Yosemite, June 18, 2010

To celebrate Father's Day with Josh's family we took them all to Yosemite.  It had been a while since they had been to Yosemite and no one on Josh's side had ever been to Glacier Point, plus it was Cara, Chloe and Micah's first time.  We made good time getting up there and decided to made a detour and see the big trees at Mariposa Grove.  It had been a while since Josh and I have seen the trees and it was a nice chance to get out and walk around for a bit, Abi sure liked running free.  Need I say more, the trees are BIG!!!

After Mariposa Grove we headed to Glacier point.  Because of the high elevation (Over 7,200 feet) there was still snow on the ground.  Once getting to the parking lot we found great spots at the front of the lot and got unpacked and ready to walk to the point.  I had told Cara and Chloe on the way up that they were going to see some huge rocks and a valley that we would soon be driving in.  They were so excited to get out of the car and see the huge rocks and waterfalls!

The above picture is the first family picture we have with the four grandkids.

We all enjoyed a picnic lunch at Glacier Point in the back of our Traverse and Randy and Monica's van.  After lunch we drove back down the mountain to Yosemite Valley.  There was a lot of construction on 41 so it took a little longer than usual to get to the Valley.  We were stopped before the tunnel for about 30 minutes and towards the end of our time there Abi got delayed car-sickness and puked.  We were stopped but i knew if we got her out then traffic would start moving again and there was no where to pull over.  So we waited a few more minutes and was able to find parking at the Tunnel View parking lot (which was a surprise since it was the middle of the afternoon).  Stopping gave everyone else a chance to take pictures while we got  Abi cleaned up.  After that she was much happier and was very chatty while we drove around the valley showing everyone different sights.  Cara and Chloe were excited to see the huge rock that we were just standing on over 3,000 feet above us.  Our last stop before heading to dinner in Oakhurst was Lower Yosemite Falls.  Since the park service removed the parking lot finding a place to park is very difficult especially in the spring and summer months.  We got lucky and found a spot in the lot of the Yosemite Lodge right across the road.  We got the kids out and walked to the base of the falls, it was very wet and really beautiful!

Overall the day was great, the kids all had a great time, as well as the adults!  The weather was perfect and so was the company!

Happy Father's Day Josh!

Last Monday Jolie and I were on a secret mission to surprise the guys for Father's Day.  Jolie had seen this great idea of having the kids hold letters that spell "daddy", so we got to work last week and tried really hard to get the kids to pose with the letters.  We were pretty impressed and the kids did pretty well, despite the distraction of the pool.  The bottom picture is the framed finished product that Abi gave to Josh this morning.

Yosemite, June 12, 2010

My birthday was June 11th and to celebrate I wanted to go to Yosemite with Josh, Abi, Jon, Jolie and Ethan.  But this trip I wanted to hike to Vernal Falls instead of just walk around the Valley.  Let me start off by saying that we had a fabulous time, the kids did great and we all had a blast, but oh were we all tired!!!!  We started the day early, leaving around 8:30am.  Josh and I decided that we would drive thru Mariposa figuring that the line into the park would be shorter (since it was the first weekend after school has gotten out).  Good thing we went through Mariposa, the line there was super long and we had to wait 20-30 minutes, I can't imagine how long we would have had to wait at the main entrance.  Once making our way through the valley to Curry Village we found the last parking space and got packed and ready to embark on our journey.

From Curry Village you have to walk or take a shuttle to Happy Isles where the Vernal Falls trail head is.  We had to wait for the second shuttle to arrive because the first one was too full, and the second shuttle was standing room only, gotta love summer in Yosemite!  While waiting for the shuttle a dear walked through the crowd of people, random.

We arrive at Happy Isles and started to make our way up the trail.  It has been many years since I have done this hike and I didn't remember how steep the trail was.  This wouldn't have been a problem except for the fact that we were hauling two 21-month old toddlers!  If I was just carrying the camera the hike would have been fine but Abi is heavy and so was all the supplies and lunch that was also packed in the backpack.  About 2/3 of the way up Josh had to take over and carry Abi the rest of the way.  It was a tough mile hike up hill, but the views were awesome!!!

We got to the bridge where we planned on having lunch and decided that the bridge is as far as we would hike that day!  We found a level spot to set up a blanket and enjoy our picnic lunch.  When the kids were done eating they desperately wanted to get out of their backpacks and walk around.  Mind you this is not the safest place to let toddlers wonder around, more than half the deaths that happen in Yosemite happen on the Mist trail, so with lots of hand holding the kids got to walk around a bit.

The kids even wanted to hike up the Mist Trail a little past our lunch spot.  It was so cute they held hands the whole time and managed the trail pretty well too.

