stopped every 5 steps!) except to WAIT for me! Alex though was a TROOPER! He kept going and never complained!!!! And finally admitted..."Mom, I kind of like hiking now".
Before leaving had to go get a photo of Yosemite Falls.....have dozens of photos of these waterfalls in all seasons...do you notice somethign MISSING in this photo of the waterfalls??? Yep...NO WATER! Yosemite Falls has all but dried up this summer. Kind of depressing but will make for a great scrapbook page where I can show the waterfall in the different seasons!

My legs are killing me, definitely NOT happy when I have to walk up and down the stairs, but getting to spend time in the most amazing place was well worth it. The hikes were hard but well worth the satisfaction of reaching the top! Now to climb the trail up Yosemite Falls and Half Dome!

Yosemite In May Slide Show

A few photos from my trip earlier this week to Yosemite National Park. I can never spend enough time in this park. There is always something different to see, to discover.

A few signs of spring......

Alex and I took a walk around the university this morning...what a beautiful day to do be out...flowers blooming, baby ducks, and sunshine!!!!!! Can't get much better than that!

Photos of my boys....

Just a couple photos of the boys I took the other day while they were working on their Pinewood Derby cars for scouts. It was such a beautiful day!

A few recent photos...

A few fun photos from recent weeks........

Alex listening to instructions at the Challenge Space Center!
In the "Space Station"...he was weighing and measuring the mass of "space rocks"
Dave after receiving Rookie Leader of the Year for the El Capitan Boy Scout District! Everyone knew about the award BUT him!!!! He was pleasantly shocked!
Evan, my personal waiter! Here he is delivering my diet coke and a cup of jelly bellies! Check out the towel over the arm!!!!!

A few photos....

We've had a great weekend....busy, but the fun busy. Lots of wine tasting, blending our own wine, celebrating a friend's 50th birthday, visiting family, seeing the sunshine (something we don't always get to see here in January!). Here are a few photos from our adventures!
Here is my wine being poured into the bottles. At the blending bash we were able to blend our own wine using 4 different wines. It was great fun BUT, I am anxious to see what my wine really tastes like...by the time I had come up with the PERFECT blend, I am sure my taste buds were a LITTLE off!!!
My Christmas cactus is blooming....started getting blooms right after Christmas and is now FULL of blooms. I'm proud of myself for keeping it alive. This plant was my dad's and when we cleaned out his apartment a year ago I reluctantly took it, thinking that it would never survive. It sits during the winter on my kitchen window sill...and reminds me daily of my parents. It's been almost a year since Dad passed away and ten and a half years since mom did.....not a day goes by that I don't think of them and miss them. Having these flowers are just a reminder of their love.

Couldn't resist taking photos of the flag at the winery today. Perfect blue skies, with wisps of clouds floating by...and the perfect breeze to make the flag wave.

Hope the few that read this had a GREAT weekend...and a wonderful week to come!

A New Year...a new LOOK!!

Happy New Year! We're already off to a busy start.....scrapbooking, hockey games, work, wine tasting, business trips.....just a few things occuring this month! I have been getting lots of scrapbooking done....I've been participating in a Layout A Day Challenge at Big Picture Scrapbooking...so far, I've kept up. Not sure if it will happen all month...but so far already 10 pages done! Here's a few projects....

Evan running in the waves in South Carolina....simple page here with just some chipboard and cardstock.
FUN stamps from Papertrey Ink....the Design Team at The Shaker Box were lucky to receive this and 2 other sets from the owner!!! Go check her out!!! http://www.papertreyink.com/
Sea Star....photo I took last January while exploring the tide pools in Monterey with Evan's class. Just love it.....
Fun, fast pages of our backpacking trip last August/September.

And check out my book list -----> I'm going to list all the books I read this year.....last year the list was about 45 books long....10 days into January and I'm already at 3 books!!!! So, if you are ever looking for that next novel....check out the list, I'd recommend any of them!

Some recent projects...

