a full day of yosemite

this weekend we enjoyed the beauty of yosemite national park. it was a first for all of us. we spent 2 days marveling at the beauties that were created for us to enjoy. it is an amazing place to behold!

on monday, we did a hike up to see vernal falls. the water is very low this time of year so the waterfall was small, but still beautiful! the girls were troopers and hiked the whole way up the trail.

our little hikers taking a water break in the shade:


we made it to the bridge!!

once we reached the bridge, we took our shoes and socks off and walking through the frigid waters. it was a warm day, about 97 degrees, so it felt so good to get our feet out of our shoes and into the water. for about the first 30 seconds it was so refreshing, but beyond that our little toesies began to feel like little frozen sausages from the snow melt water coming off the falls.

family photo:

we played there for a good hour and mitch took the girls climbing on the rocks and through the water. they loved it! i stayed put with the baby, who also enjoyed playing in the water.

mitch and the girls exploring:

then we hiked back down to yosemite valley to make the drive up to glacier point to enjoy the sunset overlooking the valley and half dome. wow! breathtaking!

about a mile before glacier point we stopped at this viewing spot where we could see both nevada and vernal falls and half dome.

the mason girls with half dome behind us:

we really had to stop to let lala get out and get some fresh air. it was very bizarre because our first day at yosemite lala got carsick twice and threw up. this was after she threw up coming down from sequoia national park the day before. if you remember from my previous post, lala was the one thought to have had the iron stomach! apparently not! the poor girl! it was funny because you wouldn't even know it was coming. she would be jabbering away one second, throw up the next second, then start jabbering away again. she is quite resilient, our lala! she made us laugh when after throwing up she told us, "that was my food. i know it was food because it felt different than last time when it was just my flavored water (that's what she calls crystal light)!" i'm sorry, was that too much information?

enjoying the view at glacier point overlooking the valley below with half dome in the background:

there was a fire burning on the other side of the valley above the falls so we tried to get a closer look through the telescope.

it turns out that the fire has been burning since july and as long as it is not endangering anyone, they will just let it burn because it is actually health for the forest.

we stayed there until after it was dark.

by the light of the moon in yosemite:

once at the car, nani and i went to use the restroom before making the drive back down to the valley. while we were in there, mitch got the other two girls into the truck. just before we were coming out of the bathroom, mitch honked the horn twice. i was thinking, "okay, we're coming. geez!!" when we got out, mitch told us that they had just seen a bear walking across the parking lot not two car lengths from them and it was heading toward the bathroom. so, that is why he honked the horn to scare the bear into the woods. he could just see it in his mind, we walk out of the bathroom and find ourselves face to face with a bear! i couldn't believe he didn't get a picture!! he said he was too concerned about us coming out before it left! i guess i should be happy about that! man, why did we have to go to the bathroom and miss it?! that was actually the second bear we came across in yosemite! i had heard the ranger telling someone that the bear is really hungry right now. i guess because it is so dry there isn't much food and she needs to put on 100 more pounds before she can hibernate. so, the ranger said we may see her around looking for food. boy, i'm sure glad mitch honked his horn!!

by the time we reached the campground all three girls were conked out, but not before we heard, "raise your hand if you had a fun day!" and every hand went way up!