The hike back down the hill was much better and faster, we thought the kids would pass out on the way but I guess there was too much to see.  We got back to the shuttle stop and decided to walk back to Curry Village after seeing 2 full shuttles.  It is about a mile back but flat, so much easier than up hill!

After getting back to the car and having a snack we headed for the park exit.  I had no idea that it would take us so long to get out of the park, traffic is so congested and with no parking the roads are a mess.  Good thing we didn't hike to the top of Vernal Falls we would have gotten home too late.  We had our traditional dinner at Carl's Jr in Oakhurst and got home about 8:40.  As we were dropping Jon, Jolie and Ethan off at their house Abi was throwing a fit and we figured it was because she just wanted to get out of the car, she got so worked up that she puked all over her car seat :-(.  We decided to just drive the long way home and take care of the mess there.  I had to take the car seat apart, again, we went through this in December when she threw up on the way to Yosemite, we had to get her in the bath and into bed.  This was not in our plans for when we got home.  After talking with Jolie later that night it turns out Abi was probably throwing a fit because she didn't get to say goodbye to Ethan.  When Jon and Jolie were trying to get Ethan ready for his bath he took off running to their front door and was trying to pry the door and window open to look for Abi.  I guess we underestimated the strong bond between those two.  New rule: let the kids say goodbye, unless they are asleep.
Despite the icky ending to our day we had an amazing time with the greatest friends we could ask for!  I think I might have been crazy to suggest physical exercise as a way to celebrate my birthday, I am still sore!  But it doesn't matter what you do for your birthday as long as you spend it with those you love!

Morro Bay May 2010

Josh's cousin Lindsay got married on May 22nd in Avila Beach.  Instead of just going over for the weekend we decided to spend more time at the coast.  Jolie and I along with the kids drove over Wednesday, which gave us time to do what we wanted before the guys came over Thursday night.  We spent some time on the very windy beach, walking around San Luis, and relaxing at the beach house during nap time.  Next time we want to go even earlier than the guys.  Abi loved the beach this time despite the wind.

Abi and Ethan have so much fun together as you can see:

The wedding was beautiful and so was the location.  It was at a farm in the hills above Avila Beach, old rusted buildings and barns, beautiful gardens, grass and hills.  Josh's cousin Lindsay was beautiful and we just loved having an awesome place to take pictures of Abi.

Sons of Sylvia & Carrie Underwood Concert, May 18th

Two years ago almost to the day we had to opportunity to attend a Carrie Underwood concert for free!  This time when she came to Fresno we wanted to go again and were very willing to pay for tickets, especially when we heard that Sons of Sylvia was touring with her.  Sons of Sylvia is a group of 3 brothers that won 1st place on the show "Next Great American Band".  They were known then as The Clark Brothers and took awhile to produce an album (in my eyes) but we think they are pretty awesome!  The 3 brothers are Ashley, Adam and Austin.  Ashley is the lead vocalist and plays the guitar and fiddle, Adam plays the mandolin (amazing), and Austin plays the dobro and lap steel (both instruments that we had never heard of before).  You put the three together and you get an awesome sound!  We purchased our tickets months ago right when they went on sale.  The seats I bought were not the best but we wanted to be there anyway.  But I was told by the guy at the ticket window that we should check back the day of the concert to see if any other tickets free up, especially if the band gives up seats (which happens a lot, I was told).  So we arrived at Savemart Center about an hour and a half before the concert and made our way to the box office hoping for better seats. . . and we were in luck!!!  The band had given up seats in section 1, row b, which is floor seats!!!  The best part was it was only $10 per ticket to upgrade, and the couple we were sitting next to had paid $600 for their tickets!  We had a blast, Sons of Sylvia was great, Craig Morgan went on before Carrie Underwood and was ok.  We had heard one of his songs before but since we don't listen to too much county we were not familiar with his music.  His fiddle player looked like he could have been Neil Patric Harris's brother and his bass player didn't seem to fit in, he looked too much of a rocker with long hair and lots of tattoos.  Carrie Underwood was great, she puts on a awesome concert and she has a voice that is so powerful but very easy to listen to.
Here a few pictures of our evening:

 The bottom right picture is of where we would have been sitting if we hadn't gotten floor seats.  Where the "1" sign is, is the section we would have been in.  As you can see from the pictures Adam is very energetic about playing his mandolin.
Carrie Underwood was exciting to watch, you don't know what she's going to do or what beautiful outfit she'll come out in.  One song she performed on a swing, another was in the back of a 50's ford pick-up that was rigged to the ceiling and made its way around the floor hanging above the crowd, so cool.

