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.

Comments

a few things that have tickled my funny bone this evening.

3 year old logic is great! layla was in the backyard today and she came up to the door with her lightning mcqueen bike helmet in her hands and said to me, "when i break my lightning mcqueen helmet, you better get me a princess one." (yes, mary. i am aware that my worst nightmare is unfolding before me.) dave brought home dairy queen treats when he went to pick up our pizza this evening. layla was very excited about this and wanted hers as soon as she was done with her pizza. we informed her that she had to eat her green beans first before she could have it. she's not so fond of them lately and made a little stink about not wanting to eat them. but we stuck to it and said she had to eat them first. so she turned to me and said, "mommy, you eat my beans so i can have my ice cream." then there was this conversation: layla: daddy, i want some blue jelly beans. dave: you don't need any jelly beans. layla: but i want some blue jelly beans! dave: no, layla. layla: ...

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...

did these people go to school? ever?

sometimes i am just totally flabbergasted by how horribly some people write. i'm not sure if it's just that spelling and grammatical issues come easily for me, or if other people are just really BAD! i find it to be the worst in product reviews online. this morning i was reading some reviews of a chest freezer i'm thinking of getting. one went on and on about the poor quality of the 'unite'. repeatedly using the word 'unite'. seriously, people!!! here's another thing i've noticed. it's always the negative reviews too. what's with that? are people just so pissed off about the bad product they just got screwed on that they feel the need to rant (without pausing for breath or editing) in a negative product review? or is it just that people with bad writing skills are more likely to be compelled to leave a negative review? or are people with bad writing skills more likely to get screwed with the bad product? i don't get it. but ...

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...

big fat nothing

see all the big welts? yeah, me neither. our spectacular appointment with the allergist revealed that layla is allergic to nothing. so we're back to square one and we know nothing other than that something is causing her bladder issues and we don't know what. maybe her doctor can put a little pressure on the urologist to see us. who knows. and food doesn't seem to be causing her skin issues, nor the rash she gets on her face after eating sometimes. okay, that's not exactly accurate. food is causing it, but not an allergy. she has sensitive skin and when food gets smeared on her face, it irritates her skin. so, as disappointed as i am that we've gotten nowhere here, i am looking on the bright side that she isn't allergic to something major like wheat or dairy that would create a significant lifestyle change in regards to our diet. so in that respect, it's good news. i just really want some answers.

rachel's continued ramblings

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