Tennis, Anyone?!

We had a fun Labor Day picnic at the park!

The kids were interested in trying to play tennis!

So the Dads got on one side and the kids lined up on the other side:

It looked like a tennis camp in progress!

It was a lot of fun for everyone, including the little ones.

That's a badminton racquet!

Afterwards we had KFC!

And then some playing at the park!

Score: 16-Love!

Kathryn's Birthday and More!

Kathryn turned 10 on Friday!  

Here she is decorating her cake:

Her Mom gave her pictures from all of her birthdays and she had to put them in order.  Then she gave her more pictures and she had to see if she could figure out where they went.  Very fun!

She's ready to celebrate!

Look what she got!

Meet Josephine, the guinea pig!

Meanwhile Nathaniel is making good friends with Grandpa!

On Saturday Kathryn had a friends party.

Hannah had a great time at the party, especially making friends with Josephine!

I lent the girls my phone to take a picture of Hannah and of course they had to sneak in a selfie!

During the party we had these three amigos with us.

We treated them to dinner at Wendys and they each insisted on having their own table!

And of course we can't mention Saturday the 5th without mentioning the big BYU win!

Fun weekend!

What Did NOT Happen in Yosemite--Part 2!

*We did NOT climb to the top of El Capitan:(

But we did go to a lecture and see a film by a world famous rock climber who did!
His name is Ron Kauk and this is the movie:

Until I got home and googled him I didn't realize just how famous he is in the climbing world.  He does free climbing and it is beyond amazing to watch!   He's a legend it turns out and here we got to hear him speak and watch him climb!

His nickname is Atomic Fingers!

 It can take 3-4 days to scale El Capitan!  Can you imagine spending the night up there?

"El Capitan is famous for its massive bulk of largely unbroken rock and its sheer vertical face soaring over 3,000 feet into the air.

This monolith is composed of a particularly durable granite, allowing it to withstand the pressures of glaciers and erosion."

We saw some climbers.  They were tiny specks.  It was 96 degrees that day!

Can you tell it's my favorite?! 

Below:That's it on the left

*We did NOT go backpacking in 

Yosemite valley:(

Instead we took a narrated 2-hour Valley Floor tram ride!

We had a very informative and entertaining ranger for a tour guide!

She's pointing at something interesting, but hard to take your eyes off of El Capitan!

It was definitely worth it and very enjoyable!

*We did NOT see any waterfalls for which Yosemite is very famous:(

(They were all dried up--some due to the drought and some just because it's the end of summer)

But we did see some water and some very beautiful and intersting scenery!

 

 We did NOT get the plague from
squirrels:(
But we did get to see bears!  Yes, real live bears in the wild!
We spotted them two different times from the car.
This is a little cub.  The Momma went off into the bushes.  They are very busy eating this time of year!

*We did NOT get the VIP treatment in honor of this big anniversary:(

But we did have a fabulous visit to Yosemite National Park!

What Did NOT Happen in Yosemite--Part 1!

We recently took a little trip to Yosemite!

 *We did NOT hike up Half Dome:(

But we took lots of pictures of it!

*We did NOT stay at the famous Ahwahnee Hotel:(

But we did stay in this charming cabin in the town of Ahwahnee!

*We did NOT have to wait in a long line of cars to get into the park:(

Dan had his Senior Pass and they waved us into the fast lane right after I took this picture!

One day we went in the Arch Rock entrance!

*We did NOT start the wildfires that made all the smoke:(

But we did drive up to Glacier Point to see the view through the smoke!

Dan tried his best to get pictures of this spectacular view but all the smoke made it very disappointing.  The drive up was beautiful though!