Yosemite

John was able to get a reservation for the Yosemite valley lodge the last weekend in July so we squeezed one last national parks visit out of our passes.

It took a long time to get there because of traffic and it ended up being hotter than predicted, in the 90's the whole weekend.

When we finally arrived, the boys were anxious to get out of the car. We took the Mirror Lake trail and found the Merced river.

Perry crashed.

The boys loved throwing rocks.

The rocks were painful to walk on and it was so, so hot. The cold water and sitting in the shade felt great, but next time we definitely need to bring swimsuits and sandals.

Perry woke up and was not shy about getting his clothes wet.

Everywhere we looked it was beautiful. It's so crowded in the main areas, but as soon as you go out on a trail there's open space that's peaceful and quiet.

We tried to walk some more, but the boys were done. So we took the buses to half-dome village and had dinner at the pizza deck. The buses took a while, so it was good we left early, and the boys loved riding on them. John found ice cream (and sorbet for Jonah) for dessert on our trip back to the lodge.

After the boys were in bed we went on the balcony and could see so many stars. I managed to get some mosquito bites and was grateful we weren't camping in tents--it was well worth the money, especially when Perry woke up a few times during the night.
In the morning we hiked to Yosemite falls while it was still cool out and the boys did much better.

They found walking sticks

which sometimes broke, hence Scott's sad face.

We walked up to the waterfall, which was lovely.

The boys loved dropping rocks down, but being near edges makes me anxious.

On the bridge.

Boys on a log. We walked further up the trail, then back down. We met lots of friendly people on the trails and buses and talked to people from all over the world.

I packed up our room while John entertained the kids outside. It's easy to do with dirt and rocks all around.

The view from our room was amazing.

We happened to be at the lodge the same night as our friends the Rogers, who invited us over for pancakes. Then we went right down the path to a sandy beachy access to the Merced River.

The boys were in heaven. Jonah went in the water and Scott stuck to the sand.

We had a fun time chatting while Perry had a little nap and the kids played.

Then the Rogers drove us over to the little church. There was a short and sweet sacrament meeting that wrapped up our trip nicely.

Ashley took this picture for us on our way out. I wish we'd gotten one with their family!

We loved Yosemite and want to go back in a cooler, less busy month or when the kids are older and we can rent tubes to float down the river. Or both!