Ben and Alonna » family http://www.benandalonna.com Living vicariously through ourselves... Tue, 29 Nov 2011 03:51:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.3 en hourly 1 Welcome to Colorado http://www.benandalonna.com/2011/01/welcome-to-colorado/ http://www.benandalonna.com/2011/01/welcome-to-colorado/#comments Sun, 16 Jan 2011 05:42:31 +0000 Alonna http://www.benandalonna.com/?p=3319 Occasionally in life, things just fall into place. That’s how I feel about our recent move from Idaho to Colorado, and I couldn’t be happier with how everything has turned out.  Here are the highlights:

Colorado!

  • A new job : After 3 months of searching, I accepted a position with Seagate in Longmont, Colorado.  The new job has gotten off to a great start.  I’m excited about the work (ASIC Verification for SSD drives), I like my boss and coworkers, I’m happy with the pay and benefits, and the location is perfect.  And an added bonus: part of my team works in Shakopee, MN only 20 minutes from my parents’ house.  This means I can occasionally work remotely from that site while visiting family and friends.
  • A new home : At the last minute, we found a rental condo in a NE Boulder community called “Gunbarrel”.  We are loving this area – we have easy access to both Boulder and my job in Longmont, yet are surrounded by farms, open space hiking and biking trails, and great mountain views.  While the rental is only temporary, we’re thinking about sticking to this area when we search for a new place.
  • Boise House – SOLD! After only 3 days on the market, we accepted a full-price offer on our house in Boise.  We credit this to the perfect combination of a nice house in a great location, setting the right price, a lot of preparation, presentation and staging, and a good dose of luck.
  • Enjoying the Rockies : With a little bit of summer left when we arrived, we were able to get in some mountain biking and hiking.  With winter is in full swing, we’ve been hitting the slopes, and Colorado snow has not disappointed us!
  • Family Time : We spent Christmas here with Ben’s Mom and sisters Kim & Beth.  We had a blast – snowshoeing, snowmobiling, sledding, and snowboarding.  I’ve also been able to see my family a lot this fall and winter.  Mom & Dad visited in October, I spent Thanksgiving, New Year’s and my birthday in Minnesota.
  • Every day life, with a view : I hope this never wears off – every day I am impressed by the beautiful scenery here.  Just driving to and from work puts a smile on my face.  We always knew there was something special about Colorado, and we were right.  Plain and simple – this place just feels like home to us, and I don’t expect to ever leave.
  • Article on Briefcase to Backpack : Read about my feelings upon returning from our trip around the world.
  • Travel Photo Book : Check out this photo book I made of our world travels.

Here is a collection of photos from the past few months.  I hope everyone is in as good of place as us and enjoying your life to the fullest.  Here’s to a happy 2011 & beyond!

]]> http://www.benandalonna.com/2011/01/welcome-to-colorado/feed/ 8 My Ecuador Host Family http://www.benandalonna.com/2010/01/my-ecuador-host-family/ http://www.benandalonna.com/2010/01/my-ecuador-host-family/#comments Fri, 22 Jan 2010 20:53:43 +0000 Alonna http://www.benandalonna.com/?p=2238

The last two weeks have flow by; it’s hard to believe I’ve completed my last Spanish class and homestay in Quito. My Spanish has definitely improved and I’m having fun trying to speak it. I hope to continue to practice for the next month while I’m in South America.

I can’t say enough great things about my host family here in Quito. They welcomed me into their home and made me feel like part of their family. They have a lovely house just a block away from the school and very close to La Mariscal, a popular area for tourists with restaurants, bars, cafes, and shops (in fact, it’s sometimes referred to as “gringoland” since there are so many white foreigners).

In the house, I have my own room and bathroom upstairs with everything I need. When I arrived there was a huge bouquet of beautiful pink roses in my room as a belated birthday gift!

My host mother Dolores is so sweet and always asking about my day and how things are going. She works in the travel industry and is gone most of the day, but always has a warm smile when I see her. My host father Pancho works from home and takes care of baby Ignacio. He has been so helpful and friendly during my stay. Any time I need anything – to find an ATM, a sim card for my phone, etc – he goes out of his way to help. Little Ignacio is 15 months old and has adorable curly hair and big brown eyes. By now he’s warmed up to me and is always running around saying “na-na”, just like my nieces did when they were little! I’ve also met Dolores’s parents and brother, who are all very nice as well.

