Guys Hike Labor Day Weekend

Kelly's guy friends group hike this year was to Water Wheel Falls in Yosemite. They hiked in from Tuolumne and camped near the falls.  The group was small this year, but Kelly always enjoys getting a way and hiking in to the wilderness.  It was sure beautiful.

Half Dome with Dad and Kenzie

Kelly and Heather took another trip to Yosemite to backpack in and climb Half Dome, and this time Heather's friend, MacKenzie, went with them. They were going to leave our house early in the morning, but Kelly got nervous about Half Dome permits which he hadn't been able to obtain when he got the trail passes. So they left at midnight and drove all the way to the Yosemite Valley. They set up chairs at the ranger station so they could be the first ones to be in line for permits. They were successful! And also tired after not much sleep except for dozing in the beach chairs. They camped in backpackers camp and were on their way to Little Yosemite Valley the next morning. After a night in Little Yosemite Valley, they hiked to Half Dome. What a great adventure! They got up early and were literally the first ones up the mountain which is why we have no group pictures. All was well and safe which made this momma happy. After hiking back and chilling out, they spent the following day tubing in some of the slower parts of the river and rock slides. They hiked back out the next day, and they all reported the trip being a blast!

Random November, Nature and Hiking

 Sariah on a rare morning walk to the park.

 Jenna invited Abbey to a youth activity.

 While helping a momma with a new baby, Heather had a cuddle moment with the toddler that was too cute for me not to secretly photograph during church.

 Heat and moisture have caused our Plumeria tree to bloom as well treating us to some spectacular sunsets.

Kelly (just turned 51) and his friend, Smith, hiked Iron Mountain on November 22. Why? Because Kelly is over 50 and wanted to prove that he could. It's only a 7 mile hike with a slight elevation gain (7,000 feet!!!!).  A difficult hike, but worth it. And yes, he's still got it. 

Annual Labor Day Weekend Trip

The annual Labor Day weekend trip with the guys was this weekend.  The group hiked to Thousand Island Lake in the Sierras.  What beautiful country!  The group of guys was great, the hiking and scenery were divine, and the fishing was amazing.  Kelly really enjoys this get-a-way, and the group is already looking forward to next year.

Zion Daddy-Daughter Trip

Road Trip!

The Narrows

 Angels Landing

Jenna was not interested in the trip that Heather and Kelly took to Half Dome, but she was interested in a trip of her own with her Daddy.  She has been wanting to hike Angel's Landing again in Zion, so she and Kelly took the only weekend left before school started and made that trip happen.  Kelly took Jenna shopping for hiking shoes on Thursday, and we said good-bye to them on Friday right after work.  They made good time and even stopped for super shakes at Icebergs.

On Saturday morning, Jenna and Kelly hiked through The Narrows, and Jenna was really brave.  After changing clothes at the hotel and stopping for lunch and a shaved ice, they headed up to Angel's Landing before sunset.  They made great time, and really enjoyed being together.  They headed back to California on Sunday.  So glad Kelly was able to make the trip happen for he and Jenna.  Great memories!

Girls Camp!

Heather and Kelly...

...departed on Monday morning with the 4th year girls for their backpacking overnighter.  Kelly was one of the leaders, and the girls bedazzled the truck with their 4th year slogans.  The hike took the girls to an area with a clear pool of water and some great rock jumping.  

Jenna...

 departed on Tuesday morning as a first year camper!  She joined a carpool with Sarah and other girls her age to make the trek to camp.  She was nervous, but glad her dad was going to be there when she arrived.  Jenna is not a risk taker, so it was a blessing having Kelly already at the destination.  That took some nerves out of the experience.  Jenna was brave enough to journey out with some other campers and leaders the next morning to do a "polar bear plunge" in a nearby waterfall.  Unfortunately, the rest of her camp experience was spent under-the-weather.  I think new food, new location, altitude and being away from home got the best of her.  She was able to stay until the last day, but didn't participate fully in the fun activities on that last day.

Melissa...

 arrived on the morning before the last campfire to teach a class.  It was a card assembling service project for our servicemen.  The girls assembled cards to package and send to Operation Write Home.  From there the cards are sent out into the field for servicemen and women to select and use to write home to their families and friends.  We covered the regulations for card making which included things like not using glitter because it makes the soldiers uniforms visible in night vision goggles.  The project was more meaningful after we discussed the life and death nature of the people we were sending the cards to.  I was able to stay for the testimony meeting and campfire that night which was a real treat for me.  I haven't been to girls camp in 25 years!  It was great to be there, to be reunited with my family, to spend the night in a cabin, and to help get the camp cleaned up before we all departed.

Yosemite Daddy-Daughter Trip

Kelly picked Heather up immediately following her last Freshman year final, and they headed to Yosemite to hike Half Dome together.  Jenna was still in school for another three days, but she and I weren't super interested in having that terrifying experience again.  Haha.  Here is a little photo journal of Kelly and Heather during their weekend 6/12/14 - 6/15/14...

 Arriving in the Valley - Scenic Bridge

  Starting the hike at Glacier Point - Destination Half Dome (top L)

 Scenic stops along the trail including the river for lunch and cooling off

 Ascent to Sub Dome - Heather sitting on one of the many steps

 View from the bottom looking up to Half Dome's summit

 At the top!  Unfortunately, it was so early that there were no other tourists to take a Daddy/Daughter picture.  Heather is wearing her Rouge shirt from X-Men

 Nevada Falls on the hike back

Vernal Falls

Until next time...

A little stop by the Maricopa Grove Redwoods