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

3July0938
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

3July0923
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

3July098
Originally uploaded by katiesgirls

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

Garden

3July095
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

28Jun0918
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!

Girlies at the Beach

SealBeach20May0921
Originally uploaded by katiesgirls

Everyone left yesterday to drive to Nebraska for Grandma's burial. Zach really wishes he could have gone, but he has to get back to work; he's already taken off two shifts. We decided to stay in LA through the day, to relax a little bit, straighten the house for Vickie, and just unwind from all the emotion before we drove back home.

We took the girls to Seal Beach and they had a blast! Victoria was intrigued by the muddy sand at the water's edge, and a little unsure of the water. Constance, on the other hand, had no fear of the ocean. She would run all the way out to the surf with Zach, cracking up the whole time. It was really nice to have this little outing at the end of our trip.

Grandma English

Sylvia June English
October 22, 1930 - May 14, 2009

Zach's Grandma, Sylvia, lost her nine month battle with leukemia last Thursday. Zach was with her, along with Grandpa, his mom Vickie, Aunt Debi, Uncle Brian, and Cousin Gabby with her daughter Sabine.

Grandma was an amazing woman, youthful and vibrant right up to the sudden onset of her illness in August 2008. With Grandpa she raised eight wonderful sons and daughters. She has seventeen grandchildren and three great grandchildren; Constance and Victoria, along with Sabine.

For the past twelve years, Sylvia and Ted have lived with their daughter Christy in Atascadero, where Grandma raised Chickens and kept a flourishing garden. She canned every year, with her strawberry jam and "atomic pickles" being the most coveted jars.

Her funeral in Downey was held Tuesday and was an awesome Celebration of such a faithful servant to the Lord. Sylvia's brother, Charles, read from her bible, which was heavily read, noted in, and depended upon by Grandma. "...his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers." (Psalm 1: 2-3) Such a wonderful verse, and a great description of Grandma. She was strong, faithful, prayerful and loving to her large family, to her many friends, and to strangers in need of her help.

We will miss her so very much.

First "Scamping" trip

We took our new Scamp trailer out for a test-camp! Stayed with Kirt, Abby and Sarah Creiglow at Coloma Resort in Gold Country. We had a great time, and best of all, the girls loved it! They were so excited to be outside all da; splashing in the river, playing with their friend Sarah, taking walks, eating ice cream and sleeping in the "camping car." I am thrilled that we now have this option for family outings in our trailer. (It is quite the work-in-progress. For more on that excitement, see our new Scamping blog!) Here are some cute pics, as always, more on flickr.

Beep, Beep!

30Apr0934
Originally uploaded by katiesgirls

Another LA trip to visit Grandma and Grandpa. Surfing Lessons. Just a few new pics on flickr.

Summer's Coming!

20Apr092
Originally uploaded by katiesgirls

We've had awesome weather the past couple days. The girls have been playing nonstop outside in the backyard, either in the sandbox, the garden, the frog pool, or just running around in their super hero capes. I posted lots of photos on flickr, check them out!

Happy Easter!

We Smiths hope everyone had a very happy and blessed Easter. We had a wonderful holiday. Had local family over for breakfast, which turned out lovely. The girls were able to visit with Auntie Erin and Uncle Jason, Baby Audrey, Glammie, Guapo, Uncle Joe and Auntie Kris. It was a beautiful day, so the adults all ate outside on the patio while Constance and Victoria gathered eggs in the yard. Then we walked to church. The walk was great, but mass was difficult. Knowing there would be a gazillion people, we got there super early to ensure a seat. This, coupled with Katie being in the processional as a reader, put Constance in a cranky mood. Poor Zach was outside almost the whole time with a very upset Con. We got through it, and made it home and to nap.For dinner we went to "Glammie and Guapo's" house. Grandmommie and Poppie O'neill were there, and we had a really nice and delicious dinner. The girls were very good and had a fun time. I'm pretty sure they avoided all real food and snuck by with only junk food today, but that's what holidays are for, right?!

Happy Easter, Everyone. Christ is risen.
For lots moer pics, click here

Victoria: Scene 2

When I flipped the display screen around, Victoria could both film and watch herself. She eventually made me hold the camera. At the end, that's Constance in the background saying "More Waffles!" (It was breakfast time)

Victoria the Filmmaker

This morning, Victoria found our little video camera and opened it up. She carried it around for a few minutes, staring at the display screen, and eventually she began recording. Here's her first home movie. Enjoy

Our Backcountry Adventure

P3230043
Originally uploaded by katiesgirls

So, I made it home from my first alpine ski touring experience, with only few sore muscles and some nasty shin bruises. It was totally worth it, though. We had a lot of fun and it was absolutely beautiful out there.

The best thing we did was add a day at the front end of our trip and skied a half day at Donner Ranch on Sunday. It was windy and snowing, but the powder was awesome and I got a couple hours one-on-one lesson with Glenn. It's funny how years can go by, with you hardly realizing it. When I actually thought about how long it had been since I had skied, I realized it had been almost 10 years! Yikes. That put me back to the basics of all basics. I needed the lessons, but Glenn is an awesome teacher and by the end of our day, I felt ready to go out. (Too bad my boots weren't ready. I decided to save 50 bucks and not get my boots custom fit. That turned out to be a bad choice.)

We rode the lifts at Sugar Bowl up to the top of Anderson peak, and in crazy wind, headed out of bounds and along the ridge into the backcountry.

This kind of skiing is so much fun. There is a lot of uphill trudging, and some flats, and some downhill. Overall, it's an awesome workout and you're in the most beautiful setting.

We stayed at the Benson Hut, which is kept by the Sierra Club as an emergency shelter, and for private campers for a small fee. It was mostly buried in the snow; we had to enter through the loft window. There is a coleman stove for cooking and a woodburning stove for warmth, a table and six fold-down bunks for sleeping.

The next morning, we ate a little breakfast and put on our boots. My shins screamed with every step. I'm talking 9 out of 10 pain, just walking out of the hut. By the time I got outside, I burst into tears. And I promise you, I am not a wimpy girl! This was at least as bad as my cesarean recovery. So instead of a long day to the next hut, we went back the way we had come, back to Sugar Bowl and down the mountain.

After a good lunch, Edith and I drove back to the girls, while Zach and Glenn went back in to the second hut. They had a great time and came out safely the next day. It was a wonderful trip, and the girls loved staying at Glammie and Guapo's house. I can't wait to do it again. After I get my boots fit, of course!

Wiped Out

Wiped Out
Originally uploaded by katiesgirls

We made it home and all took a nice, long nap.