cali trip: day 8

after a TERRIBLE night’s sleep, we got up, made eggs and bacon for breakfast, cleaned up and tore down. we were off, back into the park for some real sight seeing.

first glimpse of half dome.

after finding a place to park, we were ready for our first hike to find bridal veil falls.

dave, shane, and nolan scrambled way up the rocks.

layla, micah, and I only scrambled up the bottom ones… see those two people behind layla? this was right before they both fell into the water, waist-deep. the rocks were very smooth, which is why I did not let the younger two keep going, much to their disappointment.

back in the valley.

we had some lunch, perused the gift shop, and then headed out to find yosemite falls.

they had several of these fences, presumably around trees they wanted to protect. this one had a chipmumk hanging on the side, completely immobile. I seriously thought it was dead. it just sat there. after several minutes, it finally turned its head. so weird.

view of the very top of yosemite falls.

view of half dome through the trees en route to the bottom of yosemite falls.

when we got in there, it was awesome. there were rocks and pools at the bottom of the falls. tons of kids wading and swimming. we all kind of wished we had bathing suits, because it was very hot.

so pretty.

we did scramble down some rocks and put our feet in. the water was so cold!

after being super careful about making sure everyone’s shoes were accounted for, that no one fell in, and keeping tabs on layla who was determined to take her wading to the very edge of what can still be called “wading” and not “swimming”, I managed to drop one of micah’s socks into the water.

el capitan.

one last shot of half dome.

waiting for nolan to meet us with the truck. layla was “soooo hot. she was gonna die.” it was hot, but she’s just a tad dramatic.

the drive out of there was long and hot. we saw a lot of nothing, and then some farms and ranches. we came though turlock (home of colin kaepernick), and found a dairy queen for some well-deserved blizzards.

the dairy queen, in addition to being air conditioned, had this huge industrial fan.

between that and the ice cream, I was frozen.

I was happy to get back outside and warm up. everyone thought I was nuts.

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week 47 in pictures

sunday: the MOMS club collected halloween candy to send off to deployed troops. we had to separate chocolate from non-chocolate candy and layla and micah were happy to help, especially since they got to skim a little off the top. monday: missing something? I opened the microwave and the vent cover came along with the door. tuesday:just a little wrestling before bed. wednesday: the atm gave me these totally weird $100 bills! thursday: book dominos. friday: ginger found a sun puddle in micah’s room. saturday: at ella’s birthday party. a couple of extras:

instafriday

it’s friday again!!! and that means: layla, still sick, but enjoying some brady bunch episodes in the recliner, with a cat, and a… tent? no idea. this warms my heart! checking out our family history via project life… circa 2007. LOVE! what I spent my sunday evening tackling: done! thank goodness. micah’s “hooked”! hahaha! a quick visit to the library. dinner: meatloaf, green beans, and very pretty roasted potatoes. I got this awesome little bundle at the store that had yukon golds, red, and purple potatoes. purple potatoes are SO fun! I tossed them with some olive oil, salt and pepper, thyme, oregano, a little rosemary, and a bunch of garlic! so yummy. the meatloaf was good, too! operation: pick out cheesy, cheapo valentines. yes, I live in yuppy-ville. if you call 1-888-dog-waste, you can PAY someone to scoop your dog poop for you.I wonder if shane knows about this… empty peanut butter jar = very happy dog. yes, that’s my 5 year old, excitedly tromping in to preschool with...

2017–week 14

sunday: i had some professional development classes to take for work, so i was chained to the computer for a good chunk of the day. this was my companion as i worked. monday: very odd day. there was a threat of violence at the high school, so pretty much most of the student body stayed home. shane was among those lobbying for a day at home, so to ensure it wasn’t just a day of fun and leisure, i made him a lengthy to-do list to keep him occupied. i think it worked out very well. ;) also monday: when i got home from work, i took bonez on the longest walk ever, because it was such a nice day. this is some of the awesome spring color we saw on our walk. wednesday: i was making white chicken chili for soup supper at church, and was tossing my cans into this bag for recycling. i seem to have attracted the local wildlife. saturday: school’s out for spring break, which means it’s time for my traditional school break to-do list. i make one for every break, and usually don’t get that much o...

meal plan monday

monday: chicken caesar salads; bread tuesday: bruschetta chicken ; salad wednesday: french dips; chips; carrot sticks thursday: hamburger helper; green beans friday: pizza and assorted other junk/health foods (for layla’s birthday party) saturday: this is layla’s birthday, and she mentioned wanting ribs, but since sunday is shane’s birthday, and I’m pretty sure he’s going to say ribs as well, we will have to figure out which one gets the ribs on their birthday… we may go out the other day, depending on what the birthday people decide. sunday: whatever we don’t do on saturday. it’s still in the 80’s and 90’s this week, so I’m trying to avoid stuff that requires the oven to be one for an hour in the evenings, and nobody wants to eat soup when it’s hot out (well, I would, but nobody else).

week 10 in pictures

monday: micah’s favorite food in the whole wide world… tuesday: his new favorite passtime… setting up soccer cones in ‘roads’ that he then ride through. thursday: earning their keep! actually, the just wanted to help me clean so I gave them rags and a bottle of windex. also thursday: at book club, ingrid telling her famous “making meatballs with the kids” story. friday: a sunny afternoon MOMS Club park playdate. micah got hungry and wanted to leave, so his friend was kind enough to offer him some of her lunch to keep him there a little while longer. also friday: layla at a pj party with the birthday girl. saturday: a dry, sunny saturday meant the first mow of the season followed by fertilizer application! just one skinny this week… micah was ‘on the ball’ at target. yes, that’s a plastic axe stuffed down the back of the shirt… pretty sure he’s a ninja. and some little squares I will collage to put in the book. book shots:

rachel's continued ramblings

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