It has been about 6 weeks since we have returned from Yosemite and a lot has happened.  Let’s take a look.

GranMille and GranDon spent about 3 weeks with us and everyone had a super time.

Boy Scout Troop 50 marches in the Carpinteria 4th of July parade.

Our parade includes a garbage truck, patriotically adorned.

The annual First Baptist VBS was a hit.  Max and Lucy rode their bikes to and from each day.  At the end of the week was the show.  Can you spot Lucy?  Hint: look for pink crocs.  Can you spot Max?  He is hiding, but still (barely) visible.

Roly turned 1 years old, got some ice cream, cake and YaYa and Poppa got a picture with all the grand kids.

Our boy is getting better at feeding himself.  He downed this banana in just a few minutes the other night.  I still do the peeling for him, but the cutting of the banana into wheels is no longer necessary.

Roly loves books.  I mean really loves books.  He grabs them. He eats them.  He tears them up.  Here, I am reading to Sumo-wrestler Lucy and Roly decides he needs to be involved.

I hung  some hammock seats on the front porch and they are a big hit.  Even Roly can get into the swinging chairs.  The crazy thing is that I bought these on our Mexican cruise in July 2008 and hung them up in July 2011.

I borrowed a kayak from a friend at work and Max and I cruise at the beach quite a bit.

Still crawling, but he likes the scoop because it makes him look like Popeye with a pipe in his mouth.

He sort of pushes himself along behind the walker that he got for his birthday.

He sort of likes the trailer that we got for him to ride in.  The trailer attaches to the bike and can be used as a stroller.

The Johnston’s came for a long weekend visit.  A great time was had by all.  We promised to try to see each other more frequently than every 3 years.  Unfortunately, the next visit is for the Theule’s to go to Lake Elisinore.  ummm….

Salem had a great picnic this year.  Lucy got her face painted and learned to twirl a lasso.  She even entered a pie eating contest and rode a pony.  Max did well in the apple bobbing contest.  Roly did not enjoy having his face painted.

Last week Max did a surfing day camp with Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara.  They had devotions in the morning and then spent a few hours learning to surf at Santa Claus beach (near the Padaro Grill).  He did really well, standing up on his first day.  I think his balance is very strong as a result of using his Rip Stick.

Here are some photos from his week at surf camp

Last night I played some Chinese Rummy until the wee hours ( 10:30 p ). I lost horribly after miscalculating (twice!) and holding on to my cards too long.
In the morning, we went into Yosemite Valley and had lunch before a tour of the valley in an open air tram. We were joined on the tram ride by the Wrights, the Stastnys and the Goebel / Williamsons. It was an excellent tour and very informative on the geology, geography, history and lore of Yosemite.[flickr]http://www.flickr.com/photos/theule/5926390287[/flickr]

After the tour ended, we had just enough time to do the walk to Bridal Veil Fall. This was an easy walk of about 1000 feet to the base of the fall. At the base, there was soooo much mist that we were wetted through and through in just a few minutes. [flickr-gallery mode=”photoset” photoset=”72157627058564149″]
When we returned to EverGreen Lodge, we had a Seal Family dinner that was excellent. We were served spaghetti with lamb meat sauce, penne with pesto and tortellini in alfredo sauce all followed by a selection of some of the most decadent desserts I’ve tasted.
After this great dinner, we took a family picture with all the kids, grandkids and great-grandkids and Gma / Gpa. This went as well as could be expected and it only took about a half hour to take 30 shots or so. At least one should be an OK picture.
Tomorrow the plans involve *not* going into the Yosemite Valley ( too many people on a Saturday). We will find hikes and adventures closer to the lodge.

Our first full day at Evergreen Lodge started off with a breakfast buffet of all the Seal family members in attendance. The evening before had been great with Max getting a key to the cabin and bringing himself home at 11p after spending the time with cousins.
After breakfast we went on a bike-hike-swim adventure. 24 members of the Seal family (including the patriarch) rode 16+ miles on bikes, followed by a short hike, concluding with a few hours of swimming. At the Rainbow Pool there was rock jumping and waterfall sliding. The water was very high in all of Yosemite, due to record snows this past winter. It snowed in Yosemite on May 29th, one of the latest days on record.
Our guide, Andrea, was great at pointing out scenic spots along the way, and passed on interesting tidbits of information about the valley. Lucy rode the 16 miles on a tag-a-long bike behind me, and Toby did very well on the hills. The ride was mostly downhill, but had just enough uphill sections to make it challenging. When we got to the Rainbow Pool, the bikes were loaded up onto a trailer and we rode home in Suburbans after swimming and lunch.
[flickr-gallery mode="photoset" photoset="72157627175140368"]

Tonight is a BBQ dinner followed by Bingo!
Lucy loves spending time with Papa in the hammock.http://www.vimeo.com/26286343

We left Reedley and cruised up to the southern entrance of Yosemite.
Just before the park entrance, we stopped for lunch and a ride on the Sugar Pine railroad. This was a restored narrow-gauge wood fired steam driven train.[flickr]http://www.flickr.com/photos/theule/5926339943[/flickr].

The kids also panned for gold. We learned how to tell the difference between fool’s gold ( 2 different kinds, mica and pyrite ) and real gold : density.[flickr]http://www.flickr.com/photos/theule/5926894690[/flickr]
We spent some time hiking in the Mariposa Sequoia Grove. The trail was very crowded, but we were able to catch up with a tour group led by a parks service ranger. He was very informative and entertaining. We saw the Grizzly Giant tree which is the largest sequoia in this grove at over 200 feet tall and 29 feet in diameter, but only the 25th largest in the world. The Grizzly Giant had branches that were over 6 feet in diameter.[flickr]http://www.flickr.com/photos/theule/5926343921[/flickr]
After the tour ended, we took a side trail back to the visitor’s center and experienced long periods of time of having the trail to ourselves. On the way into ‘the Valley’, we stopped at Tunnel View to see El Capitan, Half Dome and Bridalveil Fall (and more) from one spot.[flickr]http://www.flickr.com/photos/theule/5926911878[/flickr]

Arriving at Evergreen Lodge was a treat. The camp is very well laid out, and has wonderful amenities for both kids and adults. This is going to be a great time with the Seal Family.