Showing posts with label Yosemite. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yosemite. Show all posts

Friday, July 5, 2013

Yosemite & Friends

This blog post is about some really GOOD STUFF that only happens every couple of years....getting together with 2 of my best friends AND having our beautiful families with us, too!

The Besties! Me, Kim, Stacy.
Last weekend my dear friend Stacy and her family came to visit us for a quick overnight stay, since they had to be in Fresno for a family wedding.  On Saturday night, our friend Kim came over and it was just like old times!  Well, minus youthful college exuberance, three husbands, five children, and a handful of mortgages.  Still, it was wonderful to be together. 
 
On Sunday, the Haydens and the Coyles ventured up to Yosemite National Park for the day, along with Stacy's parents -- our dear family friends, Rod and Carolyn.  What an exhausting day adventure!  It was the first Yosemite trip for Tess, Jason, Ethan, and Dominic.  I learned a couple things.... 1) don't take a toddler to Yosemite; 2) if you must, don't do it on a 97-degree day; 3) if you must do 1 and 2, take a swimsuit so she can cool off; 4) take plenty of changes of clothing for the water and dirt she will get into; 5) take a first aid kit for the inevitable tumbles off rocks and downhill pathways; 6) don't assume that if she's tired, she'll nap -- not when there is so much nature to explore!  
 
All in all, we made fantastic family and friend memories.  We're so grateful to have the grandeur of Yosemite so close, and to have the treasure of lifelong friends who are like family.  
 
Here are some pictures from our trip, and a silly video I took of Tess to show off her talking skills at 22+ months.

Family photo!

Our Mommy hearts melted, watching the
two babies play with each other and take
care of each other.  =)



Friday, June 25, 2010

Photo Comparison - Canon vs. Olympus

Okay, so here are my 2 favorite shots (same picture) with the 2 cameras - for comparison. Your thoughts as to the better photo, in terms of composition & quality?

CANON:


OLYMPUS:

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Yosemite Day Trip & Photography Class

Last Tuesday, some girlfriends and I went up to Yosemite for the day, to participate in a photography workshop hosted by Canon. Canon is running a FREE program where you can use their equipment to take pictures at National Parks across the U.S., and then they email the pictures to you to keep. What a great marketing idea -- you can bet that they are selling cameras left and right! We had a GREAT time -- it was a gorgeous day at Yosemite. We took pictures, had lunch at the Awahnee Hotel, and took a liesurely hike up to Mirror Lake.

I took pictures with both the Canon Rebel and my trusty Olympus point-and-shoot, so that I could compare results. My photo albums are below!

The OLYMPUS PICS:


THE CANON PICS:

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from The Haydens!

We had a quiet New Year's Eve celebration, which was welcome (we partied hard last year!). Dinner at Cool Hand Luke's with Debbie, Dick & Valerie and then a small celebration with dessert and champagne here at 212 Oxford. We were in bed by 11:00 and missed the ball drop, but didn't feel shortchanged at all! Sometimes it's the simple things....

As is tradition, we spent New Year's Day with the extended Unruh family. It was wonderful to see and reconnect with everyone....the times when we are all together under one roof are fewer and farther between, it seems, and thus even more special.

On Sunday the 4th we ventured up to Tenaya Lodge (near Yosemite) with our friends Jeff & Andreana. For those who don't know, they have a fantastic outdoor ice skating rink from December thru February! We enjoyed the snow and did our best Kurt Browning/Dorothy Hamil impressions, then cozied up in the lodge for some hot chocolate (for the girls) and beer (for the guys, no surprise there!).

And....we're off! Full steam ahead into 2009! We're excited about what this year has in store and look forward to sharing it with all of you!