California Dreamin' - Part 1

On July 1, my friend Jennifer and I set off at 5am for an 8 day road trip to California.  Our first day included the most driving and some had even called us crazy for doing it.  Why were we crazy?  Because we decided to drive to Yosemite, explore Yosemite and then drive to Fresno for the night.  It was about a 17 hour day but totally worth it.  We originally wanted to camp in Yosemite but apparently you have to make reservations a year in advance.  Who knew it was like planning a wedding?  Unless you are Oprah and Gayle, you have to plan early.

Yosemite is absolutely gorgeous!  From the granite, to the waterfalls, to being with other people who want to enjoy its beauty, it's just amazing.  My inner nerd was thinking about the recent Ken Burns documentary on the development of our nation's parks and imagining cars from the early 1900's lining the roads just like we had done.

Crossing the state line

There was still 6 feet of snow packed off the side of the road!

Ellery Lake

Isn't Yosemite beautiful?

The big lesson I learned was:

Remember that folks!

I could have put so many more pictures on this post but I didn't feel like going through them or making you scroll through them.  Jennifer and I worked hard to become Junior Rangers but it sort of fizzled out after driving the entire width of Yosemite.  We saw El Capitan and the Half Dome which are the "famous" mountains of Yosemite.  Want to see a map?  Click here.  I would love to go back and actually camp there.  Stay tuned for Part 2!

A Berry Cute Baby Shower

Over a month ago (yes, that is how far behind I am) I had the opportunity to help host a baby shower for my dear friend Jessica.  Jessica is having a precious girl this month and she will be named Everlee.  How adorable is that?!  When it comes to the shower, I would like to stress that I helped.  The creative genius behind the event was my friend Andrea.  Little did she know that not only was she putting together a beautiful shower but teaching this girl some crafty techniques.  Time for pictures!

The beautiful mama!

 Even the food was color coordinated!

Some of the decor:

The shower was filled with people from church who love Jessica and her new little one dearly.  That's what I call a success!  I even managed to be stay coherent since the previous day was the infamous trip to Lagoon!

I am so glad to have Jessica in my life and I can't wait to play auntie with Everlee!

The Bittersweet Ending

Tonight at midnight I get to watch the final installment of the Harry Potter movies.  My two good friends, Anna and Kaycee, and I have been going to the midnight openings since movie 4.  They have been doing it since the beginning.  I was late to jump on the Harry Potter bandwagon but I now know and love the series through and through.  On opening nights we always go to dinner, coffee and then grab our seats and wait until the movie starts.  This has always been the tradition.  With this being the last hoorah to our late nights with Harry, we decided to start a day early and name it Harry Gras.  Or Potter Palooza.  Choose which one you think is best, we like both.  We spent Wednesday hanging out, talking, eating and watching our favorite moments from the first 6 movies.  After dinner and some fro-yo (that's right, I like it and use it) we put in Harry Potter 7.1 and watched the entire thing to be ready for tonight.  Today is spent relaxing and napping in order to be ready for the big event.

 A handmade Gryffindor scarf to add as decoration

I have never been apart of a book or movie series where I have waited at midnight to read or watch the latest installment.  I have enjoyed being crazed over this series. 

Guess Who's Two?

Sawyer!

Sawyer is a sweet boy who blows kisses, loves Elmo, Woody and Buzz.  He plays with trains, builds towers and loves to wrestles.  He is a good eater although some days he just doesn't want to.  He gives great hugs and can throw equally great fits!  He already sleeps in a "big boy" bed and mommy is hoping that potty training is around the corner.

 With some help, Sawyer enjoyed opening his presents!

 He got a Toy Story camp chair from his cousins.  Do you think he liked it?

Kayla and Sean hosted a family party for Sawyer.  The theme was of course Elmo and Kayla did a great job on the cake!

He blew out the candles all by himself!

I love you Sawyer and I am so glad to have you as my nephew and pal!

Look Who's Turned 8!

Vani Alice!

(This was the best smile I got)

Vani likes art, the colors green and blue, is starting to love to read chapter books,

can accessorize anything, is a social butterfly, loves her bear Bubba, can read, speak and write Spanish, loves Jesus and her family!

Vani wanted a chocolate/peanut butter cake (love that girl!) and the theme was art.

Vani loves parties and had a hard time settling on just one theme.

Rebekah did a great job on the cake.  It's a paint tray with paint brushes.

Happy Birthday Vani!

You are a beautiful girl with many gifts that God has given you!

A Day Trip to Lagoon

A day trip you ask?  Yep, that's right!  I have a crazy friend who is an amazing mom that came up with the idea of leaving for Lagoon in Utah at 6am and leaving there at 9pm.  For those of you who don't know, it is about a 4.5 hour drive both ways.  So if you do the math, we got back at about 2:30am by the time we actually got on the freeway.  When Rebekah came up with this idea, I knew I was just as crazy to say yes for coming along.  We invited 2 of the Dunkin kids and that mom is just crazy enough to say yes also!  So with 5 kids and 2 crazy ladies we set off!

The lady with the crazy idea!

The road ahead

Just a few of the rides...

Not only was this a fun day but one of the last "playdates" that the Ella and Kelsey and Josiah and Alex could spend together.

Knowing how much these kids are going to miss each other makes me cry!  Reb and I also had a great time with Vani!  We took turns riding the rides with her and she also did some hanging out with Ella and Kelsey.

 LOVE this picture!

 The Screamer ride I went on with Vani

Feeling pukey after The Screamer with Vani

Rebekah created a day that these kids will remember forever!  I am glad I got to be apart of it.  If I ever become a mom, I hope I am willing to do these type of crazy things to give my kids lasting memories.

June in Pictures Part 8 (The Finale)

I am back from my road trip vacation!  It was a great time, a lot of driving and I am glad to be back home.  As you may have read from my previous post, I have many things I want to post.  Since we are already ending our first week in July, it is time to wrap up June in Pictures.

June 25:  Citrus

Yep, it's a lemon on a table

June 26:  Favorite Color

To be honest, I don't have a picture for this.  My favorite color is green and I am slacking on taking a picture of something green.  Just take my word for it.

June 27:  My Weakness

Anything peanut butter (duh!) and chocolate

This is from Sprinkles Cupcakes in LA and it was amazing!

I will eat pb and chocolate in any form, although ice cream is the preferred choice

June 28:  Transportation

2004 Chevy Cavalier

This car is a luxury car compared to my '87 Nova

June 29:  Trees

Gotta love the Idaho mountains and their trees!

BUT

These are pretty cool too...

June 30:  Family

The MacKenzie Clan

It is pretty rare for my family to take a whole picture together.  Even when I told them it was for my blog, they were still okay with taking the picture!  So, here we are.

I can now officially say that I have completed June in Pictures!  I am glad I tried to do something like this and I would probably do it again.  Thanks for sticking with me and reading each post (I know I have millions of adoring readers out there).