Camping in Yosemite- 4th of July weekend!

July 3-6th we went camping in Yosemite National Park with Mark's family and we had a blast! We couldn't have asked for more PERFECT weather or a more BEAUTIFUL place to camp. It was amazing! The kids seemed to really enjoy every moment of getting dirty, riding their bikes freely, going for long hikes and bike rides and seeing all the beautiful waterfalls and just plain exploring in the great outdoors with cousins and family that we love so much!

Camp. Yes, that's our giant tent on the right. I told Mark I would only camp if I had the biggest tent we could find. haha! I think we found it.

Yosemite Falls

In front of Yosemite Falls.

Sheila and Jeff with their cute kiddos Justin and Jordan. LOVE you guys!!

Grandma and Grandpa Stacy

Cousins.

Grandpa Hobbs made an amazing dutch oven dinner for everyone!

Beginning our hike up to Vernal Falls. Look how fresh we all still look.

Half way there at the bridge! The rest of the hike is pretty much straight up!

Vernal falls mist trail. It was very wet but the kids didn't seem to mind and Madelyn slept through this whole part of the hike.

We made it to the top of Vernal falls!! Kali and Zach did awesome and I was amazed that they made it! We were all pretty wiped out and had to take a little break and enjoy the beautiful view before hiking back down.

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Stacy for all your help and for making this trip super fun for all of us!! We had an awesome time and might just have to make this camping trip a family tradition!!

Swimming lessons

Zach and Kali both made huge progress this year in swimming lessons and I am so proud of them!! It was so nice to have some friends in the same classes with them too. They seemed to really enjoy their lessons and they both have definitely become much more confident in the water! Here are some pictures and videos that show it all.

Zach and Josh

Kali always wanting to be the first to try.

Kali with her swim instructor Clint.

My baby turned 2!!

On June 10th Madelyn turned 2 while we were on vacation where we celebrated at Disneyland for a day(see pics last post). We celebrated again with Mark's family this last Sunday. I cannot believe how fast that year just flew by and now our sweet Madelyn is no longer a baby. She is such a joy to have in our family and we just love her sweet temperament. Here are a few little things about our sweet baby girl. Madelyn is talking in 3-4 word sentences now whether or not anybody else understands them...I always do. She loves to play with Kali and Zach and she will do pretty much whatever they tell her. She loves to play with baby dolls, and now dress-ups is a new favorite. Madelyn also loves to read books with anyone that will read to her and she loves to sing songs. Her favorite song is "I am a Child of God". She loves music...I think she may be my singer. :) She also loves to chew gum. I go through a pack of gum a week with my kids. Madelyn loves to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and she loves anything that has to do with Mickey and Minnie. She also loves to snuggle. I love that about her. My other two were not really snugglers but I can always count on Madelyn to snuggle with me. She also loves to go swimming and play in the water. Madelyn is also a big helper. She is very good at cleaning up when I ask her to and sings the "clean-up" song while she does it. She is a cheerful little helper like her big sister. Madelyn still takes a three hour nap every afternoon and she has always been a great sleeper...(something Kali was not as far as naps go). And finally, I think her most favorite things are her blankie and fingers...yes she still sucks those same two fingers on her right hand that she discovered at 5 months old. I know we will be paying for it later, but for now I think it is adorable and it makes her happy. :) Madelyn we love you so much and we are so blessed to have your sweet little special spirit in our family!!

Here are some pics from our little celebration at G&G Stacy's home last Sunday. As you can see, Madelyn was taking this whole birthday thing quite seriously. I could not get her to look at the camera and smile for a single pic.










These were taken the next day at home when Madelyn wanted to try on her new dress-up.

Happy 2nd Birthday little princess!! We love you sweet Madelyn!!