Yosemite National Park

Josh had a class in Sacramento on Friday, so we decided that since we were half way to Yosemite, we would go Saturday.  The plan was to camp Friday night, but the weather was rainy and cold Friday, so we ended up getting a hotel.  It is a good thing, too, because Avi-Girl was up a lot of the night being sick.  (Pay caught it by the end of Saturday, and I woke up Sunday morning with it).  Anyway, since we are all taking it easy today to hopefully recover from being sick- I thought it was a perfect day to blog. 

Yosemite was extremely busy on Saturday.  It was a free National Parks Day.  We were lucky to find the three parking spots we found.  Each time we pulled out a lucky car was waiting to take our spot.  The first hike we did was Bridalveil Falls.  Apparently it is nicknamed the "Misty Trail" because it is quite misty, and we got a little wet.  We didn't know we would until we saw people with ponchos on.  We got to the waterfall, but it was so misty that we couldn't even see it until later when we drove around the park and saw it at a distance.

On our way to Yosemite Valley, we pulled over to look at the river.  This was the least crowded place we went.  It was really pretty, and we got a great view of Yosemite Falls at a distance.


We saw many pretty views of Yosemite Falls, and did the lower falls hike.  This was a fun hike, and the nature around was really pretty.  There were tons of little streams and branches of streams going all over the place.  We want come back when it is hot outside, so we can play in the streams. We were lucky to get a few pictures without others in the picture behind us. 


We also walked around the foot bridges in the meadow.  This was a lot of fun, and Payman and I had fun taking pictures.  He had some pretty cool poses.  At one point around the food bridges we walked down to the river.  The kids had fun playing in the sand.  It would have been another great spot to play in the water if it was hotter outside.


On our way back to the car, both kids were tuckered out.
 

Josh and I made a few more quick stops on the side of the road to check out rock mountain views and such.  I can't remember the name of all of the mountains in Yosemite, but the tall rock sides were sure fascinating to look at.  The pictures really don't capture the coolness of them.



It was a great day, and I am glad Payman or I didn't get sick until after the fun. 

Stake Family Temple Day- Oakland Temple

We had the opportunity to do a session at the Oakland Temple for Stake Family Temple Day.  The Stake Primary Presidency provided babysitting at the Temple, and we took advantage of that.  After the session I got some cute picutres of my kids, so I wanted to share!

Adventures so far this year

Blogging has not been a priority with my life lately, but I really wanted to post about some things from 2016 so far, so I don't get too behind.  I did blog about our trip to Costa Rica and Payman turning 4, but there is a reason I don't have time to blog much anymore.  Life has been full of fun adventures!  Here's the Summary of the last three and a half months:

January
*We bought a house!!!

I am still trying to get things organized. Josh is surprised I still don't have things on the walls. Every other time we have moved at the time of the move, I only had 1 or none children (now I have two), I have not had busy callings (my calling is a busy one now), and I wasn't teaching piano (I am now teaching piano).  Most of the places we have moved were new, so we didn't really even have friends either, so I had plenty of time to get things unpacked and organized.  Now... we moved 2 minutes from the place we were renting, and life is in full swing, but I love it!!  So- hopefully, once I get all organized, I can get more pictures of our place, and do a post dedicated to our first owned home together.

*We went on a quick trip to Santa Cruz to see Josh's grandparents who were visiting.
  We took a walk on the beach, and a sneaker wave got Payson.  He got drenched, but was good sport once we wrapped him up in the blanket we had with us.  It was nice to see Grandma and Grandpa Mayo, like always.

(February was covered with our Costa Rica trip and Payson's birthday, so I will skip to March).

March

*We went to the Oakland Temple for the first time.
 

*Steve and Deana came to visit.


The weather was nice most of the month, but the weekend they came, it just happen to be rainy, so we didn't do much outside, but it was nice to have them visit.  The kids sure love them, and they brought Payman's birthday present- a superhero costume (which he plays with often) and a magic doodle pad.

*Cub-Scout carnival

Our ward cub-scouts did 3 booths as a fundraiser for day camp, so I helped most of the day, but when Josh brought the kids, Avi girl fell asleep in the car, so I took Payman around to the different games.  He had a good time.

*Easter
 
Molly sent the kids a couple fun Easter games, so for one Family Home Evening our activity was pin the tail on the bunny.  Payman won, and he claims he couldn't see! :)

 
Easter weekend was really nice.  On Saturday we had a big Primary Easter Egg hunt in our backyard.  We had around 272 eggs, if I remember right, and 26 kids.  Then on Easter after church we went to a beautiful California poppy field by the lake and attempted to take some pictures.  The family pictures turned out pretty decent using my pixy bluetooth to take the pictures.  I got a few cute ones of Avi-girl, but Payman got a sliver before I was able to get any cute ones of the kids together or any of just him.

*We got chickens!

They are cool, but to be honest- I am mostly excited for the fresh eggs!  The kids like them, and Josh does a good job at making sure they are fed and what not.  I just have never really been a "bird" person, but like I said- they're cool!

*Story Time
 
We try to go to story time on Fridays at the library.  Payman and really enjoys it, but it has only been the last couple of weeks that Avi-girl has really gotten into it somewhat.  Both kids are learning so much so fast, and love when we do school.
.

*Another visit to the Poppy field


 I couldn't resist more pictures, and the weather was just perfect, so low and behold- more pictures of the poppies and kids, and one of Josh and me- oh, and the cute little purple flowers, too!

*A few (16) other self-explanatory pictures that shows a little bit more of our busy lives.  Some of these go into April.



The year is cruising!  Life is a great blessing!  I have so much to be thankful for!