The Fun Begins

Hooray!!! Another year of dental school behind us and 4 weeks of pure bliss with Matthew free from the chains of responsibility. So far we have had way too much fun. We headed down to Monterray the day after he finished finals. We met my cousin Brian and his family for a tour of the Aquarium. It was so neat and Evan had a blast. He tells us all about the jellyfish and hammerhead sharks. My favorite was the sun fish. It is probably the most bizarre looking creature I have ever had the opportunity to encounter. We ate on cannery row and had a ride on the local trolley to boot. After we were done there we went back to my cousins house in Merced to stay the night and then spent the whole next day out on the lake. They have a houseboat out there and so we literally spent all day on the lake. It was so much fun! Matthew and I even did some wake-boarding. We both popped up pretty quick and although Matthew beat me for fancy tricks I whipped his tail in the greatest wipe-out category. We just relaxed and played until the stars came out. We called it a night and headed on home. We spent all of Saturday getting ready for our big camping trip. Sunday we met some of Matthew's family (Mike's family, Bill & Josh) in Brentwood and then caravaned to Yosemite on Monday. It was beautiful and we enjoyed seeing the nature. We set up camp at Reds Meadow in the Inyo Nat'l Park. We kind of had a rough first night as the boys were a bit fussy and I remember waking up in the middle of the night just sure that a bear was shaking our tent and growling at us, but was so tired that I dozed right back to dreamland not thinking about it much. It wasn't until the next morning when Heidi & Mike asked if we felt the earthquake that I realized what it was. That makes 4 for us. We visited Sotcher lake, Devil's postpile, Rainbow falls, Hotcreek, Mammoth Lakes and so much more. We kept the hikes pretty short but Evan sure was a trooper. The boys loved getting dirty and exploring the wild outdoors. Evan helped Matthew catch a fish and we played in the nearby river many times. Of course it wouldn't be a camping trip unless we roasted marshmallows, Evan's absolute favorite camping activity. We stayed until Friday and then took our time driving through Yosemite and seeing all it had to offer. What a beautiful place. Matthew spent many summers there and has told me stories about that place since the day I met him. I'm so glad to have finally experienced it with him. We have plans to go back, childless, and do some serious backpacking. I can't wait! So, Friday we made it back to Brentwood again where we stopped to cool off in the swimming pool and eat fresh apricots and plums. We picked ourselves a good bucket full so we can cook up some delicious jam. I HATE buying jam at the store. I don't think I had even tasted store bought jam until sometime during our marriage. I especially love apricot freezer jam! We finally made it back to our home late Saturday morning and we've been in a state of chaos ever since. Camping is soooo much fun, but cleaning up after sure is a chore. Our camera is having some issues so we don't have any pictures to share. Although we were fortunate enough to have someone's camera document these great times. So once I get those I'll post them because I know you're all dying to see them. I love vacations!!!