cali trip: day 7

off to yosemite!

we hit the road in the morning in a borrowed truck pulling a borrowed tent trailer. the truck was huge and the situation had been described as “a gnat on the back of a whale”. pretty funny.

nolan came with us, and he was the only who had ever been to yosemite before.

the views in the valley did not disappoint. so gorgeous.

so we stopped and took a ton of pictures and planned what we wanted to do the next day.

the grass in this field was so tall the kids were playing hide and seek in it. when they sat down, you couldn’t see them.

on the way to find our camp ground, we saw several of these signs. I thought they were awesome. (and no, we didn’t see any actual bears.)

after we got there and got the tent trailer set up, shane and I unloaded some stuff and put layla and micah in charge of gathering sticks for kindling. we hadn’t brought any wood, and the campsite was out, so dave and nolan took the hatchet and went in search of downed branches in the woods. there were plenty, and they got a good haul of firewood.

dinner prep.

the view from our campsite.

after dinner, we played some cards while we waited for it to get dark. then it was time to make s’mores. (micah was VERY excited about this part. it got him over his disappointment that we couldn’t go back to gramma and papa’s and swim.)

I love camping. my favorite part is just sitting around, chatting, and staring at the fire.

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a swimsuit RAVE!

I’ve totally been neglecting this blog… you know, I’ve got a new baby, and big sister blog isn’t getting as much attention. sorry. at any rate, something monumental happened today that I MUST report. I bought a swimsuit. it was a pleasant experience. I’m really excited about it. you might remember that about a month ago, I wrote a post ranting about the prospect of shopping for swimsuits. well, today, in target, I had this sudden epiphany. instead of looking at all the flimsy, skimpy, unflattering swimwear, I decided to go look in the workout clothes. I mean, really, they’re basically the same thing. they’re both made of fabric that is meant to dry quickly and not bunch up or get heavy when wet. the only difference is that workout clothes are meant to cover and contain parts of you, while swimwear is apparently supposed to flaunt and expose it. so, I found a cute top and a cute skirt, both of which FIT, and I’m not embarrassed to wear, and didn’t come from a specialty shop, co...

today…

my alarm went off today at 6:10. A full 40 minutes later than usual. Sick days (when you’re not dying and you actually have a pre-arranged sub) are awesome. I went downstairs, poured some coffee with eggnog, made a sandwich for shane, let the dog in, turned on the christmas tree lights, and sat down to catch up on all the excitement that is my FB newsfeed. The highlight is always the “on this day” reel. It’s fun to relive who I used to be. I also read about 2 different friends who have stomach flu going through their houses and made me want to put a plastic haz-mat bubble around the house and not let anyone out. took meds to rid myself of stupid pink eye and sinus infection which are the reason behind my second sick day in a row. after shane left for the bus, I woke up my other kids. micah is still sleeping in his tent. he says he doesn’t want to take it down until the first day of winter. you know, because camping in the winter is not the best idea. layla was not so enthusiastic to ...

camping 2017 (photo heavy)

yesterday, we returned from a camping trip. it was fun and relaxing and wonderful and all that. this was our second time at this particular camp ground, since we liked it so much the first time we were there, 2 years ago. this time, we reserved a site that backed up against the creek, which was awesome. the only negatives were the burn ban that prevented us from having a fire (again), the fact that our entire family forgot to bring pillows, and the mosquitos – but i’ll get to that bit later. monday: we arrived mid-afternoon and got things set up, explored a bit, and then decided to take a walk down the road to lake wenatchee state park. we wound up finding this little trail that went down to the lake. there were some really nice views. yes, I took my enamel camp cup of moscato with me. when dave said, “let’s go for a walk”, i thought he meant just around the campground… when passing this sign, shane declared, “hey, there’s wifi!” we all got a good laugh. after our little wa...

people are stupid.

today, upon checkout at the grocery store, i learned the following: angelina walked in on jen and brad! prince william accused camilla of being a drunk! kate has turned from mom to monster! george w. bush is on suicide watch! certain mystery celebrities have had plastic surgery flubs! who is bikini-ready and who is not? paul newman’s mistress admits he loved his wife more! why do i need to know this? why is it that tabloids, gossip magazines and “entertainment” tv shows make millions by feeding this crap to the general public? why is it legal for photographers and reporters to follow people around, stalk them, crash their parties, etc.? why are these vultures, who make their livings off of dragging people through the mud and making up BS about them, protected by law? yes, i’m all for freedom of the press. i believe that the government should not control the information that it believe the general public should receive. however, what about privacy...

week 6 in pictures

lots of stuff this week that required more than one shot for the situation… so we have lots of collages. sunday: nothing, but micah drew me a picture (lots of them, actually) to use in the slot. monday: back for casting appointment #2. this time, it involved getting them cut off with the cast saw – interesting, but not nearly as traumatic as it sounds… then she got a foot bath (hallelujah!), and picked blue and green for her next set. tuesday: just a little glimpse of what it’s like to eat dinner with micah. he is required to take 1 (just ONE) bite of whatever it is we’re having for dinner. this time it was some chicken soup. of course he didn’t want anything to do with it… oh the drama! yes, he eventually swallowed it. yes, he survived. wednesday: micah and I went to a local ‘indoor playground’ at a community center. he had fun running around and playing with all the toys. he decided to try and cram himself into this little boat… notice the knees, which are turned sideways because...

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