First Ever Adults Only High Adventure Trip: Half Dome Heartbreak & Yosemite Falls Pick-Me-Up

Inspired by Samuel's

High Adventure Varsity Scouts,

I suggested we plan an annual high-adventure trip

amongst the grown-ups.

Everyone was game

(Everyone, that is,

who wasn't pregant or with new babies),

and off we went with our sights set

for Half Dome!

Our inability to obtain wilderness permits turned our

2-day backpacking trip into a

one-day Half Dome Day hike...

and late snow melt turned our dreams of Half Dome

into mush!

What's worse,

we missed it by a hair!

Our hiking permits were for June 22nd,

the cables would be in place June 23rd!

Talk about

H E A R T B R E A K !

...

Not to worry though,

Yosemite is nothing but must-sees & must-do's,

and my brother-in-law Joe

put together a last minute hike

that would take us up to the top of Yosemite Falls,

over to North Dome,

and back down.

Total trip:

Estimated 16+ miles

...

On goes the extra slathering of deoderant

(not that that really helps anyway!),

the wool socks

(which DO help tremendously),

and away we go!

Settling in to Dimond-O,

a campground just outside Yosemite.

The plan,

go to bed early.

Awake: 4:30 AM,

Depart: 5:00 AM,

Trailhead departure: 6:00 AM.

Target return time: 6:00 PM

{ Actual Stats:}

Awake: 4:45 AM
Departure: 6:00 AM
{Thanks to the Joe Elmer/Culp primping :) }
Trailhead departure: 7:00 AM (not bad!)

Return time: 6:30 PM (dinner time!)

Samuel fussing with our stuff.

Rachel & Bill

He plans to carry her the whole way.

Taking no prisoners!

This mountain is ours!

 

 

The crew:

Joe & Jessica

Barbara

Rachel & Bill

Samuel & I

There she is!

No turning back,

unless you have to,

you know,

go.

Beautiful rainbows at Lower Yosemite Falls!

This is wet territory!

Forewarned...

3.4 miles to the top of the falls.

Sounds easy-peasy.

Walk that puppy and you will eat your words!

60 switchbacks

3,000+ feet elevation gain in 3.4 miles.

At 1,000 feet per mile,

we're talking steep.

And...

F U N !

Bittersweet!

As near as we can tell,

this is the halfway point to the top!

Something that never fails to astound me is the number

older adults on the trail.

Barbara, Jessica's mom,

was a spring chicken compared to some

65-70+ folks out there.

One woman even passed us like a mountain goat

and didn't seem to even be breaking a sweat!

Stunning views!

Here she comes!

Joe making his way down...

...followed by the rest of the troops!

Airing out those piggy pink toes!

The best view!

See what I mean?

Bill and his baby, the tri-pod.

Replenishing that water...

we're not even close to being done!

Heading towards North Dome

we started seeing heavy patches of snow.

Heading north,

this became a concern,

especially considering it's ability to cover the trail.

We tried in vain to find a way to cross without going IN...

unfortunately,

that was a no-go,

and off went the shoes!

After some group discussion over the

condition of the trail and what may lie ahead,

we made the decision to turn back and

head home the way we came.

All smiles now that we're going downhill!

Incredible impressions of rocks falling.

These pictures really can never do justice to these fierce waterfalls!

The sound of the waters roaring is unforgetable!

Finally,

on firm ground.

Now it's time to watch the crazy folks

heading up the mountain in a different way.

All told,

including our wanderings around the park,

we made it pretty close to our 16 mile goal!

Earning the right to devour pizza and burgers with abandon!

...

Now that we're home,

I'm already thinking...

What will be our next high adventure?

Daddy Day & Darn Disastrous Dessert!

Samuel:

H A P P Y  F A T H E R ' S  D A Y !

Over a breakfast of all of dad's favorites
-served on the special plate and cup-

we celebrated dad!

T H E  B R E A K F A S T  M EN U

Eggs Benedict

Garlic Broccoli & Tomato Saute

&

Orange Juice

Dessert was another story.

