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.