One of our favorite parts was when she was singing the song "Jesus Take the Wheel" she ended the song with  a worship song "How Great Thou Art", so awesome!!!
Overall it was a great evening, even if it was the night before we left for vacation.

Road Trip 2009 Book

Road Trip 2009 by Stephanie Mikow | BOOK INFO

Cute Video

A few weeks ago my Grandpa was in town and was able to spend some time with Abi, I love this moment they had and wanted to share it with everyone!

Easter, 2010

WOW, I am pretty much caught up!
We are now at Easter, and where do I begin?  Easter was not necessarily as it should be, Sunday was busy and tiring.  Before church I wanted to capture a picture of Abi's pigtails with ribbons so before getting in the car i got a few.

  
We got to church and got The Cafe set-up, and then we launched our second Cafe service during our 3rd hour, and to add to all the business I was working in the nursery.  And after all that we headed to Josh's parents for lunch with the whole family.  Abi was tired and didn't want to eat lunch or hunt for eggs, plus there were soooo many people that she was a bit overwhelmed.  We did get some time in the front yard with just my family so we could get some pictures taken.

The picture in the lower left is the first of its kind!  First family picture of all of us.

Abi had fun playing with her eggs once she was able to get some peace and quiet in the front yard, I think we got some great pictures of her!
We got home and all went down for naps, we were all exhausted and needed a good rest.  After naps Abi got to open her Easter basket from us and play with her new goodies, then we enjoyed a yummy dinner from Panda Express, and to top it all off Abi tried shrimp for the first time and LOVED it!!!!!!  I knew she was my daughter!!!

Next year I think we are going to do Easter a little different, maybe smaller and concentrate on the real meaning and significance of this day, Christ's resurrection!!!  Without any of it we would not be here and able to enjoy the life we have.

Abi Eating Spaghetti

Need I say more, I think Abi enjoyed dinner.

Abi and Daddy Playing Outside

Since the weather has been so great we have been spending a lot of time outside.  Josh has even let Abi use his camera to take a few pictures.

A Few Backyard/Frontyard Pictures

Abi and I have been busy is the yard the past  few weeks.  We have been planting flowers, pulling weeds and taking lots of pictures.

Shaver Lake Sno-Park, March 13, 2010

Along with Jon, Jolie and Ethan, Josh, Abi and I all headed to the mountains for a day in the snow.  We packed the car with all the necessities, lunch, snow toys and changes of clothes for all.
The sno-park we went to had a very small parking lot but we managed to find a spot where we couldn't be blocked in (good thing, a lot of cars were blocked in when we were leaving).  We got things unpacked and headed into the snow.  The park was pretty busy but we found a good spot to start sledding.  Josh and Jon took on the task of carving out a good sledding route, they were pretty funny when they would look at how they came down the hill and how to make it better the next run.  Once it started to get a little crowded we moved camp to the other side of the parking lot on top of a hill.  It was the perfect spot for our picnic lunch and more sledding.  Jolie and I had to make sure we got our turn too, the guys were hogging the sled, but they sure were having fun.  The kids even joined us on our runs down the hill. Abi didn't like being cold and wet and eventually gave up on the fun so I took her into the car to play.  She was much happier is dry, warm clothes.  Ethan on the other hand didn't care about being wet and cold and wanted to eat and play in the snow all day.

On the way it started to snow, it was beautiful and it felt like we were driving through a snow globe.

We had a great day and we all look forward to visiting the snow again next year!

Abi Playing Outside, March 7, 2010

From the picture I don't think Abi is ready for a "big girl" bike.  Abi loved blowing bubbles too, now she always wants to blow them herself, such an independent girl!

More Cute Pictures from February

Valentine's Day Weekend

This year for Valentines Day I worked a few hours on Saturday and while I was at work Josh and Abi had a little adventure. I thought they were going to spend time at the park but instead they worked on a card for me with Abi's footprints in red paint and a super cute picture.

This is Abi's "Cheese" face.  She has perfected this face since this picture was taken, you will see.

Saturday night we hosted a dinner for our Sunday school class's progressive dinner.  We had a great time getting to know other couples and it is always fun to set my table with all my pretty things!

Sunday (Valentine's Day) we went to church, went out to lunch for mom's birthday and went home for nap time.  After Abi woke up we went outside to play and Jon, Jolie and Ethan came over to deliver yummy Valentine treats.  We played outside for a while with our neighbor's cat domino and they all stayed for dinner. We figured that Abi and Ethan needed a date too for Valentine's Day.

Monday I went to work and Josh got to hang out with Abi because he was off work.  This time they actually went to Woodward Park and fed the ducks.

February 2, 2010

I definitely took more pictures in February, as you can see.

