Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Memorial Weekend in Yosemite

We spent the Memorial Day weekend in Yosemite National Park. It was a crazy adventure. We knew it was going to rain but we had the reservation for a while and it's very hard to get one in high season so we decided to just go.

The first morning this beautiful bird joined us for breakfast.
Me trying to be a gourmet camping chef....

Hot chocolate, pancakes and syrup, omelets, and strawberries.

Our tent. This was the first run. We just got it a few weeks ago for Chris' birthday. We loved it and it kept up nice and dry.

Inside the tent. Yes....that is an air mattress and down comforter. We camp in style. I'm not one of those roughing it campers.

It was nice to have lots of extra space inside this tent. Our old one was just big enough for the air mattress.

The first day out...IN THE RAIN. Even in the rain....it was BEAUTIFUL!

The view of Bridal Veil Falls.



Just enjoying the view.

The View...

A close up of Bridal Veil Falls

The tunnel that we come out of just before you see the incredible view.

Deep in the forest.

I don't know the name of this. But it is cool.

Driving on the windy roads.

This bridge was Chris' favorite spot of the park. It's called swinging bridge.

This is Chris doing a Zen like look.
More pictures from the bridge.

I loved the trees there. Their bark was so cool.

It's like Nature's camoflauge.

On the trail to lower Yosemite Falls.

A picture of upper and lower Yosemite Falls.

The Lower Falls.

We went back to the Swinging Bridge spot the next day when it was clearer. You could actually see Yosemite Falls this time. We loved this spot.

More views of the spot.


Hiking up to the top of Yosemite Falls. This was about 1/4 of the way up.
Columbia Rock Lookout.

It started to rain at this point so we decided to cut the hike short because of the downpour. It was really slippery and we knew it would only get worse so we headed back.

The view from Columbia Rock. You could see most of the valley. Then it was the drive home....it took WAY longer than it was supposed to between, a rock slide, bad brakes, a bad map, crazy rain, fog, and traffic. When we got home we had so much cleaning up to do from all the mud and rain. The tent had to dry out over night so we set it up in our parking spot. After two hours we finished and realized we had a nail in our tire and the tire was flat. Awww....what a weekend!! We really did have a fantastic time!

Sunday, May 11, 2008

When HUGE Strawberries Are On Sale....The Pictures Make Them Look SO Small

Strawberries were on sale at Safeway and they were HUGE! All I could think about was dipping them in chocolate. Soo....for Mother's Day I did and gave them away.


Somedays I think I should really do this for a living. I LOVE it!

I was good...I only ate 4 (in two days) and gave the rest of the 30+ away. What can I make next?

This One's For Nate and Dayna! We Love You Guys!

For Chris' birthday our awesome friends Nate and Dayna sent Chris and I authentic soccer uniforms for the Salt Lake Real. We were so excited to get them that we went on a special field trip to try them out. They are SO comfy!!

The good old Subway $5 footlong deal. Great for the wallet and for picnics. I think we have become their best customers lately. Plus it's on the way when we walk to the park near our house.

Hmm....

The serious shots...before we get serious about playing.

The Nike commercial shot. Comtemplating the upcoming awesome moves. LOL

Go Chris!

He's a lot better than I am.

Yep....dribbling is about all I can do.


And then my crazy attempt at some tricks. I'll stick to my day job.

After some soccer we decided to play some Bocce. Ahhh...the park!

This was in honor of the Checketts too. Those were the days...

Ohh...somebody is closer...guess who? Ok it was me but we both won about the same amount of all the games we played. Thanks again Nate and Dayna!

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Happy Mother's Day Mom!! Here is my version of giving you breakfast in bed like I always did. How about a beautiful balcony breakfast in Italy with croissants and chocolate like this breakfast? Hmmmm...just take a moment and remember this one with me in it! Love you!

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Congratulations Jon and Amy!

Congratulations to my little brother Jon and his new fiance Amy. We are so excited for you!!

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Happy First Anniversary Josh and Steffi!

Well...I had extra fondant so I started making more cakes for fun. Eventually these will get a lot more complex. I have several ideas for more...

This was a lemon cake with all the same fruit filling as the last but with a lemon frosting.

I made this cake for Josh and Steffi's first anniversary.

This one was a lot of fun to make.

The happy couple.

Cutting the cake....

Aww....Here's to 50+ more years!

Dinner Party With Our Pals

We had a dinner party with some of our friends from Chris' school. Darren is a gourmet chef and made us an amazing meal! Stuffed artichokes, priscutto (spelling?) wrapped asparagus, a citrus stuff pork, and a variety of homemade pizzas and breads with cheeses. It was delectable!

The main course and the amazing chef himself!

Happy Birthday Tamara and congratulations Tamara and Tom on your engagement.

The Cake. It hurt to cut it. LOL

Craig and Jenna are camera shy in the background. Thanks for a great night guys!

The damage.....