Red Jam Session

We made red jam with Red Grandma this morning.

Joy supervised Grandma's technique, . . . 

. . . Daniel verified that the strawberries were ripe, . . .

. . . and once all the jam was in the jars Grandma read us some fun stories.  Sweet.

Durhams at the Canyon

We've done a lot of traveling this June.  It seems like we scarcely got home from one national park before we headed off to another one for the Durham family reunion this week.

We all took a train ride to tour the Grand Canyon.

It was a great time to get reacquainted with cousins . . . 

. . . and uncles.

The grownups took lots of pictures at the Canyon . . . 

. . . but Joy just wanted to climb trees (well back from the canyon edge, I assure you). 

 Then we relaxed on a hotel's lawn . . . 

. . . and watched an impressive Native American dance until it was time for our return trip on the train . . . 

. . . which got held up.  And since we're 21st century tourists and not 19th century travelers, we thought that was kind of fun and cheerfully handed over our spare change.

Lunchtime and Naptime

 A couple Anna pics for your enjoyment:

Sometimes Joy likes to take a turn feeding her little sister.  Joy would also like to wear that flowery dress every single day if her mom would let her.

Sleeping like a baby.  Awwww.  I suspect sleeping baby pictures are only truly endearing to mamas and grandmas, but I'm posting this shot anyway.  It's my blog, after all.

Daniel and the Drumstick

Daniel ponders one of life's deep questions:

 "What happens if you give a 3-year-old a Drumstick?"  The answer is quite simple. 

He gets messier . . .

. . . and messier . . . 

. . . and messier.

Glad you enjoyed your treat, Buddy.  :)

Fencing in the Forest

We decided to visit the Mariposa Grove on our way home from Yosemite.

The size of those redwoods is pretty staggering.

After I had taken a few pictures, Joy asked for a turn with the camera.

This shot turned out a little better - at least she only cut off the top of my hat. 

We checked out a few more trees, then had a wooden sword fight before hitting the road.  We've had fun this week, but it felt good to be heading home.

Taft Point

 

We hiked to Taft Point today.

Some of us hiked more than others. 

We forded streams . . . 

. . . snapped lots of pictures . . .

. . . and basically forged ahead . . .

. . . until we reached Taft Point and a great view of Yosemite Valley. 

And somewhere along the way, Daniel really smudged up his face.  Like Cousin Jodi says, if a kid's dirty at the end of the day, they probably had a good time.

Glacier Point and Greyskull

On our second day in Yosemite . . .

 . . . we went out on a limb at Happy Isles . . .

. . . and headed to Glacier Point . . .

. . . to see Half Dome at sunset.

It was cool to have a bird's eye view of Vernal and Nevada (like how I'm on a first-name basis with the waterfalls?), . . .

. . . but the most memorable thing I saw up there was probably this van.  By the power of Greyskull!!!!

Familiar Rock Faces

I love this view.

My family used to come to Yosemite Valley every summer when I was a kid, and today for the first time in years I came around a bend and saw my old friends Half Dome and El Capitan.

This time, I'm sharing the experience with my little family, my parents, two sibs, and a sib-in-law. 

  Our first order of business was to take a short hike . . .

 . . . to the base of Yosemite Falls.

 The big kids loved clambering around on the rocks . . .

. . . and among (or even inside) the trees.

Anna just missed her crib.  Thanks for being a good sport, Baby.

Rainbows and Raspberries

And, in other news . . .

 Joy says, "Forget olives--put raspberries on your fingers!" (I second that).

Daniel's almost ready for a big kid bed, but not quite. 

Mama loves her new Rainbows.

Daddy is still working on his PhD.

Anna is still super cute (just in case you were wondering).

Joy's Graduation Day

Our family attended Joy's preschool graduation at Oneonta today.

Each child in the class received a trophy (of their own design), and recognition for the preschool activity they feel that they excel at most.  Joy proclaimed herself the "Best Plant Waterer."  I don't think it's a coincidence that her trophy looks like a Space Age sprinkler.

Congratulations to the class of 2012 . . . 

. . . and many thanks to Mrs. Main and Mrs. Chavez for a wonderful year.