At the beginning of the month Jolie and I took the kids to a park on Maple.  The kids had a great time playing on the big kid equipment and the swings.

January 2010

I realized that I didn't take many pictures of Abi in January, I know, I know, weird, especially after taking one picture a day her first year.  So here are 2 good pictures of Abi, I promise there are many more in the coming months!

Welcome Micah Paul Coombs, January 6, 2010

Welcome Micah Paul Coombs, our Nephew
Please read my sister-in-law's blog for all the great info and stories about Micah:
http://godsaidgetmoving.blogspot.com/2010/01/home-sweet-home.html

Yosemite December 27, 2009

For our second year in a row we make our trek up to Yosemite for the day.  Our tradition is whoever in the family is free can come.  This year it was my Mom, Dad, Josh, me, Abi, Denise, my mom's cousin Donna Lynn and her fiancé David (which is also my dad's best friend).  We drove the back way through Mariposa and while we were on a one-way road, josh was driving a little too fast on the windy road to, Abi threw up.  Needless to say it was tons of fun cleaning up.  We had to pull over and completely take her new car seat apart, oh yeah we also had our new car for only 4 days when this happened!
We first went to the Ahwahnee for lunch and when I say lunch I mean, the "Sunday Grand Brunch".  The brunch was $50 per person!!!  And delicious!!!  It was a "GRAND" all-you-can-eat buffet, anything from sushi to roast, oysters on the half shell to a dessert bar, amazing!!!  Thank you to Mom and Dad for the special treat!  Oh by the way if you ever go to the Ahwahnee during the winter they have free valet parking, we didn't know this until giving up on finding a parking spot on our own and decided to "pay" for valet, that was another surprise!
After lunch we drove around the valley and took some pictures around one of the large meadows.

We did some more driving which put Abi to sleep for a while and we stopped at Yosemite falls while she napped.  In June when we visited the valley I stayed in the car while everyone else walked to the base of the falls so Abi could continue sleeping.  This time Josh stayed in the car.

Yosemite Falls was beautiful, and it was nice to walk around.  While we were out Abi woke up and Josh found a great way to keep her occupied.  In our new car we got a DVD system so Josh suffered through Finding Nemo with Abi.  The DVD player is totally worth it!!!
After they got tired of watching some of the movie Josh and Abi walked around a bit.  They found some deer and a great looking Hawaiian snowman.

The trip was great, could have been better if Abi was feeling better but overall we had a fun time.  Can't wait for next year!

Christmas Eve & Christmas Day 2009

Christmas Eve is always spent with my family.  We start early in the afternoon especially when there is a grandchild around, the gift opening takes a while.  In some families the gift opening is a free-for-all, but in my family it is an event.  We like to go around and each open one gift at a time.  I think as a child I didn’t appreciate it much but as I grew older and participated in the gift giving I loved to see others open the gift I picked out especially for them.  This year we started with opening our stockings.  When we all lived at home the stockings were saved for Christmas Day since we opening everything else the night before.  Abi was a BIG help, she liked “helping” carry the stockings to each of us and was excited to find a box of animal crackers in her stocking, which she then carried around as a purse for a while.

Before opening gifts we always start with my Dad reading the Christmas story from the Bible but this year we changed it up a little by reading one of Abi’s Christmas books.  I think we all liked the story because it was shorter.  Then we move on to the opening of the gifts.  Abi planted herself on a box in the middle of the room and was pretty happy sitting there while we went around opening gifts.

Denise and I made these awesome pillows for Aaron "Ctrl", "Alt" and "Del" buttons, he thought they were pretty cool and we were happy that we found a sewing project that we could make for him.  After our immediate family opened gifts we had dinner and the rest of our family came over for another round of gift opening and we were all tired and ready for bed.
Christmas Day starts bright and early at 8:30am.  I have always disliked this time because every year before the last two this was my first day off in 2 weeks!  But the last 2 years were different and I made sure that i was not working on Christmas Eve but morning is still not one of my favorite times of the day, oh well.
First we had to do our Christmas with the 3 of us.  Josh and I just filled stockings for each other and Abi and also got Abi a few gifts.  I made our stocking for this year and bought more fabric so I can make more.  I think they turned out pretty good!  We started by reading the Christmas Story out of Abi's book and when we got to the last page with baby Jesus, she kissed the page, so sweet!!!  Abi loved her gifts and books!

We went to Josh's Aunt and Uncles for breakfast, hang out time with the cousins, and more gifts.  At this point Abi was not feeling good and we could tell she was getting a little sick.  The night before she fell asleep on me, which she never does.  She had a slight fever all Christmas Day and was not herself.  She had rosy cheeks all day and was pretty out of it most of the day.