Although I’m sad to leave this great family and home, I have a lot of exciting things ahead of me. On Saturday I’m heading out of Quito with 3 friends I’ve met at the school. We’re going to travel south for a week to Laguna Quilotoa, Baños, and Cuenca. From Cuenca I will fly back to Quito on Friday the 29th to meet Ben. Ben and I will travel around for another week before heading to the Galapagos Islands, which we are really looking forward to.


¡Muchas gracias Dolores, Pancho, and Ignacio por su hospitalidad,
voy a extrañarles!

]]> http://www.benandalonna.com/2010/01/my-ecuador-host-family/feed/ 2 Our Very White Christmas(es) http://www.benandalonna.com/2009/12/our-very-white-christmases/ http://www.benandalonna.com/2009/12/our-very-white-christmases/#comments Mon, 28 Dec 2009 21:18:39 +0000 Alonna http://www.benandalonna.com/?p=1899 It’s been really nice to be back in the US for the holidays. We’ve been able to see both of our families, catch up with friends, relax, and plan the next phase of our trip. For Christmas we spent 12 days traveling to both Virginia and Minnesota to visit family, and the common theme for the entire trip was SNOW! Between the huge East Coast snow storm and then the Midwest snow storm, we got our share of snow this holiday season. And for the most part, we loved it!

snow09_01 Snowed-in

Snow in Virginia

Snowball fight!

Snowball fight!

The first part of our trip was to Blacksburg, VA, home of Virginia Tech where Ben’s sister Kim graduated this December. It’s in the Appalachian mountains, so they do see snow occasionally, but usually not to the scale of what this huge storm dumped on us that weekend! Ben’s mom rented a remote cabin in the mountains for the weekend for Kim’s friends and family. We had quite the drive to get there since we drove right in the middle of the storm. It took us 2 stressful hours to get to the cabin (normally a 40 minute drive), but luckily everyone made it safely. We had already stocked up on groceries, so we happily allowed ourselves to be snowed-in all day Saturday. The snow was gorgeous, and the perfect consistency for little snowballs, giant snowballs, and… burying people?  We had a blast!
Hey, want to make giant snowball?

Hey, want to make giant snowball?

Mission accomplished

Mission accomplished

Hmm, what is Beth up to??

Hmm, what is Beth up to??

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More snow in Minnesota

Cross Country Skiing in Minnesota After arriving in an already snowy Minnesota a few days later, we learned that another storm system was making its way towards us. Over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we were once again blanketed in snow. Again – no harm done, we were still able to spend Christmas Eve & Day with my family as planned.  On Saturday, Kim flew out to Minnesota for a job interview and we headed out to play in the snow again – this time cross country skiing.

Although I’m wishing I could be somewhere warm right now, at least if we’re going to spend December in the cold US, we may as well have snow to play in!

P.S. We’re very close to getting our upcoming travel plans all worked out. I’ll post an update soon, promise!

]]> http://www.benandalonna.com/2009/12/our-very-white-christmases/feed/ 1 Moab, Utah 2009 http://www.benandalonna.com/2009/05/moab-utah-2009/ http://www.benandalonna.com/2009/05/moab-utah-2009/#comments Wed, 27 May 2009 03:35:28 +0000 Alonna http://www.benandalonna.com/?p=550 We went to Moab for a weekend and met up with Ben’s mom.  It was GREAT!  Seriously, I can’t tell you how much I love this place…

Alonna & Ben Robin - Dead Horse Point

]]> http://www.benandalonna.com/2009/05/moab-utah-2009/feed/ 3 What I’ve Been Up To in April http://www.benandalonna.com/2009/04/what-ive-been-up-to-in-april/ http://www.benandalonna.com/2009/04/what-ive-been-up-to-in-april/#comments Sun, 26 Apr 2009 03:40:03 +0000 Alonna http://www.benandalonna.com/?p=515 Here’s a few random things I’ve been up to lately…

HP Ski Day at Bogus – Cross Country Skiing with my co-workers Soumya and Theresa:

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As you can see it was snowy all morning, but cleared up nicely in the afternoon.

