Yosemite was BEAUTIFUL!. We hiked up to the top of Vernal Falls on Monday, and then hike down to the Giant Sequoia Grove. then we hiked all around the valley, taking pictures. Below is a link for them - but it won't be up for long. We took a lot in traditional film, that I will be getting developed tomorrow.

We are already planning a return trip.


Click on the small image below, to go and view in a larger size

Erins Wedding

What a beautiful day for a wedding! Erin was beautiful! and so grown up. It is still hard to believe she is old enough!

We had the opportunity to attend the ceremony at the Temple. So I got up really early to finish the cake on time. Joseph and I drove up to Oakland (I had forgotten how pretty the Oakland hills are in teh spring.) Anway, we get inside... are walking over to the North Chapel, when I see a gentleman in the office and the far end of the hall. I mentioned to Joseph that it looked like Bishop Aaron, and sure enough... we get closer, and he spots us and comes out to see us. They just put in a new Temple Presidency at the Oakland Temple, and he is one of the counselors. It was wonderful to see him and his wife. President Aaron performed our wedding. We discovered that he was going to be doing the sealing for Erin and Craig. It is a small world in the church.

Sue did a wonderful job with the reception! the weather was a little cool.. But not too bad. The cake turned out great.... at least in my opinion. Actually... this is the best one I have ever done. The lighting outside for the pics wasn't great, but Joseph will fix that with Photoshop for me....eventually

What a Week!

Wow.. we have had a really busy week! We left last Wednesday for CA. That was a long drive. We left at noon... and it wasn't too bad, until we got into CA. Then I-8o was closed... so they detoured us up and around the side streets in the Sierra's. That added on another several hours of drive time. We go in around 2 am. Boy were we tired!

But Thursday morning we dove right in. I started baking the cakes, and Joseph and Stuart went for a hike in Las Trampas. I've included some images from their 8 mile hike. They had a lot of fun.

It was one of those fun moments for me.... when I got back to the house, after running errands, to find both of them in towels in the hallway, and here Joseph say "quick - if we get the clothes washed before mom gets home, we don't have to tell her."

So of course I had to ask...."Tell me what??" as I rounded the corner. Both of them looking sheepish and Joseph answered "Well.. we got into some poison oak.... BUT the good news is that Stuart seems just as immune as I am"

Of course... I had them do the laundry - because I am NOT immune. But mom had some stuff that you add to the wash that is supposed to neutralize the oil. But all in all they had a great time.

Stuart's First Fish

So... the Aaron's took him out fishing! My brother, took him out in the morning for about 4 hours, with no luck. Stuart managed to get his hook stuck on a rock and his shoes completely wet.

Aaron Augustus took them out later that evening, and this time they used a different colored bait (I had no idea that would make a difference)

But they caught something!!!!!!

Aaron A. cast out the line, and Stuart kept an eye on it. Sure enough, they got a bite. Stuart reeled it in completely on his own. Aaron A. caught another one a bit later.

They brought both of them home, and gutted them and cleaned them. They are in the freezer, and Stuart will cook them when we get back next week. Here are a few pictures that Aaron A. took for me.

Easter

Happy Easter!
We had a very busy eventful weekend. On Saturday afternoon, we headed out to Nathan and Elaine's. Elaine has a huge supply of plastic easter eggs, so the girls supplied the candy. We sat and filled eggs, with the kids banished to the upstairs. There were enough, that each kid had their own color.... so there would be no fighting over who got what candy. We split them up, hiding (laying them out in plain sight) for the younger kids in one area, and then really hid them for the older kids in another. All of them had a ton of fun. (and plenty of candy)

I've uploaded a slide show on the left. Make sure you can see the captions.
There was more,.... the train, picnic, and then time at the Tveter's, but I'll save that for the next posting.

Teaching Stuart to shoot

So we took Stuart out to teach him how to shoot. the good news.... is he didn't hit anyone. The even better news is that he hit what he was aiming at...... with a little help. He did manage to hit a "pigeon" - or a moving target of clay flung by a bystander (for those of us city girls who thought pigeons were just annoying birds that poop everywhere). He listened to what he was told and only argued a little. Of course the arguing about how to do it stopped, as soon as he realized that if you did it the way you were told.... you would actually hit something. Uncle Aaron had fun taking him out. And I think I trust Aaron a bit more with a gun. Joseph is a pretty good shot. If the world comes to and end with the current presidential administration.... Joseph could hit enough to feed us. Patty did well too - but she has been doing it for years. They stuck the gun in my hand (hello Annie Oakley). Ok.... not really. But as long as it isn't a moving target, and I don't aim for it....I can hit it. Actually, I just need to learn how the site works better. I did finally hit a stationary target, by aiming below it. I have a lot to learn.