California—post Yosemite.

After Yosemite, we stayed in Fairfield from Friday evening until Wednesday morning when we left to come home.  The first few days Matthias and Annie and their families were there too, so it was a party.  David was there the whole time we were, which we loved!

Harriet would hold her baby all day if I would let her.  As it is, we have to watch her very carefully, so it can only be for a few minutes at a time.

Jody loved Georgia!

They were excited to be wearing matching panties.

After church on Sunday, we headed to Berkeley with David to visit my grandpa and then Tilden Park.

In Tilden we fed celery to cows, goats, and sheep.

While I fed Georgia, the girls went on the merry go round with Brian and David.

We are kind of obsessed with taking pictures of our children.  Several times a  month, when we are checking on our children at night we come out with pictures to show each other.  They are just so stinking sweet when they’re sleeping.  It’s nice to be reminded of their sweetness when the days get long and hard.

The girls loved watching Grandma Elna sew.  Thanks to my mom for helping me with a project.

The girls were so excited to go to the fire station, but when we got there they refused to get near the fire man or sit in the truck.

After the fire station we fed the ducks at the nearby library pond.

Frozen waffles worked just as well as bread for the ducks.

Look at those cute little baby ducks.  The girls loved them!  They are big fans of the book, Make way for Ducklings, so seeing baby ducks really made them giddy.

Grandma Elna let little Elna pick out another quilt because the one that she got (that I had picked out) when she was born is pretty fragile because of the kind of quilt it is, and can’t be used and loved.  She loves her pink quilt and uses it every night.

On our way home from CA.  We had the BEST time, but we were ready to be home.  The girls did pretty well.  Elna and Georgia were perfect on the way home, and Harriet was a little bit of a handful.  It didn’t help that there was slooowww traffic the last hour of our trip.  Home sweet home!

More Yosemite.

We spent all of our days down at the river, but in the mornings and evenings the kids had fun running around and playing with cousins--

I love this picture of the little girls sitting on their buckets eating their breakfast and watching the construction workers next door.

In the evenings, after dinner, the grandchildren got fun prizes from Grandma and Grandpa—the first night they got their buckets and shovels to play in the sand with.

Another night the little girls got fancy princess nightgowns.

They got glow sticks to sleep with every night.  They were a big hit for our girls!

Wearing their fancy nightgowns with Grandma and Grandpa.  They sure love their grandparents!  And their nightgowns!

Another night they each got a set of musical instruments—so, so fun!

One of my very favorite parts of Yosemite this year was hearing my grandparents give devotionals every evening about their parents.  They told the neatest stories and bore powerful testimony and how they gained their testimonies.  So, so neat!

My grandparents, Ray and Joanne Linford—the best of the best!

Grandma Jody during her story telling time.  She is an example of faith, love, hard work, and optimism.  I wish I were more like her!  Some day I hope to be.

The kids were exhausted every night after playing hard in the sun all day.  Hattie just looks so wiped in these pictures.

All four girls with their princess nightgowns—Elna, Jody, Hattie, and Cora.

John, Harriet, Elna, and Robert.

And there was a whole lot of Georgia-holding going on:

Grandpa and Georgia.

John and Georgia.

Benjamin and Georgia—Benjamin held Georgia all the time—he was such a great helper and he LOVED holding her.  It was very sweet!

Grandma Jody and Georgia.

On our last day, on our way out of the park, we stopped in the valley for lunch, ice cream, and the beautiful sights.  The girls are holding their breath through the long tunnel.

Georgia taking a nap on the drive there.

David with Grandma, taking her first selfie.

And the selfie.

My girls with their great grandparents.  I wish I had gotten a picture of Grandpa Ray holding Georgia as she was named after both of his parents—Georgia (after his father George, and Greer after his mother Orva Greer)

The whole family that was here this year.  We were missing Joseph and his family, and it wasn’t the same without them.  Just before this they moved to Belgium with the Air Force, so they weren’t able to be here for Yosemite, but I really missed them!  A big thank you to my parents for such a fun week—we can hardly wait until next year!

Yosemite—family pictures.

I thought I would try to get our Christmas picture in Yosemite again, but I realized when I we got home that it’s almost identical to last years Christmas picture, so I might try to be a little more creative and figure out another option to send out.

Harriet’s smile in the one above makes me pretty happy.

I also got some quick shots of Georgia at 2 months.  She was such an easy baby on this vacation.  She slept a lot in a wagon that we made into a little bed and put into our popup tent.  She was just happy to sleep, eat, and be held by her cousins and grandparents.  She almost never cries and is happy as long as her needs are being met.  Easy, sweet, happy baby!