Vacation (Part II): Yosemite National Park

Yosemite is beautiful! we got there Wed. afternoon after a six hour drive from southern California and were ready to get going. On Thursday, we hiked to Nevada falls. My little girls do not do well on hikes. Gabriela usually is the worst about it, but she was actually great. I think she was the first one out of the group to make it to the falls. Sophia however wanted to be in the backpack and Julianne wanted to walk. That's a problem because Julianne gets too busy doing this, that she forgets to walk.

We all finally made it.

After reaching the falls, we stopped for lunch, and ate on these massive boulders. If your kids like to climb rocks...then this is the place for you. They are everywhere and are humongous.

Have you ever seen a tree sitting on his bum?

On Thursday, we hiked to Yosemite Falls. This is the tallest waterfall in the U.S. and the fifth in the world.

More rock climbing.

I told you they were big!When you got to the base of the falls, it's like being stuck in a rain storm. The air is completely full of mist. Sophia loved it and kept wanting to run across the bridge. Julianne didn't know what to think. And as for Gabriela, well, she made it across and didn't look back.

Miguel turned into a mountain man on the trip. He grew a nice prickly beard. We even got to see some of his wisdom manifest itself in those grey hairs. 

 

It was picnic lunches every day. Here are all of our lovely neighbors and friends.

On Saturday, we biked up to Mirror Lake and the kids had a chance to get wet. They loved it and it was one of my favorite moments of the whole trip. They were kids just getting to be kids. It was timeless.

I tried to get a family pictures, but Julianne would not cooperate, as you can see.

My kids' personalities really came out when it came to the freezing water. Sophia is my adventerous one and she would get nervous and think it was cold, but she pushed through for the chance to play. She was jumping off rocks and was really brave. Gabriela is more cautious and does it more out of peer pressure than her own benefit. She doesn't want to be left out. All of the kids had made it out to this log, as seen above, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it and was really nervous. With a little coaxing, we managed to convince her to do it for a picture. She made it out there, got up on on the log, and took the picture. However, when she tried to get down, she slipped and fell completely under the water. She came up spattering and screaming, declaring that she almost drowned. I tried to play it up like, "way to go, that was awesome! Give me a high five!" We stripped her down and all of the other kiddos and put them in the sun to dry out. It was really fun.

We visited Bridalveil falls and it was an experience to be had. The waterfall was so full it was flooding the river and all of the sidewalks. You had to walk in water up to your ankles and fast moving to get to the base. It was raining down on us and there were multiple rainbows as you looked up at the falls. I have another picture that I'll have to post later. Sophis, once again, thought it was awesome.

On our way home from Glacier Point and Bridalveil Falls, we stopped to turn in the girls Junior Ranger papers. The Ranger was great in making them feel special. They sat up on the big desk, said a pledge, signed their names into a large record book, and then he made the entire visiors center give them a round of applause. Sophia was really embarrassed, but they were really proud of themselves.

P.S.: my kids are totally mismatched, becaue I ran out of clothes by the end of the trip. They are wearing whatever was left in their bags and wasn't soaking wet from earlier in the day.

We had a lot of fun, but would reccomend this trip for school aged kids. It's a lot of hiking and biking, and unless you really love to tote your kids on your back, carry them in your arms, or push them on their bikes, it's better to wait till they are older.

Power of Moms Retreat

This weekend, I was priveledged to attend a mother's retreat with the Power of Moms. It was my Mother's Day gift from Miguel and the girls. All I can say was that it was AMAZING!!! I feel so renewed and refreshed. I think my self confidence was given a boost. I met about 33 other amazing moms from around the country who all aspire to be the best moms they can be. These were women with passion and amazing talents. Every mom I know should attend one of these.

Our's was held at the beautiful Red Mountain Resort and Spa in St. George, Utah. There was a mornng walk at 7:00 in the morning and only five of us were up early enough to do this, but the morning sun was beautiful on the red rock. So glad I did it. I had actually been up since five in the morning and had already been swimming and had showered by then, thanks to my roomie and good friend Amy.

During the retreat, I was able to sit and chat with some of my heros. Here is Linda and Shawni Eyre. You have to read their book, A Mother's Book of Secrets, it changed my whole perspective on being a mother. I love, love, love these women and I would never had imagined that I would be talking about family traditions and service projects with them over dinner. It was so fun to get to know them personally.

And here is my dear friend, Amy, who was so willing to accompany me on this little getaway. She's such a sweet girl and it was fun spending some good quality time with her as well.

I also was certified as a Power of Moms trainer while at the retreat and will soon be starting up a Learning Circle here in my community. It will consist of a group of moms motivated to be the best they can be. We'll learn and share, along side each other, as we discuss how to take care of ourselves, as well as discuss better ways to raise our children. If you are at all interested, leave me a comment, and I'll get to you know when it is up and running. It is sort of like a book group, where we will have material to read through and study (3-6 pages max) and then come prepared to share and discuss different ideas. Like I said before, let me know if you are interested. It will be an amazing experience I can guarantee.

