Christmas 2013

Here are just a few glimpses of our Christmas celebration. I apologize for the poor quality of the photos; I lost my camera on our trip to Yosemite in October, so I've only had my phone to use. This was the first time in many years that we stayed home for Christmas Day. It was lovely and full of fun. 

Our tree: probably my favorite one yet!

Santa came to the Apple Hill Clubhouse. Hayden was fine sitting with him, but Lawson wasn't too sure... 

 We took probably two dozen photos, but never managed a decent shot of everyone. These are a few of my favorites.

The number one item on Koen's list this year? A PayDay bar. Santa saw fit to bring him two.  

 Lawson decided that Santa had made a mistake. Surely that electric train was intended for him, right? Wailing ensued...

Kirk finally got his popcorn machine!

Hayden Turns One!

2013 Christmas Tree Cutting

One of our favorite holiday traditions is to go out into the forest to cut our own Christmas tree. Usually we go with my sister Grace's family, and most often we head up to Lassen National Forest. This year, however, we were going on Thanksgiving weekend, which guaranteed that our usual spot would be very crowded. We ended up heading into the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, out past the town of Platina, where we found the roads deserted and found amazing trees.  Ours was huge, as usual. As cut, it was probably 20 feet tall, but we ended up having to trim it down to about 18 feet.  Also, as usual, the day was full of fun. The kids got to play with my mom and their cousins, and we all enjoyed a bonfire and tasty lunch.

2013 Family Photos

One of my sister's good friends was so kind as to take our family photos for us this year. We didn't have any photos around that included Hayden, which was a disgrace as he's nearly one! We were fortunate to get a sunny November day and we spent some time down at Turtle Bay, where Shana managed to capture these wonderful shots of some very wiggly boys. 

Yosemite National Park, 2013

This year, we had both the misfortune and luck to arrive in Yosemite National Park the day before the federal government shutdown began. When we checked into our campsite we were told that if the shutdown happened we would likely have 48 hours to be out of the park, and that even if we chose to stay, the park would not be much fun as all non-essential services would be unavailable.  We had already rented a nice travel trailer for a week, so we decided to just get in as much fun as possible before they kicked us out.

We ended up being able to stay 3 of the 5 nights we had planned, and as for fun, I think we did pretty well! We rode our bikes for hours, and everywhere. Because the park was not admitting any more visitors, traffic was very light and we essentially had free run of the place. Lawson and Hayden took turns riding in the trailer and the iBert seat on the front of my bike, and they seemed to enjoy their mobile naps. The village store was open, but the theaters, shops, and galleries were all closed, meaning that we were compelled to stay out in the sun and fresh air basically the entire trip. We even attempted a hike to Vernal Falls, but only made it as far as the bridge. I'm sure we'll make it all the way next year, though!

My sister Grace's family was there also, and so we also had the chance to spend time with them. My brother-in-law took the boys to do some rock climbing on the boulder wall near Yosemite Village, and the cousins had a wonderful time riding their bikes around the campground. (I lost my camera in the course of the trip, so I'm missing photos of a lot of great times. The photos here are all from my phone, so please excuse the quality. )

Hobo Stew!

The day we finally had to leave this is what the park looked like: deserted. There were deer and raccoon wandering everywhere, and a bear ran right through the campground in broad daylight. 

The Upper Pines Campground, as empty as I will ever see it.