Yosemite

At the beginning of May we did our big Yosemite trip!  We had to sign up months in advance, since campsites in Yosemite Valley fill up so quickly.  We rented an RV from Cruise America, and spent Sunday night through Friday at Lower Pines campground.  

First off, I have to say we had a great time.  But, I think we went in with overly high expectations of what an RV had to offer.  Because there were no hookups, we really couldn't use the electricity, heat, or water much.  Especially the heat, and that would have come in handy.  The weather all week ranged from cool/drizzly to freezing/downpour.  So, the days were still fun, but the nights were a little miserable.

But, did I mention we had a great time?  Neither I nor the kids had ever been to Yosemite before, so we spent most of our time in the valley.
  

Yes, she was briefly unbuckled.  What can I say?

First Look at Yosemite Falls

   

Elise got an early birthday present our first morning there.  Ryan took the pedals off, so she could practice riding it like her balance bike for a while.  Since we live on a hill, she hadn't had a convenient place to learn before now.
   

  

We traveled around on the free shuttles, and made a lot of visits to Yosemite Village.  The kids worked all week on their Junior Ranger badges.  There were separate ones for older and younger kids, but one thing they all had to do was visit the native Miwok village.  (The bark houses didn't seem especially warm, given their supposed use as winter homes.)  Afterwards, we hiked to Lower Yosemite Falls - an easy hike but a good one.  
  

Picnic at the Falls

 I left my Ergo at home and had to use a hiking carrier all week.  Bleh.

Picking up trash was another Junior Ranger requirement.

Wednesday, we did our most ambitious hike - the Vernal Falls footbridge.  It had a lot of steep drop-offs that, although not dangerous to an intelligent person, were kinda scary for people with spastic little kids.  Connor and Elise weren't quiet about their fatigue.  There was fair bit of whining for awhile, but they were happy once we got to the bridge and had lunch.  It was probably my favorite hike, although I don't know why we didn't get pictures of the view from the bridge - it was scary and beautiful.
  

Small Bridge

Grumpy Kids

Dad got them to smile.

Eating Near the Footbridge

  

That afternoon Elise got her pedals put on, and officially rode a two-wheeler for the first time!  She was so afraid, and then so proud of herself.  She spent every free moment riding around the campground with Connor after that.
  

Elise and I took a special walk, just the two of us, one afternoon.  We ended up on this cool boardwalk across a meadow.  Elise called it "our beautiful place."  When we got back, we found Corinne all cozy against the RV.
  

On Thursday morning, there was a break in the clouds for a few hours, and we found a spot by the river to hang out and (try to) skip stones.  We ate leftover pancakes and just relaxed.  It's my best memory of the trip, along with the trees (as you'll see in a minute.)
  

A bluejay kept trying to steal our pancakes.

Eventually, the rain sent us back to camp!

  
The next morning, we had to check out by noon, but we took the time to let Elise open her birthday presents.  She got all kinds of stuff - dresses, a stuffed elephant, a watch, crafting supplies, a hexbug (just like Connor's,) and a couple videos she had wanted.  Plus, of course, the bike.  Elise, Connor, and I then took a ride up to Mirror Lake, since Elise and I hadn't been yet, and the kids goofed around in the water.  Elise was quite sure she wouldn't make it.  Then she did.  Great bike riding, Elise!
  

Sliding Into the Water

Half Dome is in the background.

Our last day was bright and sunny!

  
On our way home, we stopped to see the giant sequoias of Mariposa Grove.  I'm not sure if I'd ever really seen a sequoia before, but it was like something out of a fantasy movie.  We didn't make it very far up the hike, but we did get as far as the Grizzly Giant.  My first impression of this tree was that it would be a very tempting thing to worship.  The second impression was of the Great Deku in Zelda.  Pictures capture very little, unfortunately.
  

  

We will definitely go back to Yosemite in a few years, hopefully to better weather, or at least with a Corinne who can sleep through the night!

  

Butterflies and Cars

In mid-April we went with some friends to the Natural History Muesum's Homeschool Day.  We spent some time looking at minerals and gems again, but the main event was the butterfly pavillion.  The kids took a ton of blurry pictures of the different butterflies they saw there, but I kept only these. 
   

This one was called a buckeye.

At home, we were finally ready to let our own butterflies go.  We had ordered them through somebody at park day, and it was fun to watch them grow and transform again.  The release was really cute - the butterflies climbed all over the kids, and one hung around our yard drinking from flowers for awhile.

   

  
Connor got to participate in his first Pinewood Derby at Cub Scouts.  He designed and built his car all by himself, although I don't know what assistance he had with the woodworking - they all did that at somebody else's house.  The green is supposed to be the Monster Soda symbol.  (I'm not sure why, but Connor thought that would be cool.)  His car did respectably well, and he had a great time!
  

  
Corinne started standing while holding on to things, and her siblings were very proud (so was she.)
   

  
Evan, Elise, and Connor did a couple weeks of swim lessons with some kids from our ward who run a swim school.  Connor learned some strokes, Evan just cried the whole time, and Elise had a major breakthrough!  She finally learned to put her face in the water and swim to the wall.  It was amazing how, once she got over the face-in-the-water thing, she just took off, and is now as pool safe as possible.  Yay Leesie!
  

  

  

For handwriting practice, I have Elise copy passages from her McGuffey Reader.  One day she picked this, so I had to send it to Grandma.
  

  
These were just cute.