It took on a life of it's own and decided to live in the pan!

I forced it out and did my best to piece it together again.

Oh, well.

Chocolate is chocolate, right?

Luckily,

dinner was a no-fail.

How can you go wrong with grilled steak?

...

T H E  D I N N E R  M E N U

Olive Oil & Black Pepper Marinated Tri-tip

Steamed Lobster Tail with Lemon-Butter

Iceberg Wedge Salad with Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing

Rosemary Roasted Potatoes with Cream

We gussied up dessert with

a chocolate sour-cream ganache...

...and dug IN!

...

Samuel,

You change diapers,

comb out tangled hair,

wash dishes,

chase kids,

are THE best tickle monster,

AND 

carry me to bed every night.

We love you!

I love you.

So, so much.

xoxoXOXOxoxo

Momma & The Kiddies

Pure Joy & Sunshine

Even though all the birthday hoop-la has

come and gone with the boys combined birthday parties,

we still had a pretty special day when Gabriel's

real birthday rolled around!

Cake for breakfast, anyone?

What must you wish for at the ripe old age of two?

Once the candles were out,

the scrabble for cake began!

Seconds later...gone!

...

H A P P Y  B I R T H D A Y,  S O N !

Gabriel,

We can't express how grateful we are for you.

You were definitely saved for these days,

and as much as we'd like to think you needed us,

we sorely needed you.

Thank you for being pure joy and sunshine.

We love you, son.

Always.

Love,

Mum & Dad

Lazy Days at the Pool

This year,

to the kids delight,

we purchased a family pass to the local pool.

How am I ever going to keep track of five kids in the water?

Luckily I have momma's boys who prefer to snuggle...

...and in the case of Iris...

...she loathes the kiddie area and

refused to play anywhere near it!

Well, lookie there.

I guess she's had a change of heart afterall.

And that drew Owen out of his towel too!

But per our agreement,

after a bit it was time to head over to the "medium" pool!

{ That's what we call the 0 ft. sloping to 4 ft. + pool. }

The kiddies also held out for the BIG pool,

and did great in deeper waters.

Plucking the boys out of the water was easy

once they saw the swim team stretching on the lawn.

The love nothing better than to blatantly stare at people.

{ smile }

Here's a quick snapshot of the big girls

heading up to the slide!

They swim like fish and rarely get out of the water-

making the most of every second of our time there!

...

The pool:

Good times!

Millions of Peaches...

Lucky for us we have two new grocery stores

that sell fabulous produce at deliciously low prices:

Sprouts &

The Sunflower Market!

While I don't can...yet,

  I do freeze!

And Gabriel,

well,

he eats...

"Millions of peaches...

Peaches for me..."

{ You know you're rocking out! }

Day-Trippin' in Davis

The Perfect Backyard Escape:

Davis, California

A major foodie town,

we had to check out the acclaimed

Village Bakery.

Sumptious slices go for $2-3 ea.,

in addition to the addicting breads & pastries that

tempt you from the display cases.

Seriously...

G O  C H E C K  I T  O U T !

Walking the downtown we came across this

awesome sign...

I'm officially this kind of vegetarian! 

The kids can't resist taking to the stage at the local park...

But we can surely tear them away for

a frozen treat at

Yoloberry!

...

The best part about our trip?

In only thirty minutes we'll be rollin' up the driveway.

Not too shabby for a night out of town!

Our Private Art Show

The kids went into art overdrive

and within minutes created enough pieces for a small museum!

Within minutes,

that small museum was born

out of our kitchen!

Complete with a bench they dragged in for Samuel and I

to sit on and ponder each piece!

Artist are notorious for being drama-mamma's,

and these guys were no different.

There was some heated squabbling over who

got the best real estate.

Apparently the oven door is a hot spot...

My kitchen was beautiful for all of two days before

the clutter drove me crazy and the artwork

went into everyone's personal collection!

...

T H A N K S  B A B I E S !