Wrapping up our day trip to Yosemite

Jayden looking over a rail of a bridge at Mirror Lake.
The water was cold!

And his daddy taking a breather...

My two oldest sons at Mirror Lake:

Nathan (above) was the best uncle ever! I love his love for Jayden. I remember how tenderly he held Jayden as a little baby and the expressions on his face are priceless.

Grandma had to try for a quick photo shoot... lol. Most of the time I wasn't thinking about photography, I was simply in awe of the surroundings and figured I would capture whatever I captured on my camera and check out the photos later. I think if i had more than one day to be there, I would have calmed myself down a bit, breathed in the beauty a bit more and paused to think about what I was doing with my camera!!

If you look at half dome and notice the straight side to the left (the curved to the right), this next shot is taken below that left side, looking up.

The deer arrived on cue to escort us from the park...

So long, Yosemite! I'll be back!

Yosemite Valley

Have I mentioned lately that I was very excited to go to Yosemite? Lol.

As a mom and camera-woman, the view of the family that I have seen for years looks something like this:

But, never before had it looked like this:

We hit the trail seeing sights like that awesome picture!!!!!! Oh, my goodness, it was amazing!

I want to go back and check out the humongous sequoias!

Our first trek was to the lower falls. Most of us kept to the trail. A couple of us took to the hill and rocks and tried to cross in front of the falls. Those two learned quickly how wet you get from the mist and they so wisely turned back. Scott said, "Hey, they are smart, they wont walk into danger." And Scott was right. But, they were wet!!

Jayden's expression seeing one of the waterfalls!!

You cannot tell, but the boys were on top of those rocks about 25 and 30 feet up!

My heart just swells when I see this picture of Victor, my youngest. I love him so!!!

And tomorrow I will share a few favorite shots near Mirror Lake and the good-bye shots in the best lighting as the day came to a close...

Blessings!

First things First

So, we made it through the park entrance and still had 24 miles to get to Yosemite Valley. Along the way there was a great pull out along the river. It was a great place to stretch legs and begin experiencing nature first hand.

Now, I don't mean to be a tattle-tale, but Scott's mama told him to stay of slippery rocks...

And, like father, like sons...

I love the driftwood Nathan picked up... it looked like a scene from a Halo land... except for normal looking boys, that is!

Then Joseph calls out, "Hey, who's having a hootenanny without me?"

My most favorite "out of focus" picture of all:

And a few more nature/scenic shots before arriving at the valley floor...

It was simply breath taking!! I cannot imagine how many times I said, "Oh, my heavens!" and "There are no words!" It was simply amazing beyond belief. I will share the valley shots later tomorrow...

Oh, and by the way, it was such a wholesome family day! I am so thankful to have shared it with all my boys and two of my girls. And since Rebekah could not join us, I MUST return...

Blessings!

Yosemite Bound

Several weeks ago a few "lists" on facebook caught my eye... "100 unique foods, How many have you eaten?" "100 top destinations to visit, How many have you been to?" (Those are not the exact words, mind you.) Anyway, the 100 places you have to visit got me to thinking that I sure would love to visit those places and I wont get younger each day, so I should pick somewhere and go. I picked Yosemite. I have two daughters who have longed to go to Yosemite for a few years. Bek didn't get to join us, but I will plan a trip with her in the future.

I was SO super excited to get to go to Yosemite!!!! Honestly, you have no idea. I was that 6 year old driving her parents nuts... "How many more days until we go?" "OH MY GOSH, WE ARE GOING TO YOSEMITE TOMORROW!!" And... well, you get the idea. I was so excited!

Chris, Shasta and Jayden traveled in their new truck with Stephen and Victor. Scott drove our Tahoe with Zoey, Nathan, Joseph, Clayton, Cody and ME!!! Did I mention that I was excited? I was bouncy excited.

So, we headed out of town and about half way there we stopped for a tire change and then pulled into a shopping mart parking lot and spotted a monster truck school bus! When you have boys of all ages, you don't just leave without checking out the monster truck school bus! And Poppa Scott really wanted Jayden to experience the monster truck school bus!

Now, I learned a hard lesson in photography the day we went to Yosemite. I didn't want to carry around my camera bag and switch out lenses, so I stuck my zoon lens on, thinking I would want to zoom in. Very bad choice. When it comes to scenery, mountain ranges, meadows and incredible sights, you need the perspective of the "other" lens. (I am terrible at remembering names of my lenses... but I needed the 18-50 lens so I could get a lot more in the picture... sigh.) But, that is another reason why I have to go back to Yosemite! So, I didn't get a picture of the big monster truck school bus because I just got close ups... drats.

The monster truck was LOUD and Jayden looked at me, saw me smiling and decided if Grandma was smiling and okay with it, it must be safe and okay. He did great! He squealed, raised his arms,yelled, laughed and had himself a swell boy time.

Then we were back on the road to get to the real destination... Yosemite!

Here are a few scenery picks as we got close to the park...

The hardest part of taking pictures, outside of having the wrong lens, was the time of day. Exposure and sunlight and all taken into consideration, a lot of my shots were not at the right time of day for the best lighting, but, I was there for just a day and the sights I was seeing were there for just a brief moment, so I had to just take the pictures and hope for the best... I did make it a point to try to keep my camera shaded and tried to work angles and reflections to the best of my ability... Anyway, I hope you enjoy the pictures... More to come tomorrow!!