The Design Team at The Shaker Box has been blessed with having two wonderful sponsors this month!!! Cosmo Cricket (http://www.cosmocricket.com/) gave us all a Gretel paper pack and a package of Buck Naked chipboard. Nichole from Paper Trey Ink (http://www.papertreyink.com/) gave us 3 stamp sets! If you get an opportunity PLEASE go support these wonderful companies!

Adore

photo of my 2 neices

Altered Clipboard to keep track of how many projects I do this year.
Just the Boys

photo of my boys and nephews

Card made with Chatterbox paper and Paper Trey stamp set: Beautiful Blooms

Indian Griding Rock

What a great day we had visiting Indian Grinding Rock State Park where the marblized limestone has over 1,000 bedrock mortars.....more than anywhere else in the country. This is where the Miwok Indian tribe of California lived. Since Evan just learned more about the Miwok's at 6th grade Outdoor Ed and Alex is learning about it in Social Studies we decided to take a drive up there today. A beautiful fall day.....

A moving ceremony...

A parade flag
A 48 star flag.....

During the campfire the scouts retired 2 flags and pieces of several others. I love the photo of the boys with the larger flag.....the campfire, the boys behind the flag saluting it....before they were retired the scoutmaster read a moving essay about the flag and while they were being retired someone played Taps....

Couple photos......

A lone fisherman......Evan sat all day trying to catch something.

A few photos from the scout camping trip last weekend. The sunset is what we watched while the boys were receiving awards/ranks/merit badges. Such a beautiful sight!

Adventures in Backpacking.....

THE climb.........
Bear Lake...our destination!
Walking out....yep, a photo of me!!!!

Well......after about 28 years I strapped a backpack onto my back to enjoy some of God's country that is only accessable by foot. We had a great time...the hike was manageable with only one really big climb (which we were thrilled would be all downhill on our way home) and about 3 1/2 miles. Alex got off to a rough start (due to his pack being too heavy) but did great the rest of the way.....Evan was a trooper and when we got home and weighed our packs, was carrying only about 1-2 lbs less than me (and I had about 25 lbs!). Believe it or not...I'm ready to go again!!!!

Filling Dad's hat.....

I LOVE this photo of Evan taken on our hike this weekend....he wore this grin the ENTIRE time....never complained (during the entire 6.6 miles) and led the way most of the time. He had forgotten his hat at home and in the beginning didn't want to wear his dad's hat...but part-way in Dave just put it on his head....amazingly it FIT! Evan proudly wore it the remainder of the day (letting Dad get the sunburned head!). As he confidently hiked ahead of me (as I was going too slow for him to follow!), I was surprised at how much he looked like his dad...and how much my little boy was becoming a man. I think he was a little disappointed when the hike was over....claiming he could have gone longer (while Alex and I were REJOYCING at the site of the truck!!!)

Discovery.....

Our destination was Sword Lake......a beautiful, crystal blue lake surrounded by granite and towering trees. Round trip was 6.6 miles....LOTS of hills which reaffirmed the fact that I am OUT of shape!!!!

One of the views we came across during our hike.....NOTHING in the world is better than sitting atop a mountain looking out at this! A few times we would sit and listen.....the most peaceful noises....birds chirping, bugs buzzing.....no people, no cars.....nothing!

Sweet boys of summer......

Caught a couple photos of the boys as they played in the pool this evening...the sun was setting as they were splashing and dancing in the pool (Evan was trying to teach Alex some of the camp songs).

Discovery......

For several years we've had a pair of doves try to nest in the eves of our back patio...but because of the frequent traffic through that area and the breeze that comes through, they've never been successful. Last week Dave discovered a nest on the ground near the corner of the house....he put it back in the gutter hoping she'd return. Not only has she returned but she has laid 2 eggs in the corner of the gutter. She allows us to climb the ladder to check on her and talk to her and has even allowed Dave to touch her tail feathers.....daddy dove is usually watching over us all from the roof of our neighbor.