Sometimes a little girl just needs some time to stop and smell the roses flowers.
Photos taken at the Wawona Hotel in Yosemite.
Poolside Flowers August 10, 2012
Passport to the Parks August 9, 2012
YAY! It’s official!!! Adele has her first passport! But not the kind you’re thinking of (although I can’t WAIT to get her the real thing!) This weekend we bought her the official Passport to America’s National Parks! 
I’m not sure why she’s making that face, inside, she was SUPER excited!
Almost all of our National Parks have a unique stamp that you can collect in your Passport Book. Hopefully in her lifetime, she can fill that baby up with lots of stamps! Her first one was Yosemite! 
On Sunday, we checked out of our hotel and made the drive back in the Valley Floor to do a tram tour of the major sights. 
But first, we walked around Yosemite Village and checked out the visitor’s center. 
I’m a total nerd and again got giddy with excitement to have Adele there. When we were inside, we saw a few little kids getting sworn into the Junior Ranger program. They were SO cute! Someday she will be a Junior Ranger too and pledge to protect our beautiful parks. Ahhh I can’t wait!
They had a neat 3D display so we could see what the Valley Floor looks like from above. Awesome! (I know, total nerd.) 
Then it was time for our tram ride! 
It was a two hour tour that gave us the history of the park, and lots of other great information about the rocks and animals inside. 
See that giant rock cliff up there? 
We spotted a few climbers way up there! Insane, right?! 
It was hot and sunny, but Adele was cozy inside the carrier. We kept her well shaded and she slept the whole time. She’s a champ. 
It’s crazy how lush and dry everything is in the summer. Apparently in the winter and spring, the river can really overflow. 
Hard to believe the whole valley floods almost every year! 
One of the spots where Ansel Adams took some of his famous pictures. 
We were too scared to expose Adele to the sun, but someday we’ll remind her she was there! 
Another view of Half Dome, way in the distance! 
So lucky to have such a beautiful park in our country. 
It was a great tour. Well worth the trip. We only scratched the surface on things to do in Yosemite, but it was a great overview and I can’t wait to come back again someday. 
And with that, I leave you with a final picture of Half Dome. Incredible. 
A Yosemite Wedding
The main event from the weekend (and the reason we were visiting) was to celebrate the marriage of Irving’s friends Brian and Victoria. They are an awesome couple who LOVES the outdoors. They visit Yosemite often and have climbed some of the most famous rocks in the park together! Since it’s such a special place for them, they thought, what better place to get married?
We’re always stoked for destination weddings because it’s a reason to visit places we might not otherwise think to go! Plus, I love weddings in general, so it was a no-brainer we would be there!
…Even with an 8 week old baby!
We were all dressed up, so of course it was the perfect opportunity for more photos!
Adele couldn’t make it to the wedding (she had big plans to spend the day with Grandma).
(One of my favorites!)
It was fun to introduce Adele to some of Irving’s high school friends. Hi Jesse!
But soon it was time to pass her off to Grandma for the evening.
I left her with a few bottles of milk and away we went. Adele was in good hands. =)
The ceremony was in a gorgeous chapel on the Yosemite Valley floor (a little over an hour away). They had charter busses to bring guests down to the church. What an incredible trip though. The views were just amazing.
This is Bridalveil Falls! Still had some water running over its cliffs there!
Soon enough we arrived at the church! SOOO ADORABLE!
It was right across the street from Yosemite Falls and El Capitan rock.
I had never been to Yosemite so this was such an awesome experience.
It’s wedding time!
The ceremony was so sweet and so personal. You could feel the love in the room. I love how they customized their vows to fit who they are. I definitely teared up at times. One of my favorite lines from Brian’s vows: (summarized) “You’ve given me so much love, that I will spend the rest of my life giving it back to you.” Ah, so perfect.
As they walked out of the church, they rang the church bells. So cool!
I was so excited that we had some time after to take more pictures outside.
These are some of Irving’s high school friends! They are going to have some AWESOME wedding photos. I can’t wait to see them all!
In the Spring, Yosemite Falls is supposed to be stunning. It’s all dried up for the summer now, but I had to imagine what it looked like…
Good, that’s better! Looks almost like the real thing!
The reception was back at the Wawona Hotel, so we climbed back on the bus for the trip back. Our driver stopped at a vista point so we could get a glimpse of Half Dome and the rest of Yosemite Valley. It’s no wonder Ansel Adams took so many photos here. It’s stunning!
