here and there

My 4th of July was spent in Escondido with the Minnicks. I love them and always feel like I'm part of the family.

[1: being silly

2: trying to stay away from all the bees that were everywhere

3: me and Amanda!

4: this girl LOVES her buttered corn-on-the-cob]

[1: handstands

2: sweating and out of breath to FINALLY get a good jumping picture]

Today Kristen visited and instead of going out to stuff our faces, we switched it up and stayed in and stuffed our faces. It was a huge meal and SO good thanks to my new grill. And our extremely advanced cooking skills.

[1: you should hold on tight to wet bowls when you're trying to dry them, oops

2: grilling, yeah baby

3: my sweet sister and her beautiful plate of food]

[1: reflections

2: driving to the mall]

[1: Kristen being artsy and getting a picture of me driving using the reflection in her passenger side visor mirror - whew, a mouthful

2: Kristen again doing her thang and looking too cool for school]

Tomorrow: YOSEMITE for 4 days!! This trip was spontaneously and very recently set up, but the three of us are incredibly excited to go! Time to get away from smoggy LA and breathe in the fresh air of sunshine and nature and non-city life. Memories from my past visits to Yosemite:

[2005: I went on a camping trip to Yosemite with a bunch of good friends after graduating from high school. We drive ALLLLLLL the way there and seriously, as we're driving into the campsite, I lose one of my contacts. This thing freaking disappeared. I searched forEVER to find it, but alas, it was gone. I had to swallow my pride and wear my glasses during the whole trip. So annoying and it also allowed me to become the butt of many (non-) funny jokes.]

[2008: The year of Half Dome. I really had no idea what Half Dome was and did the hike at the urging of my friends. My biggest mistake ever - NOT EATING ENOUGH FOOD!! When we woke up early in the morning around 500am, all I had to eat was half of a chocolate muffin from Costco. During almost the entire hike, I felt pretty sick, which makes sense since I had no energy from eating only half a muffin. The sicker I felt, the less I wanted to eat, so I chewed on some Starbursts. The hike up the actual Dome, on the cables, was sooooo brutal! I remember being about halfway up and just feeling utterly exhausted and so faint. I really kind woman on her way down gave me some water, which really did help me to conquer that last leg of the cables. I am not ashamed to say that when I finally reached the top, I cried. Out of emotional, physical and mental exhaustion. Really, half of the hardest part of hiking Half Dome is getting the courage to keep going and DO IT. You've got to conquer a lot of fear and hesitation to finish this incredible hike. But I did it.]