Ways to celebrate America's special day

The fourth of July is upon us. We started our celebrations early...ya know...to get prepped. Here are some things we did this weekend to make sure we are ready.

What's more American than BBQing?

AND having a grill assistant is always a bonus.

Ahh...spending some time at Fentons Creamery to grab some ice cream.

That's right...by far the best ice cream ever!

After some Fentons, head over to AT&T Park to watch the Red Sox square off against the San Francisco Giants! Sox won 4-2. It was a good game. Right as found our seating section and approached the field from the corridor, we witnessed a Sox player nailing a 3-run homer. Pretty much iced the game in the 1st inning. Giants couldn't recover.

AT&T Park itself is quite the venue. This is a view of right field where players will typically hit homers into the bay. These Kayakers are like sharks at feeding time.

It was a cool and breezy day in San Francisco. Doesn't matter what time of the year you visit, you will always need a hoodie on hand.

Madie was so good. She really didn't have any melt downs, though she did get antsy at times. She did very well.

The Bay Bridge on the way home. Great weekend, and we are looking forward to the 4th of July weekend!

A Day at the Park...or Zoo...or Whichever!

Sorry we're having so much trouble uploading things. First Mike's internet connection was always askew, so now he's purely a Firefox man, and that seems to work for the most part. (We're still having trouble with videos.) Then, my iPhoto started to go NUTS on me, so we're lost on that front too. I think maybe it needs an update, but because I don't have internet at the apartment, I can only get updates while I'm at the library, and that's hard sometimes.

Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, Mike, Madie and I went to the park on a Saturday morning. Livermore has some incredible playgrounds. This one has a rubberized top, and is brand-spankin' new. The only downside is when they put in the new playground, they didn't plant any tree around it. That's not all that smart considering it was above 90 all last week. Hmmm... anyway, we hit it up in the morning and found that Madie-Fi LOVES to swing!

Technically she's still too small for the swings, but she just loves them so much.
We just push her lightly.

Here she is peeking through a little hidey-hole. Look at that grin!

Last Friday, a girl in our ward had her 3rd birthday party, and since her mother is in charge of play group, she decided to just move the play group to the Oakland Zoo and call it a birthday party. One of the women had a guest pass so she got me in for free! I didn't even have to ask! It was so nice.

Madie liked to look at a lot of the big animals, but the smaller ones didn't impress her much unless they were right up close to the fence so she could really see them. Luckily, they have a sheep/goat petting zoo area. I sat her down next to this beauty and she loved to feel it's fur. Then a veritable miracle happened: it SNEEZED! What more could a 10-month-old girl want than a sneezing, furry, animal with a long face and funky eyes that sits perfectly still while she tugs at its coat? Nothing beats that. She cracked up and laughed the whole rest of the time she sat there. (Of course, this was AFTER I had switched to still shots.)

We had so much fun at the zoo! We'll have to go again with Daddy next time. It was really impressive. (I have quite a few pictures of animals, but figured ones with me and Madie would be more fun to see on here. I could be wrong though...)

Yosemite

We had the amazing opportunity of visiting Yosemite National Park last Thursday and Friday. I cannot use words to describe the majesty of the rock formations, waterfalls, and ambiance of the Yosemite Valley! It was quite an experience. I grew up a mere three hours away from the park, and through my 18 years of living that close, not ONCE did I visit it! So, we made a point of visiting it this time around. A couple of friends of mine, Indy and Faris, came with to embark on a grueling hike on Thursday while Mallory and Madie hung out at the shops and held down the fort. For those interested, we took the Four-mile trail up to Glacier Point, and then the Panorama trail back to Yosemite Valley. Totals miles hiked: 12.6. The original plan was to hike Half-Dome, but the cables to the summit aren't up yet due to late snowfall/slippery conditions. I'll admit, I was initially disappointed with not being able to hike Half-Dome, but after going on this hike I feel redeemed. We got to see the entire Yosemite Valley from our hike, and multiple angles/distances of Half-Dome. I don't know that it would have been as rewarding to hike it as it was to watch it all day. On with the photos.

Lower Yosemite Falls in the background. The largest waterfall in the United States (photo of the entire falls is further down).

Nevada Falls, and a slab of granite that looked like Patagonia, right behind Half-Dome.

We went on some short hikes on Friday, and Madie LOVED it! She slept really well (thank you to whoever invented the pacifier) this time around, and loved the outdoors so much! She was in such a happy mood the whole trip.

Vista from our hike. We started down where those trees are in the valley. It's overlooking El Capitan (right ridge).

Amazing views of Half-Dome all day. I must have taken 50 pictures of it.

Here is a view of Yosemite Falls from the ridge we climbed. It falls 3,500 ft. from top to bottom.

Faris, Indy, and I from the top of Glacier Point.

On the Panorama trail, we found some water on the trail! Mixed springs, snowmelt, and whatever else was just dumping on the trail. Fun to walk through.

Another shot of Yosemite Falls. I think I counted 7-8 'official' water falls that emptied into the valley.

Madie fell asleep while walking around. I think she was out for 20 mins or so.

Walking back to the car to head home. We are already plotting a return trip to hike a trail that takes you to the top of Yosemite Falls, and to bring our bikes to ride around. It really is a magical place to visit.