I left my heart in Bandon, Oregon

Remember my birthday surprise from Kimberly? Well, I decided to buy filters rather than upgrading one of our rooms. THEN, right before we left, she gifted me with a sweet little bonus check, so we DID upgrade one night! Okay, so we had already decided to do it anyway, but this made the decision feel better!

We were going to stay at a boring Best Western on Saturday the 15th because we thought after an 11-12 hour drive to get from Angels Camp, California to Bandon, Oregon, we'd get there too late to be worth actually staying ON the beach. But then we realized we were nuts to pass up an opportunity, albeit an expensive opportunity, to stay ON the beach, so we sprung for it, and I was never so glad in my life!

We left our resort early in the morning and we barely stopped, so we made it in 10 hours; plenty of time to cook dinner while the kids played on the beach, and then go for a glorious walk. We had a cute little beach house with an upstairs for the kids, and this backyard....


Here are Isaac and Sophia kickin' up the sand while I'm whipping up some dinner.


Someone LOVED the beach.



It was fascinating.



While waiting for the sun to set, Daddy played Tic Tac Toe with his little lady (looks like she won this round!)...


And smooched with me.









The kids got cold (silly them for getting wet on a beach!), so we had to head back.


with a full moon to light our way...

Lake Tahoe

We're driving down the Oregon coast into California today, with a visit to the giant Redwoods, but last Tuesday we visited Lake Tahoe. We had to cross a beautiful snow covered mountain to get there.

Daddy couldn't resist stopping at this driving range for Isaac just before we reached the lake.

And finally, Lake Tahoe! There were many spectacular spots. These are just a few.

more from yosemite

View from Glacier Point of Half Dome on the left and Nevada and Vernal Falls. I highlighted part of our hike to the top of Vernal Falls.

Pouring Nevada Falls!

zoomed in on our Vernal Falls! The red highlights the tip of the top of the falls. I have a video from here, if I can just get it uploaded!

chillin'...

Tunnel View of El Capitan, Half Dome, and Bridalveil Falls.

Bringing some bottled water home!

at the base of Bridalveil Falls, which is the falls Isaac is bottling above!

Upper Yosemite Falls

Moonrise and Sunset over Bridalveil Falls

catching some rest after a hike.

finally got it uploaded! this is from the tippy top of Vernal Falls.

Yosemite National Park

At the footbridge of Vernal Falls on Mist Trail. Arrows drawn to show my peanuts. The hike to this point was hard, but dry. The wet part was about to begin, just a little ways up the trail. We were headed to the TOP! The trail was a strenuous, 3 miles, with a 1,000 ft gain in elevation.

The "mist" from the falls was more like pouring rain at some points, with lashing wind!

My lens was so soaked I had a hard time getting pictures.
This is from the top of the falls. See the mist? I drew in part of the trail... a wet, granite rock steps, steep climb! Only a small portion had a handrail.
Balancing on a floating log on the river above the falls.
There are waterfalls just about everywhere you turn.
These are Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls.

I've got a video I've been trying to upload all day, but have to give up now. We're headed out early in the morning again for Yosemite! Hopefully we'll see more bears! We saw a mama and her 2 cubs on our way out Sunday evening.

McWay Falls in Big Sur, California

missing in action

where every twist and turn of the road takes you to a place more beautiful than the last...

back by popular demand

Yes, he does exist! And this boy is growing up too fast for me. He'll be 13 soon, but to me he'll always be my baby boy. Was I ever insanely in love with my first baby! What a joy it's been to watch him grow into who he is, but I can still smell and feel that newborn baby skin. sigh...

Speaking of growing up, it was time to part with some of his beloved toys. He went through a serious truck phase, garbage trucks especially. Recently I talked him into parting with some of his trucks and equipment. It's been forever since I've seen him crawling on the ground playing with them, so we passed them on to this little guy. Sheila sent me some snapshots today of Philip enjoying them.
So cute!

And have a look at this thank-goodness-for-photoshop before and after!