Camping at Lake Casitas and the Lazy River

The kids loved camping so much, that we decided to take a last minute camping trip to Lake Casitas. Located just outside of Ojai. It wasn't as nice as Yosemite, but the kids enjoyed it all the same. Here are the highlights of the campsite.







Our campsite was next to a play structure, which the kids enjoyed.


The kids and Daddy went down to the lake to check it out... I think they were daring Ben to get into the water... not sure..


Ben made an awesome fire one night. His fire building skills are getting better!




On the full day we were there, we visited the water park that has a lazy river and a water structure. It was nice to float around. It took about 9-10 minutes to make a full lap around the river.

A Day at the Beach

The kids and I went to Zuma Beach and hung out for a few hours. It started off really cold and cloudy, then warmed up a bit... I forgot to wear sunscreen... opps... and I'm smiling!! Must be the drugs ;)

LegoLand Part Deux

We made it down to LegoLand for our second day! The kids had MORE fun this time!! I think it was because they knew what they wanted to do and where to go. We spent some time in the Pirate Shores where the kids and Matt got wet... and so did a lot of other people! A very crowded section of the park.












The highlight of the evening was riding the Dragon about 10 times. I've had enough of roller coasters for awhile!

Yosemite to Ripon via Bridalveil Falls

Friday morning we packed up the camp site and headed out. On our way out, we stopped by Bridalveil Fall. This was our last stop in Yosemite before heading to Ripon, Ca. for fireworks. There were a lot of people there to see it as well and many were climbing around on the slippery rocks.





Hope everyone had a great week and a great weekend.

Yosemite Day 4, Controlled Lightning Fire and last night in the tent...

On the way out of the valley, we stopped at the turn-out to get a few pictures of the valley. The smoke is really bad. It is from a controlled lightning fire that was started a few weeks ago. They are just managing it around the roads. The firefighters looked really tired.





This was our last night in the tent... here are some great night time shots.

Yosemite Day 4, Visitor's Center, More River, and Happy Isles

Thursday we went to the Visitor's Center and Museum of the Miwok Indians that used to live in the valley. The Visitor's Center had lots of displays on how Yosemite was carved out by glaciers. They had a relief map of the whole valley.






Then we went back to the river where the kids got to do more water play to keep them cool. Here a few shots of the Yosemite Falls from the river.






Then we took the shuttle bus to "Happy Isles". The stream was really roaring.

Yosemite Day 3, The Valley Floor

Wednesday morning, we joined Ranger John for cowboy coffee and hot chocolate. He have lots of advise on what to see and do in Yosemite.




We drove into Yosemite Valley and rented bicycles. Above is a panorama shot taken from the turnout after going through the long tunnel on 41. Half Dome is hard to make out from all the smoke in the valley.

We rode around the valley. Matt and Shannon got seperated and were reunited in the village having ice cream :).

While seperated, Shannon took the younglings to the river, where they cooled their feet.



Before returning our rental bikes, we made a stop at Yosemite Falls. So much water came down the cliff that it created its own wind.







Here are some carpenter ants that Ben found while hiking back from the lower Yosemite Falls.



Also got a picture from further away as we rode our bikes around. The lower portion of the falls is behind the tree.