Yosemite 2010

We went to Yosemite for a few days during the first week of August. Max had a cold the day before we were supposed to leave and since 4 out of his last 5 colds have lead to ear infections I had his ears checked at the Dr. that morning- they looked great! whew! We wanted to caravan with the rest of Jared's family but ended up getting there later because of the Dr. appointment. It was pitch black by the time we arrived at the actual park. Then we had to drive into the park a ways to get to our campsite. You know how the woods are at night - so dark! We'd read a lot online about bears there and how you have to be so careful about storing food (can't even store it in your car and you have to get all the crumbs out of the baby seat too just in case!). I kept thinking we were going to run into a bear on the road. Then we ended up taking a wrong turn - twice. We finally found a park map and made it around 11pm. Luckily Jared's Dad and brother were waiting up for us. We slept in the pop-up trailer and I brought the pack and play again for Max. I was REALLY hoping things would go better for him sleeping in there than they did on our way to Utah. Well, we got him ready for bed and then put him in- screaming. I just pulled him in bed with us. He rolled around for nearly an hour cuddling, poking our faces, laughing. Then finally I put him in again and my prayers were answered, he rolled over and fell asleep! After that first night, he slept and napped in it just fine. Well rested babies make vacations a lot more fun!

Our first morning there.

You can see our "bear proof" locker behind the guys. All food and toiletries had to go in there

Playing in the woods with Aunt Jess
That first morning Jared went with his dad, brother Chase and sister Jessica on a big hike to a waterfall. (i stole these pics from Chase's facebook)Max and I stayed behind with Aunt Meridith and Grandma. We got Ice Cream and saw a Deer.

Max had plenty to do around the campsite. Dig in the dirt and poke sticks in the fire pit were his favorites.
He got very dirty to say the least!
He liked to sweep the dirt up with Grandma's broom
We got to ride the shuttle buses around the park. Max loves buses but had never really been on one. He LOVED it.
more playing around the campsite, we never lit an actual fire until Max was in bed
Our second day we hiked to a smaller waterfall on a paved road.
Later that afternoon we went to this little "beach" with sand at a river bank. The water for this small river came from snow - it was very cold! You can see "El Capitan" Peak in the background.
Cold water never stops this kid!
I can't believe Jared and Chase swam all the way across - burr!After we got out Max was tired, it was late and he hadn't napped. He fell asleep on my shoulder for about 45 minutes or so. Actual all summer after we've swam he's cuddled up to me for a few minutes, it's sweet.

Just after Max woke up a man approached us where we were picnicking and said a BEAR was coming through the woods and was headed our way! We quickly gathered up our food and headed towards where more people were. We watched this black bear go right through the place where we were sitting just seconds before. Max was like "whoa whoa!". I wasn't really scared. He did sniff Max's stroller down though. He was just looking for people food.check out the video of the bear, you've got to wait until about 0:12.

From 2010-08-04

another video from our campsite

From 2010-08-04

All of us on our last morning.

Driving home with this sweet new car from Grandma White.
Thanks Grandma and Grandpa White for planning the trip. The food was great and the company was even better. I loved sitting around the campfire, eating s'mores and looking at all the stars!

One more pic, this is Half Dome. A really impressive peak at Yosemite. You have special gear and sign a waver to hike it. We just admired it from a distance :) I got the pic online because I never took one myself.