Mid State Fair 2010

We took the boys to the fair on Monday. It was a great day to go. Normally it's 100 degrees plus there, but it was only 80. There was a slight breeze and it was just really nice. This year, Kaden and Austin were really excited about going on the rides. Needless to say, the rides at the fair scare me a little. There is something about the old, rusty things that give me anxiety. I don't know maybe it has something to do with the 9 year old girl that was thrown from a ride the day after we were there...just sayin...They make me nervous! The boys emptied out their piggy banks just so they could ride some rides. We decided to walk around first and scope out the selection of rides. We ended up in the "kiddie" section and we decided to let them go on this dragon ride that was like a small roller coaster. The height requirement was only 36", so I figured the ride had to be pretty harmless, right?! I don't know why we didn't let the boys watch it go before we put them on the thing. We weren't thinking. So Mike went up with them and loaded them up on their first ride of the day... Then the thing took off. First of all, it went WAY faster than I expected it to and it also whipped you around the corners and let's just say, it wasn't the best choice for their first ride. As soon as the ride started, Mike and I looked at each other and immediately regretted letting them go on it. The first loop around, I could see the panic all over their little faces. They were so scared. I could see them gripping the bar with all their might and the looks on their faces said it all...Everytime it went around, I kept thinking "let this be the last time it goes around!" About the 3rd or 4th time around, I watched Austin's little head smack the side of the ride and he started to cry. He continued to cry the whole rest of the ride and we watched them go around 3 or 4 time with my baby up there crying his eyes out. SO SAD...We totally learned our lesson on that one. It has been all Austin can talk about all week. He went on one other ride and then he wouldn't go on anymore.

Kaden was scared on it too, but once it was over he was still ready for some more. We let him go on a few more mellow rides and then we were done with the rides. PHEW! We survived.
We walked around and saw the animals, got the boys a cinnamon roll, and just enjoyed the fact that their weren't a ton of people there. Over all, we did have fun. We just know that next year we can expect Austin to be a little more leery about some of the rides, which is not necessarily a bad thing...

1st annual Yosemite Lakes camping trip 2010

June was a fun month. We ended the month with our first annual Yosemite camping trip. It could not of been a better first camping experience for our family. We drove there on Wednesday and stayed until Saturday morning. So a total of 3 nights. We did not know how the boys would do, so we were playing it safe.

I'm not gonna lie, getting there was INTENSE, it took a total of 7 hours, that is including all detours and stops that we made. Kaden threw up twice and Austin screamed and dry heaved for the last hour or so. I was beginning to get that "is this really worth it?" feeling and then... we got there!
As soon as we got out of the car, everything changed. Just the smell of the air changes your mood instantly, then you look around and see streams, rocks, trees and it's all just so pretty. The camp ground was beautiful. It was about 15 miles outside of West entrance to Yosemite on the S fork of the Tuollomne river. The sun was shining, kids were playing in the river, there was dirt and trees everywhere, the boys were in heaven!!! Since we were only going to have 2 non driving days there, we had to make the most of the time. Mike made me proud wife on Thursday and accomplished something incredible, he hiked Half Dome!!!!

He did it with Stan, Melissa, and Bob. They left at 6:30am and didn't return to the camp site till after 9pm. That day I stayed at the camp ground with the boys and we just played in the dirt, went on "nature hikes" and relaxed. Friday morning came around and I really was just wanted to chill with Mike, play with the boys, play cards....Mike had other plans and he wanted to take me on a drive into Yosemite and maybe go hiking a bit. I just was not in the mood, but Mike and Melissa convinced me that I needed to go and that I wouldn't regret it, so I did. Melissa offered to watch the boys while we took the drive. Let's just say, that was the turning point in the trip for me. I could not believe my eyes. It was breathtaking and beautiful! My worries, gone... Stress, gone... It's just not possible when you see the views. Mike and I hiked up to Mist Falls and took some pictures. We started to really miss the boys and headed back to the camp ground. We cooked together, sat around the fire, laughed, cried, got super dirty, got absolutely no cell phone service, really never knew what time it was, got eaten alive by mosquito's, made s'mores, bonded... It was just what we needed and we will definitely be doing it again next year. Thank you Melissa, Stan and Nolan for inviting us and helping us make these dear memories with our family.