Kayaking again

The fish hatchery is actually right across the road from the aquatic center. Ron's mom and dad have never been kayaking before so we thought we would take them. It was alot of fun. They were a bit nervous but they enjoyed themselves. Kaeryn was so excited, she couldn't wait to get out there with abuela. It was so cute to watch. She wanted to show abuela how she could paddle. Kaeryn's getting pretty good at it. She's almost ready to go in one by her self I think. It was another beautiful day on the lake. We went in the morning so it wasn't very crowded at all. We went to our usuall spot to play in the sand and water while two or three of us were out in the kayak. My back and leg weren't bothering me today so I got to go in the kayak for the first time. It was so fun. Just Ron and I. I couldn't go very far( I didn't want to risk hurting my back and leg) but it was so much fun. I've been canoing and rafting before but I've not been in a kayak. It was so much fun. Again, we can't wait to get back there. After our adventure on the lake we came home and Ron's mom and dad showed me how to make a Venezuelan treat called arepas dulce. They are kind of like scones but smaller and thinner. They were yummy. We had such a good visit with them. We loved having them here with us. We wished they could have stayed longer. Hopefully soon we'll beable to plan a trip to Utah to visit them. Thanks so much for coming mom and dad! Te amo!

Window murals

These are murals in the windows of the visitor center at the fish hatchery. I thought they were really beautiful. I love these pics because they seem like the kids are sitting in front of an aquarium. There are several learning area's in the visitor center and the kids had fun learning about the hatchery and what they do there.

The fish hatchery

We thought it would be fun to take Ron's mom and dad to the fish hatchery. It's a really neat one. To bad though they didn't have any big fish in today. But we got to see plenty of babies. The kids love going to the hatchery and I think Ron's mom and dad loved to see their excitment.

Jaxen's first undies!

I couldn't resist taking a picture of this. We're still in the potty training phase and probably will be for a while. I decided to get Jaxen his first pair of underware. He choose some Thomas the tank engine and disney's pixar ones. He looks so cute in them, I had to take a pic. Even the smallest size are still a bit big on him. They're a bit baggy but they just look so cute! My little big boy! I love you and I am so proud of you!

Birthday canoing

Kaeryn has totally fallen in love with kayaking and being out on the lake. She choose to go to the aquatic center for her birthday. We decided to get a canoe this time to try out. It was a little harder for them to paddle and steer but we all still had fun. When we weren't in the boat we were in the water wading and splashing. It was alot of fun and a beautful day to be out on the water. Jaxen actually played in the water more than the sand. He kept going back and forth from mommy to daddy. Kaeryn has decided that she likes the kayak better than the canoe, but we still had a blast. We're begining to thing the aquatic center might be a common place for the Cruz family.

My little art buddy!

Kaeryn couldn't wait to try out her new art stuff. She painted this butterfly. It turned out really pretty. She looked up butterflies on the computer and found one that was a blue green color so she painted it that. It's going to be so great to have an art buddy in the house with me. I love it and I know Kaeryn does too.

Kaeryn's birthday cake

Kaeryn choose to have Ron's famous cheesecake for her birthday cake. She asked for cherries on top also. So Ron covered the whole thing in cherries. It was so yummy! Kaeryn loved it!

Happy 10th Birthday Kaeryn!

July 10th was Kaeryn's 10th birthday. It was a fun day. She loves to draw and make things so we got her some art supplies. Her own acrylic paints, watercolors, acrylic paper to paint on, watercolor paper, her own easel and paint brushes and drawing pencils. I also made her a couch for her dolls with plans to make a doll house. My dad drew up the doll house plans and sent them to me so that I could build it. The doll house plans are like the one my dad made for me and my sisters when we were little. I'm so excited to build it for her. Kaeryn was very excited about the doll house as well. She has been wanting one for a long time. We also got her some scrap booking things. I'm so excited to have and art buddy in the house. Kaeryn was all smiles today! We love you Kaeryn! Happy Birthday!

Sitting by the lake

Our last of our trip we spent sitting at the lake. We talked about our vacation and what we liked best. The kids and Ron spent time trying to skip rocks on the water. It was a very nice way to end the trip. Good bye Bass Lake and Yosemite National Park!

Mariposa Grove

By the southern entrance of Yosemite National Park is the Mariposa Grove of giant seqoia trees. They are huge! We went on the tram ride and i'm glad we did or we would have missed out on so much, even though it meant we didn't get to spend a whole lot of time at each area. This tree they call the clothes pin tree. They say that opening is wide enough for a truck to go through. The trees are just beautiful to see and very inspiring. I'm so glad we got to go.

While everyone was looking the other way We saw this deer by one of the giant trees. I love being apart of nature.

This is the famous California Tunnel tree. At one point of time it was part of the road and they let cars drive through it. Now you can only walk through it. It was such an awesome sight.

The sign

you have to stop and take a picture of the sign before you go into the park. It's just tradition.

Panning for Gold

At the railroad park there was an area where the kids were able to pan for gold. This guy(i can't remember his name) showed Kaeryn and Tristan how it was done. Then he taught us how to tell the difference between real gold, mica and iron pyrite( fool's gold). It was so fun to watch. They each got a little vial to put their gold in for them to keep.

Just pics

This is a picture of the fire under the train that heats up the water to make the steam for the engine. It was really quite a sight to see.

These pine cones are amazing! Sugar pine trees grow the largest pine cones in the world. Some can reach the size of 24 to 27 inches. These ones weren't quite that large but they were close. I didn't pine cones could get that big until now. Our world is so amazing!

Train Ride!

Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad was not to far from where we were so we decided to go fro a ride. It's set up as a historic ride through the old lumbar line. It was alot of fun.

This was Jaxen's reaction when the engine let off steam while we were waiting to board the train.