YOSEMITE!!

I am trying to play catch up again! At the end of June (Yeah I know its the end of July yadi yadi!) We went with the Taylor Family to Yosemite National Park! We drove lots, enjoyed lots and ate lots! Lots and Lots! It was a great time! 

 Driving the 10+ hours out to Yosemite (We left from Twin Falls) required some pit stops along the way. We stopped for lunch and dinner which were perfect times for filling up vehicles, filling our bellies and letting the kids play and roll around. We tried to have our stops at parks where the kids could play.

Obviously not only the kids needed to play...Here is Chase and his brothers. 

 On the way out we also stopped shortly to see Mono Lake. It has some interesting formations growing in the lake. It was a neat site to see.

 Here you can see some of the formations better.

 Once we drove into the park the sites were amazing! We had to stop to get a look at one of the views.

 So pretty.

 The first night after traveling all day we finally made it to the vacation rental that we had booked and all settled down to sleep. The rental was great because it was inside the park which made access to the park easier.

 The next day we got a pretty good start on the day and started enjoying the sites.

 The brothers and Alvin.

 Tasha and Lauren ready to go!

 Cute boy- my nephew.

 The boys.

 Skipping rocks.

 Eating rocks. Alvin is so fascinated with eating rocks at any chance he gets.

 Alvin wasn't so happy about all the pictures we were taking.

 Beautiful falls were scattered throughout the park. This one was especially popular with all the tourists. We really enjoyed hiking up to the base of it on the huge rocks.

 Climbing the rocks to the base of the falls. We spent a lot of time at this falls- Yosemite Falls- it was a fun picnic spot and fun for the grownups to hike around.

 Alvin and Molly with Grandma.

 The Half Dome- behind us was quite the site as well.

 A group shot of the Taylor Boys and Mom and Dad.

 Alvin sporting Chase's hat. Chase was quite worried about Alvin sunburning on this trip so he took extra precautions. He is a good dad.

 Another Family shot.

 Chase's brother's family shot.

 Me and my boy!

 Alvin!

 All the boys!

 Julie and Nyle =) Can you tell we liked this spot?!

 Grandparents and the grandchildren. It was hard to get a shot with everyone looking...You know how it is with kids! We were sad that Chase's sister and her family weren't able to make it. They were the only ones missing. They had just moved back to Idaho so it was completely understandable but we still missed them.

 Molly and Grandpa.

 More family shots!

 This was called the Bridal Veil Falls. It was quite different than the Yosemite Falls. Quite wispy looking.

 Mirror lake....Or more like a pond. We hiked into this lake but when we got there we were surprised that it looked more like a pond than a lake. It was still a beautiful little spot and we enjoyed eating lunch there.

 Another day we did quite a bit of walking/hiking to see the huge sequoia trees here in the park.

 The trees really are quite magnificently huge!

 Walking along...

 Chase with Ethan!

 A tree pose.

 California Tunnel Tree! You can walk through it! Afterwards the kids were pretty pooped out and slept a bit afterward. We did make some time for swimming before heading home though...

 Alvin loves the water!

 Lots of driving even in the park. Surprisingly Alvin did really well with all the driving. He is quite the trooper. One perk was having mom and dad sit in the back with him! He loved that part. Constant attention!

 Hanging in the bathroom.

 Riding in the shuttle bus. He loved to look out the window as we were driving.
Yosemite is quite a big park covering extensive area and is quite scenic throughout- at least the parts we saw! When we were exploring the sites we were relaxing at the house, eating, visiting and playing games. The sleeping accommodations were great and we sure enjoyed our time together.

 The time eventually arrived where we needed to head home. It was a very long day of traveling. This is one of the sites we came across on our way home. We didn't wait for the truck to get moved though, we just passed on the off road, of course after seeing if we could do anything to help but our vehicle wasn't quite equipped!

Alvin playing in the car on the way home! Such a happy boy!

Thanks Taylor's for some fun times and a great trip!