Yosemite 2009

When we pulled into Yosemite Valley the rain started to come down and by the time we got to our campsite it was pouring. I started getting a really bad sore throat and stuffy nose the night before, I felt horrible when we got there, the thought of doing this in the rain almost sent me over the edge. Luckily, after about 20 minutes it cleared up and we got to work. Noelle was a big helper and Madeleine took a little nap, it worked out great! Day One: when we woke up and headed out of the campground Noelle thought she was in heaven! All the places to climb and trees were awesome. First thing we walked to Yosemite Falls, the took the bus to Mirror Lake. Noelle had the best time running around all the rocks in the water. It broke my heart when it was time to go. Next year we may have to take our swim suits like everyone else.

Day two: we hiked up to the bridge at Vernal Falls...it's short but steeeeeeep. I pushed Noelle in the stroller most of the way. Crazy work out! We went back down while Daddy hiked the rest of the way to Nevada Falls, it was too much for the little ones. The afternoon we spent in Yosemite Village walking around and checking out the stores. That night Madeleine enjoyed a nice warm bath.

Day three: we drove about an hour over to Hetch-Hetchy which is the sister valley to Yosemite which was turned into a damn in the 30's. We hiked 2.5 miles up to the waterfalls. It was awesome! The terrain was gorgeous, the weather perfect, and there were butterflies everywhere. Noelle struggled a bit on the way their and I had to carry her part of the way. After a little rest and lunch she was ready to roll and made it the whole way back herself. Beyond impressive. It was not an easy hike by any stretch. We saw a bear in a meadow on the drive up and he was still there hours later on our way back and in the next meadow there was another bear with her two tiny cubs. They were the cutest things.
Day Four: Aaron's birthday and he climbed Half Dome. He's been saying since last year that he wanted to do it on his birthday this year but he did not do any sort of training. I was the nay-sayer and kept telling him he was crazy. Our campsite neighbor convinced him he could do it and let him us his walking poles. He said those would save his knees and he was absolutely correct. He left the campsite at 6:00am and got back a little after 4:00pm, this included waiting an hour at the cables (some crazy lady screaming that she wasn't going anywhere) and an hour at the top. He made great time!
After the long day and several days of all the work cooking with little kids in bear country - I was done. So, we hit the Curry Village buffet, way to celebrate! The carrot cake worked in place of a birthday cake and Noelle loved all the chocolate milk she could drink. Our last morning waking up...I thought Aaron would be really sore from the day before but he felt pretty good. Packing up camp took a really long time, I was ready to get out of there. As I was taking our trash to the dumpster I saw this little bear cruising around, it was actually kind of emotional, he was amazing. Then he started ripping apart this old stump and eating the bugs out of it, I loved seeing him in nature doing was he was supposed to, not cruising campsites looking for doughnuts. :)

I alsmot forgot to mention Noelle's little friend, Jack. A family moved into the campsite next to us on Monday and we had kids about the same age. Jack and Noelle instantly bonded, they were adorable. They shared everything, never disagreed in any way, and just plain loved eachother. Giggles, holding hands, running around, acting crazy, sharing snacks. These were the only pictures I got of them. :(