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Easter weekend in Minnesota:

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We went to the zoo… on the busiest day in Zoo history!  Hence the mound-o-strollers at the Zoo Farm.

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Easter eggs and Easter toys…

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SWE Conference in Seattle, Washington:

The Cherry Blossoms were blooming on the University of Washington campus.  Also, on the flight home there were clear skies and we flew right next to Mt. Rainier, it was so cool!

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The photo on the left below is a SWE group that went on a tour of the Theo Chocolate Factory.  It was fascinating! (and yes, we got LOTS of samples).  Theo Chocolate is the only chocolate making company in the US that is Fair Trade Certified (which means they pay the farmers fair wages).  Also, did you know that Chocolate is made from cocoa beans, which are separated into cocoa solids and cocoa butter?  And the cheaper chocolate bars that you buy in the store are made with cocoa solids mixed with animal or vegetable fats instead of cocoa butter… making them much less healthy.  The chocolate solids that comes out of cocoa beans are the 2nd most anti-oxidant rich food in the world!  (the first is a strange berry from Brazil).  If you don’t like dark chocolate, you should try to acquire a taste for it… it’s much better for you (less fat, more anti-oxidants), and it is very rich so you don’t need much.  I now have a plethora of chocolate knowledge… but I’ll leave it at this :)   Try to find some Theo Chocolate in your local whole foods or grocery co-op.

And… the second photo is from a concert I went to in Seattle – my FAVORITE band was playing, Mates of State.  They were fabulous and as you can see I got to stand right in the front!

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Hope everyone is having a happy April ~

]]> http://www.benandalonna.com/2009/04/what-ive-been-up-to-in-april/feed/ 3 Christmas in Minnesota 2008 http://www.benandalonna.com/2009/01/christmas-in-minnesota-2008/ http://www.benandalonna.com/2009/01/christmas-in-minnesota-2008/#comments Sat, 03 Jan 2009 22:30:38 +0000 Alonna http://www.benandalonna.com/?p=351 I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and New Year!  Ben and I had a great time in Minnesota visiting family and friends.  It always goes by too fast though, doesn’t it?

Click Continue Reading to see the rest of the photos…

Family Photo - Christmas 2008 Madisen

]]> http://www.benandalonna.com/2009/01/christmas-in-minnesota-2008/feed/ 0 Thanksgiving in White River 2008 http://www.benandalonna.com/2008/12/thanksgiving-in-white-river-2008/ http://www.benandalonna.com/2008/12/thanksgiving-in-white-river-2008/#comments Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:46:01 +0000 Alonna http://www.benandalonna.com/?p=330 Here are some photos from Thanksgiving at my grandparent’s house in South Dakota (including a few below from my sister-in-law Heather).  We had a great time – lots of family, food, desserts, card playing, and fun!

(NOTE: click on Continue Reading below to see the rest of the photos!)

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t08_19-thanksgiving-fishing-dam.jpg t08_21-thanksgiving-fishing-dam.jpg t08_30-thanksgiving-mom-and-annaliese.jpg t08_24-thanksgiving-heather-and-annaliese.jpg t08_25-thanksgiving-fishing-dam.jpg t08_31-thanksgiving-maddie-heather-cody-liese.jpg t08_34-thanksgiving-liese-alonna-maddie.jpg t08_35-thanksgiving-maddies-new-purse.jpg

Here’s a few photos from Heather.  She’s a much better photographer than me.  Actually she just started her own business, Natural Reflections Studio!

t08_h_img_0505.jpg t08_h_img_0442.jpg t08_h_img_0553.jpg t08_h_img_0514.jpg t08_h_img_0533.jpg t08_h_img_0431.jpg ]]> http://www.benandalonna.com/2008/12/thanksgiving-in-white-river-2008/feed/ 0 Family Trip to Ruttgers, Minnesota http://www.benandalonna.com/2008/08/family-trip-to-ruttgers-minnesota/ http://www.benandalonna.com/2008/08/family-trip-to-ruttgers-minnesota/#comments Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:30:06 +0000 Alonna http://www.benandalonna.com/?p=67 ruttgers102-group-photo.jpg

Last weekend the Albertus family (plus us two Scott’s) took a weekend trip to a lake in Minnesota.  We stayed at a nice resort called Ruttgers on Bay Lake and took advantage of tons of available activities including: water skiing, swimming, fishing, jumping on the water trampoline, tennis, campfires, Clay’s birthday, board games and yard games.  We had so much fun!  Here’s some of the highlights…

