God Spilled His Bucket

yesterday was Michael's 35th birthday. we celebrated his favorite way, soaking up God's beautiful creation.
we took the long way to Yosemite, and drove along Hwy 140. Michael, who works as a Fine Art Digital Print Maker/Photographer, was told that it had been 20 years since the flowers had been this plentiful along Hwy 140.
these pictures (taken with our "little camera," Canon Powershot SD 880 IS) show just how brilliant the colors are!
look at this hill side! Michael commented that "God had spilled his paint bucket" on this hillside.
we continued on to beautiful Yosemite valley. there we rode bikes around the valley floor. as we rode i was reminded of riding bikes there with Michael 15 years ago, eying the families riding together, wondering if that would be our future. i was reminded of Mother's Day 2001, pulling Noah and Emilie around the same trails in the Radio Flyer wagon, wondering when little feet would be able to make the trek themselves. Now the little feet are big enough to ride with us!
it goes too fast.

after a picnic lunch and a bit more riding, we stopped to play in some caves. i don't know who enjoyed it more, the kids or Michael.
unfortunately, there was a sign that cautioned us we were entering a mountain lion habitat. it also gave instructions on what to do if you encounter a "m.l." so, i couldn't enjoy exploring the caves. i had to stand guard. i took two sticks and banged them together, creating a lot of noise, and scaring off the "m.l.'s" ( you might recall that this worked in the movie Parent Trap).

look at this cool heart tree. Yosemite has everything!
finally, for those of you who do not live in Ca. and have not had the opportunity to visit beautiful Yosemite National Park (or for those of you who live here,and have not visited), here is a short video sharing just a bit of the beauty.