Yosemite 2011

We went to Yosemite the first week of June and met up with friends. It was pretty cold, with some rain.  We hiked to the top of Upper Yosemite Falls, the first time for most of us!  The good news is, it wasn't hot at all which made for easier hiking. The bad news is, it snowed on the way up! But we made it, and I was sore for a week. I mean really sore! Not in shape at all.  On the rainy day, we all stayed in our unit playing games. It was a blast! My 14yo son took some of these.

Top of Upper Yosemite Falls,a rather small creek just about to go over the cliff.  So scary.

I Made Jam!

I finally made my own jam!  My Mom and daughters helped.  I made freezer plum jam using the recipe from my friend Daisy (the recipe isn't listed, sorry).  The kids love it!  Then I made apricot jam.  The kind you cook and boil the jars and put the jars in boiling water and the lids pop.  Yum.  We still have lots of fruit, so I need to make more.

Very First Family Bike Ride

Finally!  We can ride bikes as a family!  Of course, when our kids were little, we had the trailers.  And the only place we would ever ride was in Yosemite.  But since the kids got too big for the trailers, they would ride their own bikes.  This year was the first year that our youngest, S, joined the others riding her bike around Yosemite Valley and our campgrounds.  But, our 11 year old, B, still cannot ride a bike.  So when the others went riding, I would stay with him.  At home, we just never went.  I did buy one of those trainers that fit behind a bike, but B ended up being too heavy for that.  While at Yosemite this year, my best friend suggested a tandem bike.  I'm sure the thought came up in the past, but not recently...I just never thought about it.  Maybe I figured it would be too expensive.  Anyway, I mentioned it to the Daddy and the next thing I know, he is emailing me that we are getting one for FREE!  At his company's Christmas party, one of the managers won a tandem bike.  During a conversation, the other manager mentioned he was working out.  E asked if he rode the tandem bike.  He said no, so E offered to buy it.  The manager said no, he could have it!  So the following Saturday, he brought it over!  It is awesome and B is finally riding a bike with the family! 
Today, we rode to a new frozen yogurt shop, had some yummy yogurt, and rode back.  It is just around the corner from our house, but it was a start.  I'm looking forward to many more rides.  The problem is getting to a nicer, safer area to ride, but at least now we can!
Here is a picture of B & E when we first got the bike:

Death Valley

We went to Death Valley in March.  We stayed in Furnace Creek Campsite.  On the second day, a dust storm picked up and didn't let up until the night before we left. We lost a roll of paper towels and a coffee pot broke.  I thought the wind would pick up our tents and carry us away!  We had a great time, though, seeing the interesting land formations.

 Sand dunes:

 Getting farther and farther away:

 See that little dot? TOO far away! Come back!

 Mosaic Canyon

 Natural Bridge:

 Dust Storm! Hurry to camp!

 Badwater Basin salt flat:

 The sign says "Sea Level" so we were BELOW sea level!

 No snow, salt!

 Really, salt!

 Painted by the Artist

 Windy:

 Storm on the way home!

 Driving home in a snow storm!

Sweet Peas

We went to a friend's house a few weeks ago and she had a lovely patch of Sweet Peas.  She let my daughter clip some and bring them home.  They smelled so good and looked so pretty on our table.  My great-grandma had a huge patch of Sweet Peas behind her garage while I was growing up.  I remember the sweet smell, I loved it!  But why didn't she ever clip any to put in her house?  Why didn't I clip any and take them home?   I will never know.  I do know that next fall I am going to plant my own Sweet Peas and clip them in the spring and put them in a vase on my table.  These pics were taken after a few days, so they weren't their freshest, but still so pretty and fragrant.

Swarm of Bees!

We had a swarm of bees come visit us last week!  This is the third year in a row that we have seen a swarm of bees in our yard.  The first time, it was during a birthday party in our backyard.  You should have seen those kids run!!  This time, they were out front, and this time, they gathered on our tree branch!  We watched from the safety of our front room, looking through the window.  In just a few minutes, most of  the bees were piled on top of one another.  We had a little science lesson and learned that the bees were moving to a new hive due to overcrowding of their previous hive.  I didn't know if they would make their new hive somewhere in our house or tree, but was hoping the stay was temporary.  It was.  They left in just a couple of hours, almost unnoticed.  Whew!  It was exciting, though.