Tuolumne Meadows

We just returned from four days camping in Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite National Park. The weather was perfect, the girls were able to get totally filthy and have a great time, Grandma Vickie and Grandpa Ian were there, and our Scamp worked great. Zach was able to climb three of the days, and I even squeezed in a climb while Grandma, Grandpa and "Aunt Edith" watched the girls! I only wish we could've stayed longer.

If you want to see lots more photos, as usual, they are posted to flickr.

Victoria and Constance free-solo one of Yosemite's great monoliths.

The girls got to try out the littleist climbing gear - I think they liked it!

That's Zach at the top of the climb, waving at the girls,
who came to watch their Daddy climb the rocks.

Zach and I on Lembert Dome, which we climbed with our good friend Kirtus.

More Clothesline

Another cow pic

Not too bad from a really slow cellphone cam

Cow

We had dinner with Mark, Emily and Franklin Spannagel last night. Victoria picked peaches and fed them while Constance offered a drink from her cup.

So cute. So much fun!

Clothesline

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Originally uploaded by katiesgirls

I finally got my clothesline set up in the yard. Victoria likes helping me hang the clothes to dry. She hands me clothespins and tells me where to hang each item.

I was worried that the clothes would be really wrinkled, but so far they haven't been. I'm just trying to get used to using the liquid fabric softener; I had always used dryer sheets before.

Now to keep an eye on the electric bill to see if there's any significant savings.

Pretzel Dogs

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Originally uploaded by katiesgirls

I made pretzel dogs for the 4th, adapting a recipe from recipezaar.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 2 Tbsp oil
• 3 cups flour
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 1/4 tsp (or 1 package) active dry yeast
  

• 2 qts water
• 1/3 cup baking soda
• 1 egg white, lightly beaten

Put the first 6 ingredients in bread machine on the dough setting. When the cycle is complete, separate the dough into 8-12 portions and roll them on a lightly floured surface into 18" long ropes. (You might want to play with the dough portion size.) At this point, if you prefer classic soft pretzels, you shape them now. Allow dough to rise a little, about 20 minutes.

Make a baking soda bath by combining 2 quarts water with 1/3 cup baking soda in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Bathe each dough portion individually for about 10 seconds, then remove with a slotted spoon. Roll each dough portion around a hot dog and arrange on a greased baking sheet. Brush with 1 egg slightly beaten. Sprinkle with coarse salt, if desired. Bake at 425 degrees for 8 minutes.

Praying Mantis

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Originally uploaded by katiesgirls

I found this little guy on my chives. Isn't he cute?

Garden

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Originally uploaded by katiesgirls

I planted late this year, but I'm finally starting to get some yummy veggies! My herbs are all still kickin' from last year: basil, chives, oregano, thyme, rosemary, sage, spearmint, and peppermint. My sugar snap peas are awesome and so cute, and the corn is about as tall as the girls now. No tomatoes yet, but starting to get lots of cucumbers. My romaine is doing ok, but my red chard is looking sad. Still waiting for my zucchini, too.

The girls love the garden. They help me water every day and they try to pull weeds, too. They got very excited over the sugar snap peas. They're a good pick-and-eat snack.

Grandma Vicke's Visit

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Originally uploaded by katiesgirls

Zach's mom came to visit for a week at the end of June. We had such a great time, I forgot to take pictures! Actually, Vickie took some cute ones, but I don't have them in digital, so I'll have to work on that. The visit was so relaxing, fun, and wonderful... I have the BEST mother-in-law ever!

We went to the Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento, where the girls loved climbing on the train cars and playing with the wooden Thomas the Train toys. Vickie bought them each a train, which they have been taking everywhere with them.

We also visited the Folsom Zoo, which is a great zoo for toddlers. It's small and the animals are close. There are roosters, hens and peacocks wandering around, which the kids get a kick out of.

Father's Day

I'm catch-up blogging. My desktop PC has been down, and that is where I resize, file and organize all my pictures. Took me a couple weeks to work up the desire to fix it. Thankfully, it's up and running and here we go...

Father's day was good. Took the girls to mass, and they made it almost to the end. They looked darling, though, and as we were loading them into the wagon, a lady said that they were "such good girls at mass!" I was so encouraged and proud of them!