Christmas Season

There is usually so much going on this time of year which makes it more important than ever to remember our values and stick to our beliefs.

Consumerism is alive and well in the USA, but subscribing to the theory that Christmas is all about gifts perpetuates, and substantiates, the global thought that Americans are materialistically driven. What ever happened to a few quality gifts under the tree instead of multitudes of junk?

We all know those people, you know the ones I'm talking about, the ones who start shopping in July and buy so much stuff, there's hardly anywhere to put it? Who have to say the cost of each gift, where it was bought, and then make sure we know it's a designer label. Do the people receiving the gifts actually appreciate them? Probably not! The Christmas message is lost amongst the glittering bows and festive lights. Pagan symbols designed to sell an artificial feeling of warmth and good cheer.

I'm not a particularly religious person. There is no church I frequent on a regular basis, but, I am spiritual and I have faith. What I don't have is a bunch of gifts under my tree trying to trick me into thinking I'm showing love for my family.





And speaking of family....

I am so happy and excited to have Stephen join our family. The wedding was simply spectacular!!

Updates...

The countdown is on. Jess and I are heading for NYC on the 24th of August, in 2 1/2 weeks. The time will fly by, I'm sure. We've been busy getting items together. Bed Bath & Beyond has this neat programs for kids going far away from home. Items are ordered at the store with one of those handy clicker things, and stored at the store location nearest the school. Great!! Some things we have to take with us, such as towels (the purple ones she really wanted are not available in NYC) and a few other miscellaneous items. She picked out some really great luggage (2 pieces only) and is *supposedly* starting the cleaning out of the black hole that is her bedroom.

Andrew came home from camp having burst blood vessels in both his eyes. He was horribly ill from a fast-moving bug running through camp. Now he looks like a vampire. I'd post a picture, but it is really creepy. Not much can be done about and the blood will be absorbed eventually. Think of it as a bruise that can be seen. Under the skin the blood pools (that's why bruises discolor) but on the eye there's no where for it to hide. Yuck!

I have one more week of summer vacation then I'm back to my high school job. Looking forward to it this year. I really am the kind of person who needs structure. Even though I really like my time off, too much of it leaves me bored.

Beautiful Saturday morning. So far this year we've only had 3 (maybe 5, can't remember what they said on the news) days of temps over 100. Our usual summer has over 20. No complaining here!!

Andrew is heading to the American River today with his troop, Joe is working on a home improvement project, and Jessica is....sleeping :) I'll probably squeeze a run in when I drop Andrew off.

Family pics...

My sister Marie and her fiance Stephen

My brother Carl and our Uncle Peter

My brother Carl and his son Jesse

Mirror Lake, near where I grew up. I learned to swim in this lake, which is not as cold as it looks.

My nephew Jesse, my sister Marie, and my brother Carl. Can't wait to see them at Marie's wedding in November!!

Thanks to my cousin Brenda, whose photos I copied from her blog site!!

What's been going on....

Not much, really. Two weeks ago Andrew came home from camp for an all too brief 18 hours. When we took him back we detoured down Highway 1 to San Francisco. We had a fabulous lunch at Marshall Cove right on Tomales Bay. Sadly I did not take pictures of the food, but these pictures show the view made the food all that much better.









And who can forget Harry Potter? (well, I can because I haven't seen it yet. I'm waiting for Andrew to come home so I can see it with him). Jessica went to the midnight showing with some of her friends.

Recurring themes.....

yeah, I know, it's been a while.....

Wow, so much has happened, and I've facebooked most of it, so I'll just post pictures today. These are from our Yosemite trip. There's not too many pictures of us, mainly because NOBODY looks good camping, and also because Yosemite is just too beautiful to be left out!!

This first picture is El Capitan, a very popular mountain for climbing. It's the first "vista" spot coming into the valley and a nice place for pictures. Notice all the cars.


This is right after the park entrance, at the summit. Only snow I saw all winter!


The valley floor is full of deer. I think they are used to all the people, because they were always around. This is in front of worker housing.


Justin, Jessica, and Madeline. If you look closely you might be able to spot the deer between Justin and Jessica.





Upper Yosemite Falls


Half Dome


Cathedral Mountain


Upper & Lower Yosemite Falls


The Mist Trail. A very wet hike to the top of Vernal Falls. Adventurous souls can continue to the top of Nevada Falls. Maybe next time.



Another view of Upper & Lower Yosemite Falls


Andrew and Joe and the Mist Trail. Jessica and I stayed behind to watch the dogs in the morning, but we managed the hike in the afternoon. We came down the easy switchback way, which added a thousand vertical feet and an additional two hours to the hike.



Andrew by Vernal Falls.







Half Dome, again.


Another picture of beautiful Upper & Lower Yosemite Falls.



We picked a great year to visit Yosemite. California snow pack is almost 200% of normal, which means the falls that normally run dry by mid July will be flowing all summer. Even though it was cold, very cold, we had a good time with our great friends. I'm hoping to visit again next year and tackle Nevada Falls, although this time we'll leave the canine at home so we can all hike together. If you'd like to visit Yosemite, remember reservations have to be made through the National Park System 5 months in advance. They start on the 15th of each month at 7 am. If you log in at 7:05 you'll be too late and all the sites will be taken. So plan early, pick out your dates and campsites (and have alternative dates/campsites in case your first choice is taken). The BEST way to get around the valley floor in on bike. There are miles of paved bike trails, and some roads have been shut off to cars and are bicycle only.