Frustrated

So... I was talking to my husband about our eating habits and I realized just how frustrated I am with deciding what is best.  Here's the deal....

I wanna put into my body the best things for it.  The problem is there is SOOOO much conflicting information out there.  Eat whole grains, go grain free, you need fiber, actually you don't, whole cream butter is better, butter spread has less trans fats, meat is good for you, meat is bad for you... here's the latest.... Soy is bad for you????? Since when?  Just when I think I've made a decision on one thing... SOMEONE comes along and tells me it's wrong.  So who has the final say?  Is there a basics guideline that can be trusted?  The food pyramid is inherently evil because it's put out by the government, right??  I just don't know what to believe anymore.  I'ts frustrating.  And I love how both sides claim the other side is just ignorant.  I don't think that's the case, I just think there is so much information out there, and people interpret the info differently.  For every study showing one thing, there is another study proving the opposite claim.  Case in point:  Raw milk?  I would only be willing to drink it if I milked the cow myself.  How else can I be sure it came from a non-BLV virus cow?  If I milk the cow and consume the milk soon after, that's one thing.  But if my milk has to travel to get to me... I prefer the microbes dead.  I dunno..... I'm sure there is information out there to the contrary.  I just wanna do what's best for me and my family.  It's frustrating deciding what that is though.

Oh well.... guess I'll figure it out as I go through trial and error.  I'm gonna go spend some time outside with the kids now.... wait... should they wear sunscreen or not?  LOL

Insight anyone?

Yosemite Series Part 2

Day Two:

Sunday started super early for Josh, J and me.  We were up and packing our backpacks at 5:30.  C slept through it all.  It had been decided the night before, that she would take on a lesser hike with her G-ma and the rest of the non-half domers.

The Half Dome group consisted of myself, Joshua, my bro Garrett, and my parents.  Oh yea... and J in the ERGO.

We started our hike along the river and I decided to stretch a bit before we began.  Good thing I did too... the hike gets right into it.  We had a very long, steep, uphill trek right off the bat.

When we first started, Josh was sportin' out tot.  We eventually discovered that the backpack I had on was heavier and traded.  He's so nice to me....

The first milestone you hit is the crossover bridge at the foot of Vernal Falls.  It's super pretty and we were able to take a couple pictures here and use the restroom.  

At this point, the mist trail begins.  Here is a description from Yahoo Travel:

"This hike is also known as the Mist Trail because it passes right beside Vernal Falls, which in the spring blows a heavy mist everywhere. This 1.4 mile roundtrip hike is considered a moderate hike, with a steep 400-foot elevation gain in just over a mile. It is recommended that you wear shoes that grip as the path can be slippery. You can see the rushing water from the Vernal Falls Footbridge as well as the top of the falls in the distance. This is probably the busiest and most crowded hike in the Valley, small wonder given the loveliness of the trail. Plan on spending an hour or two on your walk. The trail may be closed in winter."



Once you reach the top, you can (while safely standing behind the guard rail) peek over the top of the falls.  We posed for pictures here too.

We paused here for some snacks.  Funny story.... I didn't notice till the last second, but J was holding a pretzel out to feed a squirrel.  When I looked and saw how close it was, I was worried it would bite him.  The squirrels are fearless up there.  They tell you not to feed them, because it teaches them not to be afraid of humans.  It's that fear, though, that keeps them a safe distance from us.  Well.... I guess plenty of people don't follow that rule, and we had a very brave squirrel come for a snack.  I had an open bag of snack mix in my hand when I swiped at him and yelled, "NO".  Yea.. snack mix everywhere.  Dang squirrel ended up with a feast.  

Now, on a side note, this is the spot where the three hikers went over the falls on that Tuesday.  They climbed the rails to get photos and when one slipped, two more attempted a rescue.  They all three were swept over the falls.  

Lesson:  Enjoy the beauty of nature without taking risks.  Keep their families in prayer ok?

Moving on from that point, the hike intensity mellowed a bit for us.  Funny... I said to my mom, "hey.. this isn't so bad... I could do this for a while..."
The weather was perfect for us.  Even though much of the next portion of the hike was in direct sunlight, it wasn't so hot that we were miserable.  And the trek up to Nevada Falls (the falls above Vernal) wasn't super misty.  It was the easiest part for sure.  Once we made it to the base of Nevada, we paused for more photos and to give the J man a snack.