Fishing trip – Cody and Annaliese:

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Annaliese kissing her baby fish:

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More Fishing photos:

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Ben and I spent some time water skiing and attempting new tricks.  My trick was to slalom ski (one ski only).  I was able to start on two, then drop one ski… but didn’t quite make it after that.  However, Ben got this great photo that makes me look like a pro!  (I fell immediately after this shot)

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I was pretty good with 2 skiis though:

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Ben tried various water skiiing apparatuses, including a wakeboard, kneeboard, and skiis.

Wakeboard:                                     Skiis:

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Kneeboarding:

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Despite his best efforts, he only had success with plain old water skiis.  Maybe next year.

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Here’s a few more photos, including Jenga and Clay’s birthday party.  As you can see, Madisen and Annaliese were busy stealing his gifts and tackling him!  :)

ruttgers18-having-fun-playing-jenga.jpg ruttgers20-having-fun-playing-jenga.jpg ruttgers68-clays-birthday.jpg ruttgers69-clays-birthday.jpg ruttgers71-clays-birthday.jpg ruttgers72-clays-birthday.jpg ]]> http://www.benandalonna.com/2008/08/family-trip-to-ruttgers-minnesota/feed/ 1 Northern Idaho Road Trip http://www.benandalonna.com/2008/08/northern-idaho-road-trip/ http://www.benandalonna.com/2008/08/northern-idaho-road-trip/#comments Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:04:14 +0000 Alonna http://www.benandalonna.com/?p=64 I’ve already posted about some of our activities in and around Coeur d’Alene.  But we also had a fun time along the way.  Here’s two google map snapshots of our route, and some photos of the trip:

A = Boise    B = Grangeville    C = Coeur d’Alene    D = Route of the Hiawatha    E = Moscow

Road trip - map 2 Road trip - map

Montana-Idaho border:                               River along Hwy 95 near Riggins:

Road trip Road trip

South of Grangeville:

Road trip Road trip

Hell’s Canyon lookout point (you can’t actually see the river from this spot, unfortunately):

Road trip Road trip ]]> http://www.benandalonna.com/2008/08/northern-idaho-road-trip/feed/ 0 Coeur d’Alene – Day 3 http://www.benandalonna.com/2008/08/coeur-d%e2%80%99alene-day-3/ http://www.benandalonna.com/2008/08/coeur-d%e2%80%99alene-day-3/#comments Wed, 20 Aug 2008 04:57:42 +0000 Alonna http://www.benandalonna.com/?p=63 Ben, Beth and I rode a “rails-to-trails” bike ride in Northern Idaho called Route of the Hiawatha.  It’s an old train route in the mountains, going through 10 tunnels and over 7 trestles (bridges).  The coolest part was a 1.66 mile long tunnel!  The tunnel was pitch black (bike lamps required), and super cold.  It was damp and only 40 degrees F inside.  We were warned ahead of time to go slow, because if you go fast you’ll get mud splashed in a straight line up your back.  Sure enough, a few guys sped past us and they all had thick mud streaks right up their backs!  Anyway, the scenery was gorgeous and we had a really fun time.  The trail is 15 miles long downhill, then you take a bus back up to the top.  Here’s a few photos from the ride.

Start of the adventure:                                         The view:

Hiawatha Bike Trail   Hiawatha Bike Trail

Tunnels:

Hiawatha Bike Trail Hiawatha Bike Trail Hiawatha Bike Trail Hiawatha Bike Trail beths_visit_two_11.jpg

Trestles:

Hiawatha Bike Trail Hiawatha Bike Trail Hiawatha Bike Trail Hiawatha Bike Trail Hiawatha Bike Trail ]]> http://www.benandalonna.com/2008/08/coeur-d%e2%80%99alene-day-3/feed/ 0 Coeur d’Alene – Days 1-2 http://www.benandalonna.com/2008/08/coeur-dalene-days-1-2/ http://www.benandalonna.com/2008/08/coeur-dalene-days-1-2/#comments Fri, 15 Aug 2008 04:21:11 +0000 Alonna http://www.benandalonna.com/?p=61 Last weekend Ben’s sister Beth came to visit.  We decided to take a road trip to Northern Idaho, an area that Ben and I hadn’t yet explored.  There’s a popular destination called Coeur d’Alene which is on a lake in a mountainous area.  Also we heard about a cool rails-to-trails bike trail that we were really excited to try out.

