Home Sweet Home

So needless to say, I'm happy to be back home! Yosemite was a blast, however our last night was a little too exciting...

We were sitting around the campfire & I was complaining how we didn't see any bears this year. (We saw/heard them every night last year & I chased a cub around for a good half hour taking pics of it last summer.) So we were all talking about it & I was truly saddened. John & I even joked about going around the campsite after everybody had gone to bed saying "Go away Bear!" (That's what the Rangers tell you to do while beating on pots & pans. Seriously!) However, we sobered up & decided that would be mean.

After we'd all gone to bed. We did have a visitor. Actually a mama bear & her two cubs. The mama bear woke up John's sister by trying to OPEN the door to their motorhome! When she couldn't do it (thankfully their door is broken & extremely tricky even for us humans to open) she started pushing & grunting & shaking the whole rig. Debbie woke up, looked out the window & saw a very large bear face to face. She saw two small cubs playing with her kids' toys at the picnic table too! After a few tries at getting in, the mama bear grunted to the babies & off they ran! Craziness! There are claw marks & scratches all over the door to their motorhome. Lasting Yosemite souveniers. John would probably had jumped out & beat the poor bear if she scratched his rig. Hee hee.

Other than that, our trip was very peaceful & beautiful. Except for the looming smoke from the wildfires. I have a ton more campfire stories to share & about 800 photos. Here's a few to wet your whistle:

Crazy Crazy Week

So this week has been FULL SPEED ahead. Family shoot on Monday, teaching a digital SLR class on Tuesday, and a new hair-do today. Finally! Then tomorrow, we're flying down to San Diego. Dropping off the monkeys at Grandma's. Having a fun weekend (except John has to sing in front of 1200 people. His very own version of Tom Petty's Free Falling.) It'll be as torturous as it sounds. Then we're flying home & meeting the monkeys & grandparents & cousins all in Yosemite. I think my favorite part of this whole arrangement will be the quiet drive from Roseville to Yosemite with just me & my husband. Wow! When does that happen? Should be fun & I'm sure I'll have a gazillion photos to post when we make it back. I'll try to throw one up of our trailer, packed to the gills. Very funny.

Here's a couple of shots from Monday's shoot. Amazing family!

Let the boxes begin!

I think we can, I think we can, I think we can! Move that is...

As of today, I am going to pack at least one box per day! I'm thinking the Laws of Attractions will help our house sell a little more swiftly if I just start packing. Not to mention the truckload of stuff a family of 5 can accumulate over the years. It's disgusting. So I have a ways to go, to say the least.

I also thought I'd better get a head start in my closet. O closet, how I love thee. Let me count the ways! I know I'll never find another closet like you! Without exaggerating my closet (my side of the closet) is easily the size of my college dorm room that I shared with another human being. I love this closet. I don't know that our next house, or any house for that matter, will ever suffice now that I've been so spoiled. Speaking of college, I have started the painful process of getting rid of clothes that no longer fit... It's extremely painful to give away a pair of jeans that looked so good back in the college days to Goodwill. Gone forever. I had been holding onto them in false hopes, but after Wyatt was born, my body just won't shrink back to how it once was. Quite depressing. so my wonderfully long jeans - gone. My only hope is that some other six foot tall woman who is as obsessed with 36"+ inseams will happen upon them one day at the Thrift store. And that she too, will be as happy as I was. Way back when. So I tried sticking to the "if you haven't worn it in 6 months, throw it out" rule. Man, that's hard! But I'm trying.

So in the middle of all the packing/organizing/what's gotten into me stuff, we had so much fun outside "watering the plants." Heres' a few shots:

So this is way more than you've ever asked already. Other items to discuss: still moving to Texas: not quite sure when, Ray is at Hermann: wants to get to TIRR real soon, Vacation: Next week: Grown Up weekend (Yay, Wahoo! So excited), then Yosemite! :)

Peace Out.

Ray

It has been 8 weeks since Ray's accident. I am in constant admiration of both his & Katy's strength throughout his recovery. It's beautiful to see & hear of all the miracles it is taking to heal Ray & give those around him the strength & support they need. Keep on pRAYing!

Pizookie??

Anyone ever hear of a Pizookie? Well, let me just go backward for a second... So we have this rule in our house where we only eat dessert on Fridays (awful, I know!) So Fridays are a huge deal to the boys. They apparently all inherited my sweet tooth that has been passed on through generations which I am quite proud of. Not John. Anyhow, so something happened this Friday & there was no big treat. Disappointment all around. Saturday was John's company picnic and in Nate's own words he only had about "100 sno-cones." So we thought we were even with the kids. Not so. Not even close. Then Sunday turned out to be a really fun day... Kung Fu Panda (hilarious) and then we went to BJ's Pizza for dinner. The kids were "so full" they couldn't "eat another bite." No way, no how. So John orders this Pizookie. You would have thought our children, our darling baby boys, were starved maniacs as they chowed down on this cookie/ice cream creation straight from Heaven. Next time we go I am bringing my camera just to capture this nature-channel-worthy-feeding-frenzy. And also to order my very own Pizookie.

Just a note about Ray... Keep praying. Foot surgery seemed to go well.