Cinco de Mayo (better late than never)

So, Cinco de Mayo has turned into a big deal around our house. This was our second year celebrating it and you would have thought it was Christmas. The kids were so excited! They all got showers and then dressed themselves up like little Mexicans. They even wore those clothes to dance class and excitedly told everyone they say, "Happy Cinco de Mayo!" I had a whole bunch of fun activities to do that day, but we couldn't get through them all. So here's how the day progressed:



After dance we had burritos for lunch and then we tried making our own pinatas. They were thrilled with ripping up the newspaper, but when the goopy flour/water mixture was brought to the table, Gabriela quickly quit smiling. I should have known better. She wouldn't stick her hands in the pumpkin last year either. But the other two, oh no, no problem at all. In fact Julianne thought is was like a mud bath. Instead of smearing it on the balloon, she was coating her body in it. I couldn't help but laugh and just let her go for it. In the end, Sophia was the only one who came out with a completed pinata. However we hung it outside to dry and then it got rained on.







While the girls were taking a nap, Gabriela and I decided to do a cleaner craft, more to her liking. She loved it. We made "papel punchada." It's a Mexican folk art of making paper streamers. We were both pretty proud of our work and in fact, it's still hanging in our kitchen. It is very festive and fun.



Then came the thing we had been waiting for all day. THE FOOD!!! We made taquitos, refried beans, mexican rice, pico de gallo and had Jarritos (Mexican orange soda.) We invited Miguel's parents over for the dinner and they seemed to love it as well. After dinner we had a little dance to some marriachi music and then made sugar cookie sombreros. Mom had to go to a meeting, but the girls stayed with Papi and did some Mexican bark paintings as well. (sorry no picture of those). It was so fun and we can't wait till next year!

Her 1st Audition!

Well I think I've got it working on my other computer, so I'll post a little at a time. Over the weekend we had team auditions at Gabriela's dance school. This is an eye opening experience for both her and I. They completely covered the windows so noone could watch the girls learn their material for the auditions. They had two days of workshops and then on Saturday they auditioned. That first night at the workshop I realized that my kids wear my heart on their shoulders. Gabriela looked so innocent to me and was smiling and so happy that I was there to watch her dance with about twenty five other girls her age. I have never been so proud of her. I know what an audition is like and I felt like I was the one auditioning. Knowing my little baby was being sized up among these other girls, it still makes me teary eyed. It's heart wrenching...and she's only FIVE!!! It's only going to get worse as she gets older and realizes what is really going on. on Saturday she was happy as pie and went and did her audition and acted like it was piece of cake. I am really proud of her for doing such a brave thing all by herself.


On the second night of workshops, she made a new friend whose name is Alex. And on Sat. morning she found her and they were inseperable. And they got to audition together. That's pretty lucky if you ask me. Hopefully they will make the same team, that would make it all the more fun. I really love this dance school, so if you are interested please check them out at www.thedanceclub.com . They are very professional and disciplined, with a great feeling in the studio and good role models.

Dance Picture

Well I haven't written in a while becuase I can't load pictures. We have been SUPER Busy this last couple of weeks. We had a mega Cinco de Mayo celebration, we've been at the gymnastics school trying that out and Gabriela has been busy with dance team auditions, all of which I have pictures, but can't get them onto the computer because the device I use is broken. So stay tuned. Until then you will just have to live with this picuture. This was their official picture taken by the school.

Hawaiian Pulled Pork Sandwiches

O.k. people, have I got one for you! This stuff is awesome, makes a TON, and it's done in the CROCKPOT! Just add the sauce to the sandwiches and then you have a ton of pork leftover to do maybe hawaiian pizza, tacos, pork salads, quessadillas, you name it. With the teriyaki marinade, it's hard to find. Look where the spaghetti and gravy packets are. I couldn't find it, so I used the Hawaiian one.

Ing.
1 packet teriyaki marinade (recommended: McCormick Grill Mates)
1 tbl. paprika
1 tsp. ground pepper
3 1/2 lbs. pork shoulder (any pork roast will do)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 cup chili sauce
1 (6oz.) can pineapple juice
1 med. onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
8 hamburger rolls

Directions
Hawaiian Sauce:

2 tbl. canola oil
1 tbl. ginger, chopped (I just used ground ginger from my spice rack)
2 tsp. garlic, chopped (I used my minced garlic)

In small bowl, combine teriyaki mix, paprika and pepper

Coat the pork with rub mixture, pattin until all rub is used. Set aside.

In a bowl whisk together the chicken broth, brown sugar, soy sauce, chili sauce and pineapple juice. Set aside.

Put the chopped onions and carrots in a 5-quart slow cooker. Place the pork on top of carrots and onions and pour half of the pineapple juice mixture over pork. Reserve remainder for Hawaiian sauce. Cover and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours. The meat should fall apart easily. Remove the roast from the slow cooker to a cutting board. Using 2 forks carefully pull the meat into shreds. Serve the pork on rolls drizzled with the Hawaiian sauce or on the side for dipping. Reserve the remaining pulled pork for other recipes.

Hawaiian sauce:

In a medium pot heat the oil over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger and saute until soft, about 2 minutes. Add the remaining pineapple juice mixture, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 19 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Enjoy!!!