Spring Break 09 Yosemite *warning 50+ pics*

For Nick's Spring Break he called me up and asked if we wanted to go to Yosemite. He called Wednesday and we left Friday. We barely got a reservation so we ran with it. We had a great time. It really is one of our favorite places. We brought our bikes for the first time and it was a blast to cruise around with the kids. Allie did much better this time. She didn't like the 4 hour car ride very much but she survived.

The weather during the day was gorgeous and the sun was bright and shinny. At night it was a nice 20 degrees or so. Wills and I were sharing a sleeping bag and I was freezing the first night I ended up sleeping with both kids. Allie on one side Wills on the other. Once we were all in there it was better. The next night was better and I wasn't so cold. The mornings were the hardest because the kids were cold and crabby. The people camping next to us told us we were really brave for camping with little ones. Brave or??? Just kidding! The kids did great and they love to be outdoors all the time. We put them in the car in the morning and that helped a lot while the sun rose enough to warm our camp. Like usual it was a short and fabulous trip.

This is very much so a silly William face.

Umm Wills you probably don't want to eat that.

Watching Lower Yosemite falls with Daddy. There was a ton of snow usually there isn't any.

Me and my babies.

Crossing a log. Underneath them was not only freezing snow stuff but water.

Sweet baby.

We road the bikes to Mirror lake and had a little picnic.

William LOVES to climb everything, just like Nick.

This rock was pretty slippery and this 12 year old kid couldn't climb up it.

Wills felt the need to put his feet in the water which had ice floating in it. I kind of liked this with all the blown highlights so I left it. The kids having some dinner.

Nick loves to cook over an open fire. I love that he is cooking.

Wills is a little scary by an open fire.

Allie wearing my beanie and like 5 layers of clothes.

We had another picnic the next day

after our long hike.

Allie will be a climber as well.

we went on a hike up to Nevada falls which is pretty much just straight up so Nick carried Wills in the back pack and I carried Allie in the front pack. On the way back down I carried the camera in the front Allie in the back and Wills road on daddies shoulders. I couldn't believe he fell asleep like this :)
Our Hike to Nevada Falls. The last part to the top was really wet and icy and you climb stairs like this so we stopped here. Allie wasn't exactly prepared for a cold shower.

We went down and sat on some rocks and watched the fall My favorite picture of William from the trip.

This is another face that Wills makes. His "I don't want to smile" smile face

Another very common face

Climbing with dad. They do a lot of this when we are hiking!

Back at Camp hanging out eating a snack.

Silly boy loves flash lights and head lamps.

Look I got it on dad.

Another classic Wills face.

Nick fixed it for him but he still pulled it over his eyes to try to see. LOL

HALF DOME

Gorgeous!

Silly boys...

getting his hair wet

our little fam

Me and the princess playing around with the camera while nick filtered some water into the camel back.

the kids with daddy

the boys

our camp

eating spaghetti

jiffy pop. Wills thought it was fun. Nick didn't like the popcorn, SHOCKING!

the kids in there bike trailer.

Allie fell asleep. So sweet.

busy

Like usual around here Nick has kept our weekends busy. I am a little behind in posting so I will try to catch up... it is going to take more then one post especially considering I am typing one handed as my crabby baby twist in my lap, she isn't' feeling fabulous today. I will try to get caught up soon so stayed tuned for our Yosemite trip and Easter pictures.


SO here we go...


I think it has already been a month... CRAZY... anyway we took the kids on a bike ride by the river one beautiful Saturday afternoon. It was really warm so we headed out to enjoy God's creation. We have a kids bike carriage so we strapped the kids in and took an easy mountain bike trail a couple of miles. This was Allie's first time in there. She did really well on the way there but she cried the whole way back. She was tired and the sun was hitting her face and she was not happy. William did so well with her though. He was really patient and just kept trying to calm her down and give her the pacifier. I was really impressed with him. All told it was a fun trip! Maybe for her first time we should have tried something more mellow but oh well it was good exercise for daddy as he pulled them up hills. On most of it he was still faster then I am and I really am not so bad at bike ridding Nick is just WAY better, I am impressed, but that's not really shocking is it :)

wills slipped on soft sand into the water. It was not warm! he did well with it though. Nick grabbed him before his head went in but it was still cold stuff. He didn't complain about it at all

getting a drink from daddy. Allie loves to drink anything

my silly silly husband getting a drink from the river. I think it is gross.

I always love these pictures

eating something. I think it a pretzel or a stick...

Jesus Thank You!

We sing this song at our church and I think the words are so wonderful. I hope you have a wonderful and reflective Easter weekend as we celebrate Christ death and resurrection.