The reception was outside on the lawn of the Wawona. I was worried about the 90*+ heat that we had been having, but it actually cooled off really nice just before dinner.
And guess what I had?! My FIRST glass of wine in 11 months!!! (My last alcoholic beverage was actually in Salzburg, Austria on our trip last year!)
Mmmmm!
We snuck the baby over to our table for a few minutes because I kind of missed her! She made a polite appearance before she went back to Grandma for the night.
Such a fun night and a great way to experience Yosemite. Wishing Brian and Victoria a lifetime of happiness and love. We were honored to share their special day with them.
Congrats, Guys!
Those are some big trees… August 7, 2012
On Friday morning, Irving went out to golf with the groom and his friends at the Wawona Golf Course. So Grandma Julie, Adele and I took the shuttle bus to the Mariposa Grove to see the giant Sequoia trees! I was giddy with excitement! 
I strapped the sleepy baby to me in the carrier and did my best to keep her out of the shade. The Mariposa Grove has an upper and a lower section. We just did the short .8 mile trail (1.6 miles total). 
Adele slept through the whole hike! But I narrated along the way: “Look at that big tree! Did you see the squirrel? etc..” She loved it, obviously! 
I seriously waited my whole life to have a kid that I could take to parks like this and explore the great outdoors. I always loved nature walks and learning about the animals and the history of places. I’m so excited that the time is finally here! I feel like my life is just beginning since I get to experience all this cool stuff all over again with Adele. 
The Sequoias were beautiful. We took a tour led by a park ranger to learn about where they came from, how they grow and how the park protects them. 
The roots of these giants are only 2-4 feet deep! Isn’t that crazy! Here is a picture of the roots of a tree that fell in the 1800s! (Fun Fact: Sequoias have a chemical in them that makes them nearly impossible to decay! They will eventually, but it takes decades longer than a normal tree!)
Why, hello there, big tree! 
I was laughing to myself that maybe someday when we take Adele back here, she might whine and complain, “But mom, why did we have to come all the way out here on vacation to just see some big treeeees?” Hopefully she’ll learn to appreciate them for what they are! And if all else fails, at least they sell ice cream in the gift shop, right? LOL 
Also spotted on our walk… a Deer! (Actually a few deer, but this is the only one I snapped a picture of!) Thankfully we didn’t see any bears. 
Living in LA, it really is something special to stand at the base of so many gorgeous trees reaching towards the sun. 
Finally we reached our destination: a Sequoia named The Grizzly Giant. It’s one of the biggest trees in the world. 
The branches on that bad boy were as big as regular trees! 
Adele did great on our hike. When we got back, she was nice and hungry and I fed her on the Adirondack chairs on our porch. 
Then it was time for some playtime and a nap. Grandma took over and I actually went down to the restaurant and dined by myself on the patio. It was awesome! Can’t remember the last time I could enjoy a meal out by myself! It was so nice! (They even served me Pink Lemonade… on the house! Score!) 
It was such a perfect day. So far, one of my favorite weekend getaways to date!
(Stay tuned for two more posts Yosemite themed posts this week!)
Family trip to Yosemite National Park August 6, 2012
We just got back from spending four amazing days in Yosemite National Park. Irving’s good friends, Brian and Victoria, love the park so much that they decided to get married there! I’ll save their gorgeous wedding for my next post, but for now, here’s a recap of our first day in the park!
Adele slept almost the whole way there (it was about a four hour drive). We met up with Irving’s mom, who volunteered to watch her while we went to the wedding. She was so excited to spend time with the baby. Adele wore a pretty dress because she was excited too! 
Adele continued her love affair with big hotel beds. 
We stayed at the Wawona Hotel inside Yosemite. It was so cute. It had an old-time rustic feel, but it was really well upkept and offered lots of charm and comfort. We had a great room with a nice balcony overlooking the fountain out front. 
When we first arrived, we spent the time playing on the bed with the new toy Grandma bought for her. 
She loved it! The mirror was her favorite part. 
When the sun began to set and the temperatures finally dropped, we sat by the pool and took in the sights and sounds of the great outdoors. 
Which, of course, turned into a photosession!! Yessss! 
And my favorite photo of the day! (Because if this doesn’t scream ‘national park’, I don’t know what does! 
Kelocity.com 