California Trip

I've had a time trying to get my pictures downloaded, but have finally succeeded. So here are a few from our trip to California. If you look at the pictures, they could be titled "Emily went on vacation to California". It seems she was in almost every picture. Here are a few of my favorites, but if you want to see all that we took, you can go to this link http://s265.photobucket.com/albums/ii229/yahyah0808/California%202009/?albumview=slideshow.

We spent most of our time visiting with Andy's parents. It didn't take Emily long to figure out they were great friends to have.

Here she is with Grandma.


And with Poppa.


And with Grandy...he is still her favorite.


Grandma fed us very well the whole time we were there. One night she asked me if Emily ate corn on the cob. I had given it to her twice before. Once she ate it and once she didn't. I'd venture to say that she liked it when Grandma cooked it.

We went to Sequoia National Forest one day to see the giant redwood trees. I took lots of pictures of them, but their beauty is just something you can't capture with a picture. In fact, it took me five frames to get all of the General Grant tree from top to bottom. The trees are gorgeous--not only in stature, but their color is beautiful. I'm so glad we went there. It is something I will never forget.

Here are Grandma, Grandy, and Emily.


And one of the majestic redwoods....so beautiful.....


We took a picnic lunch and after she ate, Emily explored for a while, then sat on a log to take a rest.


While we were in the park, and most of the time we were in California, this was Emily's mode of transportation. It was a sunny day, so she borrowed Grandy's cap.


On the way back down from the mountains, we stopped at Lake Sequoia. Andy spent summers there going to camp. The campground was so pretty and the lake was beautiful. Andy said it didn't seem as big as it was years ago!!


We went to the ranch a couple of times. It was a little sad to see huge fields that weren't planted due to the water situation. Many farmers are just walking away from the fields and it really is eye-opening to see it first hand.

Emily was in country-girl heaven. She loved the wide open space. And she was so excited to see the tractors and Uncle Mike's airplane.


He even let her "fly" it!


You can see just how big this tractor is with her standing beside it. She pretended to be a farmer when she was at the wheel.



And sometimes a girl just needs to sit and rest and enjoy the beauty surrounding her.


Andy's dad celebrated his 80th birthday while we were there. Several of his lifelong friends came for a very nice party. We all had a great time.

Here's the birthday boy.


Emily provided the entertainment. She's really a shoe girl. She walked around in the shoes of almost every lady there. She does better in high heels that I do!

Aunt Sandy's shoes


Jacqueline's shoes


Kiersten's shoes


Aunt Jan's shoes


She loved all the cousins. Here she is with Kiersten.


And with Brittany

Here are all the Wood cousins.


As I mentioned before, Emily had no trouble bonding with Grandma. Grandma's yard is beautiful. She really has a green thumb. Emily helped with the roses.


And she was surprised when the sprinklers came on.


This is the courtyard in front of the house.




And one of the rose beds.


Isn't this rose pretty!


Here's a great picture of Andy and his dad, deep in conversation.


It was a great trip. I know I'll never forget it. I just hope Emily will be able to remember how much fun she had while she was there.