California Day 6 - Yosemite

On Sunday (August 21 -wow, I'm behind!) we left Bakersfield, CA and headed for Yosemite National Park. It was so beautiful! We had a picnic lunch and then drove arond the park to see the sights. It made we want to go camping...and I am not a camper! However, I can see us camping there for a week and riding bikes and canoeing and seeing something new every day! I would love to go back for longer, but we sure enjoyed our one day there!

My cutie pie on our long trip to Yosemite.

Three hour car rides make us grumpy! :)

There were tons of these pretty blue birds (not their technical name ha ha) where we picniced.

"Come on Mom, enough pictures already!"

Braden and Grandmama walking down to the water.

Favorite picture of Kate to date! Squish!

The water was still freezing (the snow had barely melted and it was August!)

Grandaddy and Kate

Kate and Grandmama

I forget the name but this the spot where all tourists stop to take pictures. You can see Half Dome in the background.

Obligatory family photo in front of pretty scenery

Bridalvale Falls

This may be inappropriate...but "when nature calls..."

Hi!

Half Dome

Isn't this field so pretty? I want to camp right in the middle.

Yosemite Falls

My boys checking out the falls. All the falls were very small this time of year because there was no snow melting. Earlier in the summer we would have gotten soaked if we stood there.

Enjoying the view....or happy to be out of the car!

Cheeeeeese!

Now that is a big rock!

View leaving the park

Another gorgeous view!

After we left the park we checked into our hotel and had some Mexican for dinner. Then everyone else went to the pool while I tried to get Kate to sleep.

California Day 5

Sorry for the long delay in posting about our California trip. It's not as easy to blog at home where I have responsibilities and no grandparents to help! :)

On Saturday, Granddaddy wanted to take Braden fishing. We headed to a nearby park for a very short fishing trip. It was just so hot, but Granddaddy was determined to catch a fish!

Getting ready.

I love this shot! Such a cute little guy.

Granddaddy accidentally threw the fishing rod in while casting. I had to get a picture. It was just too funny!

Kate just worked on her tan and looked cute while the boys fished.

So after we had all given up hope of catching a fish and starting packing up, Granddaddy would not give up. Thankfully he finally caught this little guy and made it worth the trip. Braden was excited, but did not want to touch it!

Carl, thanks for going through all the trouble to take Braden fishing. He had a great time and made a fun memory!

California Day 4

On Friday we spent the day at Ventura Beach. It was a 2 hour drive there, but we saw beautiful scenery along the way. Bakersfield is very flat, but everywhere you look there are mountains in the distance. We got to drive through some of those mountains and they were so pretty.

Kate did not appreciate her beautiful surroundings. Instead she took a little cat nap.

When we first arrived at the beach the morning haze had not burned off yet. We had a picnic on the beach and by the time lunch was over there were blue skies. It turned out to be a beautiful day!

Wake up, Daddy!

This nasty pelican walked right up to us. Turns out he was injured, but still told him to get lost.

Working on a sand castle with Grandaddy

The finished product.

I love how you can see mountains from the beach.

After a full day at the beach we walked across the street to the marina and shops for dinner. The kids were so tired from not napping that we didn't get to stay for very long.

What a cute octopus.

My three favorite people!

Beautiful!

Grandmama trying to entertain the tired baby!

Our view from dinner.

It was such a fun day! The kids didn't make it five minutes down the road before falling asleep. I am loving California! It is just so different from the east coast. No humidity, no winter, beautiful views. It doesn't even rain from March-October here in Bakersfield! Sounds like my kind of place!