Yosemite 2011

After unwrapping all of our presents on Christmas morning, we started packing amidst all of the chaos for a quick three-day trip to Yosemite. We stayed in the tent cabins in Curry Village again, knowing that we would at least be warm thanks to the heater that we can crank as high as we want as long as we want. Although it was cold there, alas, all of my snow-play preparations were in vain, as it apparently has been a very dry winter in the Sierras so far. Oops. So, not much snow for us to play in this year, but at least the kids were warm! We're definitely not used to walking to breakfast in 29 degree mornings! All in all, we had a nice, easy trip, with a few walks in the woods here and there, lots of Lego building in the cabin, a drive out to Glacier Point for a great view of the Valley (access to this area is usually closed by November, but not this year...), a short bike ride in the Valley along the river and through the meadow, and lots of picnics in the back of the truck. We keep saying that we'll have to try camping on our next trip to Yosemite, as it will be much easier be able to cook our own food, and camping is just fun all-around. We'll definitely have to bring our bikes again next time.

I of course am incapable of choosing just a "few" representative photos from our trip, so you'll have to accept my thirty pics instead...

Some Family Pics

So, I'll bring our Spring 2011 travelogue to a close here...so many pictures to choose from, so many good memories. We're not sure where our next vacation will take us, but I'm sure we'll start itching to hit the road again soon. We just might make it back to Yosemite this winter for some snow play and hot chocolate in the Ahwahnee dining room! Anyone want to join us?

Life in Camp Curry

Two Handsome Boys

We had a picnic lunch with a view of Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls in the background. In fact, seems like most of our photos from this trip have one waterfall or another in the background! I tried getting a shot of both boys together at this spot and also in another place with a view of Half Dome in the background, but that's a tricky business!

Binoculars

After much debate, Parker finally chose the perfect souvenir from the Mountaineering store in Curry Village: a pair of honest-to-goodness binoculars. We all were able to enjoy using them (well, except for Levi), and he felt pretty proud of himself carrying his real binoculars around with him on our adventures. I'm not sure if he really ever saw what he thought he was looking at when he looked through them, though...??

Baby in a Backpack

We got this baby carrier / backpack when Parker was ten months old and we went to Oaxaca, Mexico for Christmas (it's called the KangaKid, by Deuter). It's much more comfortable to use than the frontpack now that Levi is such a fatso, and since it's also an actual backpack, you can use it to bring a few things along with you and your baby on your adventure. Levi and the backpack got a lot of attention during our trip--I think it's kind of a funny sight because it really looks like you just stuck your baby in a backpack and zipped him up! Levi is also super adorable, and his cute little head sticking out of the top of a backpack will make anyone smile--he's sure to turn a lot of heads either way.