Pre-Yosemite.

We decided to split up our trip to California in chunks so that the kids (and us!) could enjoy it more.  The first day we left early in the morning after the kids got up and drove to Sacramento

She fell asleep with a granola bar in her hands, and somehow got chocolate chips all over her sweet face.

After a long day in the car our girls were so so ready to be at the hotel swimming pool.  So much cute energy to expend!  Georgia and I enjoyed watching Brian and the girls swim.

The day after we got to Sacramento we had some time to kill before picking up my brother, David, and heading towards Yosemite.  So we decided to go to the State Fair, which was next to our hotel.

On the raised train.  The girls might have liked this more than any other ride.

The longhorn in this picture was bigger than I could have ever imagined.  This picture doesn’t even begin to show how big it is.

Of course the merry-go-round was a hit.

Elna’s hat and sunglasses kill me in these pictures.

Elna was a little nervous about the idea of the swings, but Harriet loved it!

After the fair the girls we were exhausted and thirsty and hungry, so we headed to Costco for a cheap dinner we knew the girls would eat.  Then we picked up David from the train station (he took Amtrak from Salt Lake to Sacramento) and headed towards the place we had reserved in Bass Lake—near Yosemite.

We stayed the night in Bass Lake.  We loved having David there with us!

The happy swimmers before bedtime.  The next morning, after a making a fun breakfast and packing up, we headed into Yosemite to meet the rest of my family!  We are so happy we added a few days to our vacation by spending a few days with just our little family.  We had such a fun time together!