You can see that the ground is mostly flat at this point.

A bit of upward hiking and we hit the top of the falls.

I saw this cool babywearing tourist family and I had to snap a photo.  I zoomed waaayyy in so that they wouldn't notice and think I was a creep-o.  

I'll stop there for now.. It's getting late and my sleeping boy on my lap needs to get put in bed.  Stay tuned for the rest!

Soda Pop

I'm re-thinking my soda fetish.  I admit... I love the stuff.  I think though, I should stick to what can be made in my soda stream.  Yummy tip... I carbonate water and mix it with juice.  It's yummy and the kids think they're drinking fruity pop.



Via: Term Life Insurance

Yosemite Series Part 1

Day One~

Just a little background.....
We spent the entire week leading up to the trip frantically trying to find a house sitter for while we were gone.  We had found someone originally, but when I couldn't reach her to go over details, I started worrying that I wouldn't be able to work it out before leaving.  So the hunt for a replacement started.  The first person we asked said yes real quick, but later discovered she was unable to do it.  Back to square one.  We were asking everyone we could think of that would enjoy having a whole house and some personal space for a week.  Our budget was pretty tight, so we were hoping to find someone that would do it *mostly* for the fun of it.  In the end (2 days before leaving) we found someone.  It cost a tad more than we had hoped, but the Lord provided for us and for her through us.  It worked out well.  So with our pets and house in good hands, we set off bright and early (early enough that it wasn't actually bright....) on Friday morning.

We all met up at Josh's grandparent's house.  After unloading some of our stuff in their truck and adding a passenger to our car (his mom) we finally set off.

We arrived at our motel at about 3:30.  It was in Oakhurst, so we were still a ways out of the park.  The Best Western that we stayed in was actually really nice.  It had a mountain log cabin feel to it.  On that first day, Josh was dyin' to get into Yosemite, but some of the other travelers were a tad weary from all the driving.  So, we split up.  Half went to visit nearby Bass Lake, while the rest of us went to explore Yosemite Valley.

Once we had driven into Yosemite National Park, we decided first to check out Bridalveil Falls.  C kept calling it BridalShower Falls.  She argues that it makes more sense that way anyway.  Soooo for the remainder of the trip, it was known by us as BridalShower Falls.  

Before you get to the falls though, there's this great tunnel that you drive through and when you pop out... There is a GREAT viewing spot where you can see the entire valley.

The group

Great View!

Trying to drink fully in the experience.

After stopping at the lookout spot, we were off to the falls.

Gettin' J ready

Walking to the base of the falls

Bridal Shower Falls!

Creek at the bottom

Geting pelted with mist.

After that, we decided to head back and eat dinner, pack lunches for the next day, and discuss logistics of who would be hiking what.  Stay tuned folks, Day 2 is a-comin'.  It won't dissapoint, Day 2 was Half Dome Day!!!!

 

Wordless Wednesday

Discover the Forest.

http://www.discovertheforest.org/

DO IT!!!!

Wallace

Head over to their blog and enter the giveaway.  While you're there.... read all about little Wallace and pray for their family!




Grab This!

Sooo good!

This is so yummy.

Eat it like this:

This is NOT a sponsored post.  I just really like the dressing.  :)

Yosemite Series

So, we went to Yosemite and Mammoth for a week.  I have sooo much to tell you all about it.  I still need to get all the pictures off of my camera though.  I'll leave you with this as a teaser....

The little man and I (along with my hubby and bro) hiked Half Dome!  I'll tell you more soon.  Right now, I have to finish putting away the laundry and unpacking.  Woo Hoo!  Who loves reality when it hits you after a vacation?  I do I do!!!!! J/K.  Stay on the lookout for more details and a guest post by my daughter.  You won't wanna miss it.

Pray for William

Join me in prayer for little William please.  Here is more info.

I'm the Featured Fluff Addict!!

Check out today's post Here

Preparing for our trip........

On Saturday, we're leaving to go here:

Before we do, I have to do this:

I better get back to it..... 

Boy I'll tell ya... I wish my laundry area in the garage looked like this:

Maybe I'll make that my next diy project......

Craft Fail

Yep... totally on here....







Note:   I't hasn't been posted yet.....  I'll update when it goes up.

Sunday Afternoon Fun.

C holds Ruth

J holds Esther

I love the feathered legs.....

Fun way to spend the afternoon.... chillin' with the peeps.