Stunning Sunset

Tonight after dinner Olivier and I went out the front door and we both went "wow"!  It was a stunning sunset.  

Crazy Star

Tonight when I was reading a story before bed, we were surprised to see Star had decided to listen to the story too! 

Mason builds and launches a rocket with Grandpa Mark

Over the last few weeks Mason has been working with Grandpa Mark to build a rocket.  And today was the all important launch day!  They headed out early to beat the wind and had a successful launch and recovery.  Olivier was excited to be there to see the launch!  

First Day of School!

Today is the kids first day of school.  It is the last year they will be at the same school for a while.  We took the standard pictures by the front door.   Harder to tell their heights this year because I painted the door!  

And then because they were being silly, they did a silly photo too!  :-)

Day 5 - Last day in the park

Today was our last day in Yosemite.  We went to see a blacksmith demonstration.  It was very interesting to watch.  And although it wasn't as humid as when we saw a blacksmith in Alabama a few years ago, it was still very warm, in the 90's!  Those are very dedicated volunteers!  

We then took the kids to get their Yosemite junior ranger badges and they had a very official swearing in!  

We had lunch and enjoyed the shade before heading home!

And during our trip we kept track of the number of state license plates we saw and we saw 34!  And one Canadian Provence!  Wow!

Day 4 - Yosemite Valley

Today we drove all the way into Yosemite valley and then started our adventure, taking advantage of transit in the valley, especially because it was very warm!  

Anna took this photo of the upper falls which we could see from where we parked.  

Our first stop was Happy Isles.  It was really beautiful and the Merced river was really flowing. 

We visited the Nature Center and then headed back to the car for lunch.  After lunch we took the bus to the Ahwahnee and went along the trail looking for the Royal Arches.  We didn't get a great view (almost too close).  It was interesting to see the rocks and the layers! 

 And a good view of half dome too!

 This is the closest I got to the arches.

After getting back to the Ahwahnee we headed to the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center and they had a better photo of what we had been hoping to find.  This is the Royal Arches!

The kids also listened to a presentation about the skulls of some of the various animals in the park and why their teeth look the way they do. 

As we left for the day I did get a bit more of a photo of the Royal Arches. 

 And of half dome.  I think this is the best photo!

On our way out of the park we stopped at tunnel view and I took a photo of the valley.  So breathtaking! 

 And a better shot of El Capitan!

Day 3 - Leaving Kings/Sequoia National Park for Yosemite National Park!

Today was our transition day.  We went to Yosemite and started with lunch in Wawona.  We visited the Pioneer Yosemite History Center and saw the old stagecoaches.  

They had a collection of some of the historical buildings that used to be scattered in the park in this area.  The kids really liked visiting the jail...should we be worried?!!

We checked out the fountain at the Wawona hotel. 

And then it was off to Bridalveil fall.  The weather was warm so the water was very tempting! 

And it got more tempting...

Yup, we all put our feet in the cool water from the falls. 

After telling Matt that I almost fell, he slipped but thankfully his phone didn't get wet!  Whew!  As proof he got these photos of the waterfall landing on the kids heads!

And he managed to get a photo with only Mason in it even in a crowed area!

We drove around a bit but decided we would rather get settled and return and really enjoy it tomorrow.