Yosemite

4:30 am, is an early start for us. Noah and Zack were able to sleep for most of the five hour drive to Yosemite. Ben doesn't sleep as much but that could be because he is too busy eating unhealthy amounts beef jerky. 

We have never been to Yosemite and the navigation in the car was "unable to find destination." So we were relying on our phones for directions. We weren't too worried until we made a questionable turn onto a small and deserted state road and then lost cell coverage. We didn't see any stores or other cars for hours. We did stop at the deserted tent mining town of Palmetto for a pee break. 

And drove on the greatest stretch of road we've ever driven. It was like an amusement park ride. 

You know when you drive over a hill and it takes your stomach away. This road had hill after hill after hill. And since there were no other cars and the road was really smooth Matt could take them really fast. We'd go back to Yosemite just to drive on that road again. 

Eventually we came upon some civilization. It was a relief to see some farms and signs showing that we were heading the right direction toward Yosemite. We came in through the Tioga Pass entrance and traveled through Inyo National Forest. 

We all got a kick out of that name. Maybe it was being awake so early, but our favorite Q&A for the day: "Hey, where are we?" "In yo' National Forest" Ha ha, get it? It might require too much time in the car and a little sleep depravity to find it funny.

Our first stop before entering the park: the Whoa Nellie Deli. These should be everywhere. What a great name. 

 

 A picturesque breakfast spot:

  

 This is the start of Tioga Pass. 

 Zack gets a little nervous on the climbs. We ended up at over 10000 feet. 

 It goes without saying, but Yosemite is beautiful. We stopped for a little wade in a lake that I thought I would remember the name of and I just can't. It could be Tenaya. 

 I waited too long to blog this and now I don't know what is what. We followed a map and saw things and took pictures. It's anyone's guess what exactly the pictures are of. Shoot! 

 

 I am reasonably certain this is was taken on our little hike to view Bridalveil Falls. 

 This photo is a little awkward but you can see it better. 

Prior to the trip, I was feeling nostalgic for the way we traveled when I was little so I decided that we'd pack a lunch and picnic while in Yosemite. All the tables were taken, but we still managed to find a decent spot to eat. 

 Some pictures while we were driving through Yosemite Valley:

 If you like waterfalls, this is a great place to be. The kids loved spotting all the different waterfalls. Some were especially spectacular. 

 The drive up to Glacier Point is not for the faint of heart or the impatient.  That is one windy and narrow road! It was scary to go up and scarier to drive down. But it was worth it. The view of Yosemite is outstanding. 

 Zack and I were behind the others and I had a moment of panic when I saw Noah. But then I remembered who it was and that Noah is as afraid of heights and ledges as I am, so I knew he wasn't in danger.

Notice all of the waterfalls. 

Ben got this shot of Matt & I having a serious conversation about our pose for this photo. Obviously I was sitting in the wrong spot. Hmm?

 Standing poses are less controversial.  

Zack's favorite animal is the fox. He knows all sort of facts about foxes and was hoping we might see one on our trip. As we were leaving the park, a car ahead of use was stopped in the middle of the road. The reason? 

Zack was so excited, especially since he made eye contact with it. 

*It could also be a coyote.

I highly recommend taking a trip to Yosemite. It is an amazing place. 

Summer Vacation Kick Off

We had some things (weeds/sprinklers) to check out at our WWW house so we decided to make a little vacation out of it.  We stayed a night with Chad & Angie. Zack likes to pack a backpack full of what I thought were driving necessities--iPod, DS, etc. No, no, he packs much more. I didn't realize what he brings until he set up his sleeping area in Chad & Angie's basement. See the Orbeez lava lamp on the couch arm? It came all the way from Vegas. Also note how neatly he has put his shoes away. 

 Although I strongly disagree, Noah thinks Emmett and Ethel's is the best. 

  We still miss all of our friends in Harvest Hills. Our timing was good too, because Zack was able to go to Lance's 8th birthday party. 

 Last time around Noah didn't see Hank at all. This time they were able to commiserate about broken arms. 

Ben & Zack got to have a sleep over at the Benhams. Which also involved a candy run, with Trent, in the Jeep, for Brant and Ben. Super cool. 

Matt's dining requirement: the Pie. 

Once we completed all our landlord tasks, we went to Salt Lake. First a stop in Sandy where we found this Mark Twain statue. Too bad Ben didn't have his bow tie. 

 Then we checked out the new City Creek shopping center. We are fans. There should be a waterfall in this picture.  You can kind of see it. 

 Ben had a Minnie Pearl moment...my reference was totally lost on my family. I had to explain to everyone (Matt included) who Minnie Pearl was. Am I the only one who watched Hee Haw every Sunday night? 

 Although I didn't get my food choice this trip (Chick-fil-A) I did get to go to the best grocery store in the world. And look what they had- cool Mtn Dew cans and chocolate covered cinnamon bears IN A CUP! Genius. 

 On the drive home we decided to use our parks pass to check out Kolob Canyon. If you want a little Zion's National Park but don't want to drive too far from I-15, Kolob Canyon is your destination. 

PaPa & NaNa Come to Play

We don't get to see Papa and Nana as much as we used to, so we are always excited for their visits. The kids were quick to get Papa in the pool. 

 This visit coincided with Nana's birthday. 

 

 We celebrated our favorite Aussie with pavlova courtesy of her friend (a former host of a St. George tv cooking show=fancy) Diane Sheets. Yum!

Accolades and End of School

Even though school didn't end until June 7th I wasn't ready for summer vacation. I have tried it both ways and it turns out I like peace and quiet rather than almost constant fighting and noise. But before school was over we had a few fun things. I didn't take pictures but I attended a Mother Tea with Ben. They sang us a few songs and we had brownies for breakfast. I also got a rose. Ben had a good 4th grade experience and earned a "Role Model Student" award. It's nice to see that his teacher recognized what a good kid he is. 

It's difficult to get a good long distance photo from a camera. 

Zack's class performed a few plays. I wish I had better pictures because they were super cute. They drew backgrounds which they hung up on the marker board. Zack was in two plays- this one was Spiderella. He played the fairygod moth, which he pointed out can be a boy. 

They don't start handing out official awards until 3rd grade, so Zack's teacher gave out candy bar awards. Zack was given this award for having a grand attitude.

We enjoyed hearing Noah play with the intermediate guitar class. They were actually pretty good. What we didn't know was this would be his last performance. He was planning on taking advanced guitar in 8th grade, but they eliminated the program. Lame.