Our Postcard Vacation

Wow - we're just getting home from a great vacation.  It really was like a postcard at every turn.  Yes, it was super crowded.  Yes, a few of us had the grumps here and there.  Yes, it was a really long drive each way.  But really, it was so pretty and great to be away seeing new things.

We headed out to June Lake, CA via I-80 with our first stop at the Bonneville Salt Flats.  Who knew all that salt was out there? 

We spent our first night in Reno and after a quick dinner spent some quality time in the hotel's swimming pool. 

We spent the next day mosey-ing our way down to June Lake, CA.  This was the view from the mountain just above our condo - and the view from our front corner bedroom.  Just beautiful!  Perfect for a full week of adventures!

We decided to spend the next day just roaming around seeing where we were and what was around us.  One of our first stops was at the Minaret Vista in Mammoth Lakes.  

 And that is Mammoth mountain just behind us.

We took a short hike and then found a good spot in town for a late lunch/early dinner. 

The next day we headed out early for a long drive up and over Tioga pass down in to Yosemite valley and then back up and out the south end of the park.  Here we are at a stop at Olmstead Point - our first view of Half Dome and Yosemite valley far out in the distance. 

A quick family picture at the Tunnel View stop looking back toward the valley.

And here we are at our final destination for the morning - the Sugar Pine Historic Railroad.  I got a little car sick on the last leg of the trip - curvy mountain roads.  But man alive was my upset stomach forgotten the second I heard the steamie whistle and saw it pulling in to the station.  What a great surprise!

Here we are on the train.  It's a narrow gauge railway that has a great logging history back in the early 1900's.  We rode on the #10 Shay engine.  What a great time!  

After a great little picnic lunch at the railroad station, we headed back in to the south entrance of Yosemite and stopped at the Mariposa Grove.  There were lots of people, but we made it on a shuttle bus and headed in to the Grove for a hike to see some of the Giant Sequoias.  Here we are with the Bachelor and the Three Graces.

 It was a long drive back to June Lake that night, but well worth the long day!!!  The next morning we got up and headed back in to Mammoth Lakes for a visit to the Devil's Postpile National Monument.  Again, lots and lots of people.  We hiked in to the postpile - amazing!!!  We liked learning about the geology and how it was all formed. 

We packed in our lunch and found a great spot to eat among the rocks.  After a harrowing shuttle bus ride back to our car, we decided to relax with a little miniature golf.  Mommy won - that was a first and it needs to be documented, so there you go mom!

 The next day we decided to go back in to the Yosemite Valley.  It was a really great day!  Just beautiful every where we turned. 

 Here we are on a hike at the Happy Isles Nature Center. 

Here are a couple of pics of us boys with the beautiful mountains in the background and the Merced river right below us.  

And a close-up of me.  It was the perfect hike!

One of the things that made it perfect was some great rock throwing.  Now that's how you take a hike!

Sam and I had been working hard on our Junior Cub Ranger program and we had a great visit with a park ranger at the Yosemite Valley Visitor's Center.  We both finished our tasks and took our oaths.  You can see my badge and button.  This is at another stop at Olmstead Point on our way back to the condo that night.  That's Half Dome back there on the right - just like a postcard.  

We spent the next day just relaxing and resting around the condo.  But the day after that we headed back up to Mammoth Lakes in the morning.

That afternoon we met up with mom's friend Randi at her family's guest ranch in Bridgeport.  Sam and I got to go horseback riding . . . and it wasn't just around the corral.  Randi and Ashley led our horses out on the trail around the ranch.  It was super great!

Here is a family photo out on the ranch.

My horse was named Butterscotch and Sam's horse was Handy.  His horse only had one eye and was very sweet.  Butterscotch was a little feisty and kept neighing to anyone and everyone.  It was really a great ride.  Here we are feeding some carrots to our horses after our ride.  

We LOVED Randi - we were instant friends.  She took great care of us!

Then we wandered around the ranch and met their brown swiss cow - Latte.  She was soooooo big and sooooo gentle and nice!  Randi's daughter had raised her from a calf.  Daddy petted up an instant friendship with Latte.  In fact, we think Latte would have followed dad all the way home if we let her. 

After our visit to the ranch, Randi took us up to Twin Lakes - another beautiful place.  We met up with her and her friend at dinner and then headed home to pack.   

We decided to just drive straight through to home - a lot of driving but it was nice to get home.  Today we were all saying that we wished our vacation was still going and that we had more time.  It always goes by so fast!

Sam Alert:  Hey everybody - Sam here.  I loved vacation - although, it's kind of funny.  When I'm away from home I just want to get back home.  Then when I get home, all I can talk about is wanting to go back on vacation.  I'm a little odd that way.  But all in all, I had a great trip.  Enjoy a couple of cute Sam pictures from our vacation.