Jesus, Thank You

The mystery of the cross I cannot comprehend

The agonies of Calvary

You the perfect Holy One, crushed Your Son

Who drank the bitter cup reserved for me

***

Your blood has washed away my sin

Jesus, thank You

The Father’s wrath completely satisfied

Jesus, thank You

Once Your enemy, now seated at Your table

Jesus, thank You

***

By Your perfect sacrifice I’ve been brought near

Your enemy You’ve made Your friend

Pouring out the riches of Your glorious grace

Your mercy and Your kindness know no end

***

Lover of my soul

I want to live for You

at home

I have these picture so I am going to post them even though I already did a post today. enjoy.

can you spell trouble! I can, A-L-L-I-E. She started crawling a few weeks ago ( I think I mentioned that already,) however, she is now getting fast and she seems to have simultaneously figured out how to pull herself up on everything! In her crib in the bath and on every random insecure item in our home. She has several bruises from falling and bonking herself. She is a crazy girl. I am shocked how fast she seems to have gotten mobile. I love this age even though it brings all kinds of new challenges. It is definitely one of my favorite stages.

such sweet chubby baby legs!!! wills found this "quad" at the thrift store the other day and I was all to aware it was going home with us or mommy was going to get a lesson in patiently parenting through a fit. We did call dad for an ok and then we took it home. He did end up throwing a fit because I didn't let him ride it in the parking lot. What a terrible mom I am. (that is a joke) anyway... nick got it working and even though it is to small and will fit Allie pretty soon, Wills loves it.

stealing the Popsicle from daddy

needing a little assistance near the end. We bought some ice cream the other day and she saw us take it out and she came charging over to get some. SHE IS FAST! she was there super quickly.

Popsicles are one of Allie, daddy, and Wills favorite treats. Allie is super aggressive when she wants a bite. She grabs Nicks hand and pulls it toward her and bounces as she waits to get her turn. She also takes the biggest bites ever! We are still shocked she hasn't gotten a brain freeze. She does the same thing with ice cream. She loves "grown up food." She would gladly give up baby food to eat regular food. She is eating all kinds of table food. She loves them.

funny kids

William doesn't look at books alone very often. He likes to read stories, just not alone. We got a motorcycle magazine and he grabs it and looks at it by himself all the time!

Nick always tells me when we camp to check my shoes in the morning for bugs. I didn't need to check for bugs but motorcycles. Do you see a common theme?

Allie got tired on one of our walks. Crazy how kids can sleep

Our home- lots of pictures warning!

My friend Lauren asked me to take pictures of where I live and I am finally getting around to it. Better late then never, even though she asked me a long time ago! Our apartment is nothing fancy but it has become our little home that I am so thankful for. I am thankful for the Lords provisions even though it might not be exactly where we would like to live it is definitely more then we deserve. So, for all of you near and far who haven't visited, here you go.

This is the front door and the kitchen (just in case you missed that)

here is the living room and the other side of the living room

here is the view from the kitchen.

the view from our patio. When we got married we lived at the same complex but in a one bedroom which was in the center of complex. This apartment is so much nicer because it is more secluded. It is harder to get to and from the car which is a pain when unloading groceries or anything from the car but we don't hear cars all night long or people being loud in the middle of the night. much nicer. Unfortunately all that land is fenced in so we can't play on it. That would be lovely, oh well.

as you walk down the hall there is a laundry room on the right then the bathroom, the kids room is on the left and our bedroom is at the end of the hall.

I am so thankful to have a laundry room! bathroom

our bedroom. Allie slept in the back and play for a couple months when she first came home but now she sleeps in the other room with Wills. They both came to bed with us last night so it could be argued this our family room. we call it "our big bed"our room has a little sink and medicine cabinet in it. If I were a roommate and I would love this feature but I would much rather just have a big linen closet or something. We do have a big walk in closet that I LOVE! it stores so much stuff. Camping gear scrapbook stuff linens clothes. You name it it might be in there.

here is the kids room. William loves to climb into Allie's crib.

Wills big bed

a picture from Williams bedI had to lower Allies crib a couple weeks ago when I found her trying to pull herself out.

Aunt Chrisy makes beautiful quilts and this one was for Allie when she was born.a closer look for those who are into that kind of stuff

then next four pictures I just thought were funny. That girl is bound to be tough with a punk for an older brother. We don't let him be mean to her but she is always vulnerable with him near by.

Wills what are you doing?

well that's all. Hope you enjoyed a glimpse into our little home. Come visit any time! we can all squeeze in.