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.