Here I am at Olmstead Point.  I spent half of our pictures with my back facing the camera (that sun sure can be bright in a kid's eyes!) or striking a crazy pose - just like this one.

And here I am with my new friend Ashley on my horse.  Oh how I loved my horse ride!!!

Have a great week everyone!



Hellos and Goodbyes

It was a good week of both Hellos and Goodbyes. 

We said hello to a cute little kitty that has adopted our neighborhood.  She lives in our bushes and regularly makes her rounds to visit all of the neighbors.  She watches TV with our next door neighbors each night and sits on the patio with our neighbors across the street every afternoon.  She is an excellent bird catcher! And we've decided to feed and water her.  She is a sweet little kitty - we've named her Shadow.  (I've named her "Mukey" but everyone else in the neighborhood voted for Shadow - can't win them all I guess.) 

And we said goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa G.  They headed home to California the other day.  Thanks for coming to visit.

In other news of the week - we went bowling a couple of times.  Dad bowled a 200 game (without bumpers even, although there are no pictures to prove it). We even took cousin Cara and her daughters bowling one afternoon.  We are sure loving our bowling passes this summer!

Dad put up my bed tent and Sam and I are having an indoor camp out tonight.  

 And just for fun - a silly picture of me from this week.  Is there something in my teeth?

Sam Alert:  Hey everyone - Just one cute picture of me this week.  We had a yummy seafood dinner with Grandpa and Grandma the other night.  MMM, MMM good!

Sam out - have a great one!

More Summer Fun

We're coming off yet another fun summer week.  They just keep getting better - maybe that's why it feels like the summer is already going by too quickly.

First up this week - some more bowling.  I killed the group on Tuesday and Sam came in a very respectable second place.  Later in the week, dad and us boys went bowling again and Sam won.  I am working hard to be a good sport ("not a grumpy loser").  We are loving bowling!

Then along came Independence Day.  We had lots of fun at our day-long block party.  After a yummy breakfast, we enjoyed some water games, golf cart rides, and the zip line.

Then came dinner and some fireworks in the circle.  

 On Friday, we spent the morning at the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point with Aunt Nia. 

We had lots of fun showing her the museum and looking for hidden gnomes.  

 She wasn't even scared of the Megaladon (giant shark) or this T Rex.  It was a super great day.

We have had some other visitors in town this week - Grandpa and Grandma G and Aunt Jen Jen.  They came up for a family reunion on Saturday.  We got to see/meet lots of aunts and uncles and cousins that we hadn't seen in forever or had never met before.  The park had a great playground and Aunt Jen Jen kept us entertained with technology!  

Here we are with our Aunt Jen Jen.  We cried this morning when we got up and she wasn't here.  She told us she had an early flight to catch but we didn't want to believe her.  We miss you already Aunt JJ.

Grandpa and Grandma G were here for a few days and will be back on their way back home later this week.  More fun to come I'm sure!

 Sam Alert:  Hi - it's me, Sam.  As usual, enjoy a few cute pics of me from the week.

A picture proving that we were all actually at the bowling alley rolling those strikes and spares. 

Here I am on the 4th of July.  Me and the frog!  We're just hanging . . . waiting for the fireworks to really get going.  

And last but not least - me jumping on the living room couch.  I am certainly not picky about where I jump, climb, fly, or fall.  Fortunately no falling was done on this particular jumping adventure. But I sure do love to jump! 

 Sam out!  Have a great week.

Fun Summer Days

We are having so much fun at home with daddy this summer.  He has  a list of fun summer activities a mile long.  This week included:

A trip to our favorite dinosaur museum.  They have the coolest dinos there including this super giant one. 

Here we are with one of our favorites - Mr. Triceratops

And Mr. Sabertooth Tiger - we've just been reading a book about sabertooth tigers.  

 We have a bowling pass this summer - we go bowling at least once a week, sometimes more.  Sam won this particular time.

We got to spend some time today with lots and lots of our cousins.  Here we are crossing the crooked bridge across Lambs Creek.

Another fun thing we did this week is have family pictures taken.  It's been quite a few years since we had professional pictures taken.  It was fun and the pictures turned out amazing!  Here are just  few sneak peeks - some of the best ones are hanging all around our house.

Sam Alert:  Hey y'all.  I had such a fun time with my cousins today.  Is it weird that our cousins have kids older than us?  Well anyway - here are a few cute pics of me from today. 

This bird had me stumped - it would never fly away.  It just kept standing there, staring at us.  Wood?  Plastic?  Dead?  Hum . . .

 And there was this fun watering can that we all enjoyed playing with.  Who knew that watering a pond could be so much fun - oh that and dipping our feet (socks and shoes included) in the pond.  Now that's what we call fun!

Sam out - have a great week!