More Fun

The other day James took the kids to Yosemite and I stayed home for a "Mama needs to be sane or no one will be happy" day. I hope you get these sometimes. Even an evening will tide a mama over. But a whole day stretching out before you....ahhhhhhh! I look so forward to them.

In case you think I take these days alone for granted...trust me, I don't!

And yes, in case you are also wondering, James has a brother who is almost as nice as he is but no, he's not available! ;)

So after saying goodbye to everyone and sending them off, I breathed a huge sigh of relief... that NO ONE HEARD! If you are a young mama, you know how rare and wonderful it is to be in one's house alone. So while I was leisurely getting ready, having lunch with Analise and then strolling through antique stores with her, James and the kids were having fun in the mountains. He took some great photos I just have to share. Everyone did really well, no one threw up and (amazingly!) there were only a couple of almost-melt-downs by a child who shall remain nameless.

So here's the photos...amazingly beautiful that day...

This is just as they left the van to set out on their adventures.

My group!

Beautiful...

Though these photos just DON'T do it justice, especially not small like this, these are really incredible. The white stuff is NOT fog! Those are low-lying clouds! This is from in the valley...you can see Half Dome on the right side if that orients you.

And this is looking back at the valley on the way home...that white stuff is not snow or a lake...that's the clouds. Wish I had a photo right at my fingertips of what it usually looks like from this look-out but it goes waaaayy deeper than this. The clouds are sitting up on top!

Less clothing here! If you noticed in my last post, when we all went to the snow last week, Andrew stayed bundled up like a little mummy the whole time. I realized when I took his mittens off in his car seat as we were leaving that he'd never even touched the snow! So on this trip, Andrew was enthralled with the wonderful cold stuff and when he discovered he could make snowballs and throw them at sisters...holy moley, that's happiness!And though there's blurriness in this shot, I LOVE it. Anyone who knows my kids knows that this photo so totally captures the personalities of each of my kids, it's downright uncanny! Miss Emily in the foreground is a bundle of energy, constantly moving, constantly talking, intense like you wouldn't believe and soooo clever and artistic. Andrew is a boy...all the way. He is happiest when he is kicking a ball, throwing a ball or generally on the move. And Miss Rachel in the background is just like she looks...calm, contemplative and happy to play in her happy little way. I just love the way this shot is just so THEM. :)

Time for bed! James and I go away this coming weekend for the first time since I was pregnant with Andrew. I am soooooo excited. We don't even know where we're going and we don't care! We know we're headed for the coast...just not sure where yet.

I hope you have a lovely day tomorrow, whatever you do!

Hugs,

Cheryl