Yosemite

In January I planned a surprise vacation for the family. I asked Josh if he could take a couple of days off in April and told him nothing else. Josh had never been to Yosemite and, to me, it seemed like a crime to live so close and not see it's beauty. So, the time finally came and once we were on the road Josh could start making guesses and asking questions. He finally guessed it and we were on our way.

 Let's start with the pool. We stayed at a lodge outside the park. It was perfect for us. The best part was that it had an indoor pool and spa. We were there for a few hours every day. It's to the point where Haley can be in the pool by herself. She had a blast jumping in the deep end and swimming to the side. We lived in the water. I did have a proud Mom moment when Haley pulled a move that I mastered as a kid. Every time we tried to give her a "count down minute warning" she would go under water so she could claim she couldn't hear us. When it was finally time to get out of the pool she would find a way to "fall" back in the water. It was pretty funny. She is me in so many ways.

 Yosemite was GORGEOUS! We drove in along the Merced River on the way into the park. Josh said it all reminded him of the beauty of Tahoe...and then we got into the park. He was amazed. We pulled over to play in the snow. We pulled over to see the roaring river.

 We pulled over to see our first few waterfalls. Stunning!

 We then parked and used the shuttle system to explore the valley. We enjoyed brunch at the Ahwanee hotel and then hiked Lower Yosemite Falls. I did all of the research on family friendly hikes and this one took us to the base of the falls. These falls are the 5th tallest in the world so we were all impressed.

 On our hike to the base of the falls the kids (and Josh) loved exploring caves and climbing the rocks. As you can see the weather was perfect.

 I loved spending 4 days with my family in one of the most beautiful spots I know. All of the time was ours. We didn't have to be anywhere at anytime. It was a wonderful vacation.

Kiddo Update

From youngest to oldest...

Ryan has calmed down so much. We really got to experience the Terrible 2s with the little guy. We laughed that we compared him to Jekyll and Hyde. You didn't know who you were going to get and how long it would last. If the answer was no or anything close, the meltdown occurred. It was not easy, but we stayed as consistent as we could and didn't back down with what was and wasn't acceptable. The meltdowns are very few and far between. He accepts no with an "ok Mama" (most of the time). Other times he'll simply grunt and cross his arms as if he will not be budging anytime soon. This is a graduation from the previous wailing that came with anything that he was displeased with. Some people have said that 3 is worse than 2, but hopefully that's because they didn't experience the Terrible 2s.

Ryan still cracks us up on a daily basis. He loves to wrestle and cuddle. He loves the job of waking up Haley in the morning. His favorite book is his vehicles book. There is some construction going on near our house and Ryan will see the tractor and say, "yook! A yoader just yike my book!" Referring to the front loader in the dirt. He loves to stash stuff in his bed like toys and books. Perhaps so he has it for later?

He is growing and learning and makes us all smile.
Haley is gearing up for the end of kindergarten! She has had a wonderful year. She loves to read (has just started reading chapter books on her own) and ride around on her roller skates. She has 3 wiggly teeth at the moment. She has already lost 2 and these latest teeth are really getting ready to come out.

She is such a big girl. I love watching her process things in her head. When we talk about something I can tell she is churning it around until she asks a question or clarifies something.

She was the first person in the household to pull an April Fool's joke- "There was a real snake in my bed last night!"

She has just started having some real alone time. All of us will be downstairs and she will excuse herself to play upstairs for a bit. I think it's so cute.

She has been enrolled in the community center dance class and has her recital in May. I love the class as it is fun and age appropriate.

Haley is still her sensitive, playful, outgoing self.

Our little ones are growing up. It is such an adventure.