Groveland Vacation....

On the 4th of July we started our summer vacation. We left that day to begin our 12 hour drive to Groveland, California. Groveland is a resort town about an hour west of Yosemite National Park. It is a beautiful part of California. We were meeting Mike's family there. His ENTIRE family (well, almost. One sister and her husband couldn't make it.). That is his parents, 8 of their 9 children, 6 spouses of said children, 1 girlfriend (she belongs to his brother that got off his mission in November), 1 friend (youngest brother's), 18 grandchildren, and 2 dogs. So give me a second to add that up...36 people and 2 dogs. Quite the crowd. Mike's mom was generous enough to rent 4 houses for everyone to stay in for the week.

It was a long and fun week. We took tons of pictures so I have decided to divide up the pictures according to what we did. The following posts are the travel log to our kids only vacation that we took during their 2 1/2 week "summer break."

Pine Mountain Lake....

All the houses/cabins were in the Pine Mountain Lake Resort. Mike's family has been coming to this area for years. They just take a trip every few summers. The last time we went Monica was 7 months old. So it's been a while. The resort is, of course, around a lake. So we spent a couple days at the lake just playing.

Here is Karly gearin' up to go play in the water.

Megan is on the right. Her cousin Christine is on the left and Taylor is in the middle.

I think Mikayla and Katelyn were safe in the water with both of them in innertubes plus sitting in the boat. :)

Here's Mon-ka!!

Katelyn really did like going in the water. Isn't she cute? :)

This picture is from one of the other days we spent there. Karly is light enough to gain quite a bit of air. Are we surprised? Not really. The one throwing her is her Uncle Matthew (he's as tall as Mike is). So she must have gotten a good 7-8 feet in the air. He came home from his mission in November. Karly loved it and kept asking him to throw her again and again.

Yosemite....

Our second day there we went to Yosemite. The date is the 7th of July so it was also Megan's 11th birthday. She was not thrilled about spending it in a park. But at the end of the day she did end up enjoying the day.

Here is my family with Half Dome in the back round. Mike hiked it when he was 18. I told him to go hike it again. He took a rain check.

Half Dome again.

One of the rivers that go through Yosemite. We went on a hike around this river. Just a beautiful area.

Mike took the girls down to feel the water. It is really cold because it is melted snow from the mountain in the park.

We went on a little hike to see Yosemite Falls.

Yosemite Falls.

This is a meadow in Yosemite that we passed through on the way home. Mike is pointing out a little chipmunk he saw running through the grass.

Mike and the girls in front of the meadows.

San Francisco....

The day after Yosemite we headed to San Francisco. We went with Mike's brother, Kevin, and his family. And also with Mike's sister, Kristin, and her husband. We loved San Francisco. It is an awesome city with so much to see. Mike and I decided that if we ever really "go away" without the kids, it would be to San Francisco. We saw quite a bit considering we spent 6 hours driving to get there and back.

Here is the group at AT&T field. We went to a day game. Too bad the Giants lost to the Marlins 7-0.

Okay, I was a tourist. I had to take a picture of the Fishermans Wharf sign.

Mike and the kids in front of Ghiraradelli Square. Of course we bought some chocolate there. :)

The sea lions doing some sunbathing off of Pier 39.

The San Francisco Bay across the street from Ghiraradelli Square. The kids just had to go in the water.

We didn't get out to see Alcatraz but here is a picture from Pier 39. I did make a few threats to the kids about leaving them there. :)

Rainbow Falls....

After we all slept in from our long day in San Francisco, we went with Mike's family to Rainbow Falls near Groveland. The water was really cold. Again, it was water from the snow melt. But the kids braved it out and had fun. The adults mainly stayed out of the water.

Katelyn "posed" for her picture.

Megan and cousin, Taylor.

Mike with Mikayla. She loved the cold water and was mad when it was time to go.

Mon-ka sportin' the cool goggles.

Mikayla having a lot of fun. :)

The adults watching the 2-year olds and Katelyn play in the water.

Karly got cold. Of course, the child has no fat on her so she gets cold easy. She decided to warm up by laying on a rock.

Night Swimming....

To top it all off, we would take the kids swimming at the resort pool after dinner. We were really good at tiring them out so they would sleep in some. :)

Here is Monica and Karly (under water).

Baby Girl was tired and wanted Daddy.

Megan doing a cannonball.

Katelyn never lasted long in the pool. She was content to sit in a chair with a couple of towels wrapped around her.

Mike, Mikayla, and Megan.

Have a safe one....

I just wanted to wish everyone a safe and happy 4th of July!!! Keep a water bucket nearby when doing fireworks. When doing sparklers with the kids, make sure everyone has their own "square" of the sidewalk. And do most of the holding if a preschooler or toddler wants a sparkler too, just like their big sisters! And you can get a pretty bad burn from a sparkler (I know this from personal experience)! Just some words of wisdom from me!! :)