We drove 7-hours Friday night and Saturday morning to get to Coeur d’Alene.  The drive was long, but really pretty – windy mountain roads, rivers and canyons, golden-colored wheat fields, and small towns.  After arriving, we had the afternoon in Coeur d’Alene, so we took out the kite to take some photos… you can see a few of those in Ben’s last post.  Here’s another good one, and also a photo of our reward after a long day of driving and kite-flying.

Coeur D'Alene Coeur D'Alene

Later that evening we hiked around Tubbs Hill, a hill near downtown Coeur d’Alene which juts out into the lake

Coeur D'Alene Coeur D'Alene Coeur D'Alene Coeur D'Alene

Sunday we had a full day in Coeur d’Alene and we wanted to see more of the lake.  So we rented Kayaks in the morning and paddled around.  We didn’t get very far – it was windy and the water was pretty choppy, plus it turns out that kayaking is tiring!  But we found a cute little beach to park at and eat lunch.  Here’s some photos from that adventure.

Kayaking Kayaking Kayaking Kayaking Kayaking Kayaking

Later that evening we drove a scenic road around part of the lake, looking for something fun to do and photo opportunities.  At one pull-off, we found a beach full of perfect skipping rocks and we couldn’t resist…

Kayaking Kayaking Kayaking

At another pull-off we noticed a nice breeze… so we sent our kite up towing the camera.  If you haven’t flown a kite since you were a kid, I suggest trying it sometime.  It’s surprisingly fun!  The sun was low in the sky, so we got some pretty sky photos too.

Kite aerial photography Kite aerial photography Kite aerial photography Kite aerial photography Kite aerial photography Kite aerial photography

We were also lucky to catch a beautiful sunset over the lake that night.

Coeur D'Alene Coeur D'Alene Coeur D'Alene Coeur D'Alene

I’ll post about the rest of the trip soon – including photos from our bike ride!

-Alonna

]]> http://www.benandalonna.com/2008/08/coeur-dalene-days-1-2/feed/ 0 Kim’s Visit http://www.benandalonna.com/2008/06/kims-visit/ http://www.benandalonna.com/2008/06/kims-visit/#comments Tue, 17 Jun 2008 05:46:14 +0000 Bullet-Point Ben http://www.benandalonna.com/?p=44 Stopped at the hot springs in Loman, ID /li> Drove to Stanley, ID /li> Stayed in Ketchum / Sun Valley, ID Hiked to a lookout point at the ski resort /li> Kim and Marissa signed up for Paragliding. The wind did not cooperate. /li> Unique wildlife seen: one bald eagle, one [...]]]>
  • June 13-15
  • My sister Kim visited with her friend and fellow hat afficionado Marissa
    Trying on clothes
  • Stopped at the hot springs in Loman, ID
    Hot springs Hot springs
  • Drove to Stanley, ID
    Drive to Stanley Stanley, Idaho Redfish Lake
  • Stayed in Ketchum / Sun Valley, ID
    • Hiked to a lookout point at the ski resort
      Kim Hiking in Sun Valley
    • Kim and Marissa signed up for Paragliding. The wind did not cooperate.
      Marissa and Kim Marissa and Kim
    • Unique wildlife seen: one bald eagle, one fox, one elk, and several distinctive birds.
  • The next day we biked on the Boise greenbelt to Anne Morrison park and played Frisby Golf
    • This is the basic concept
      Frisbee Golf Putting
    • Proper technique
      Ben How to throw a frisbee Follow through is key Kim
    • A scenic picture on the way home
      Biking on the greenbelt
    • ]]>     http://www.benandalonna.com/2008/06/kims-visit/feed/ 0     Kitty Hawk, NC http://www.benandalonna.com/2008/06/kitty-hawk-nc-a-bullet-point-blog-by-ben/ http://www.benandalonna.com/2008/06/kitty-hawk-nc-a-bullet-point-blog-by-ben/#comments Sat, 07 Jun 2008 04:28:45 +0000 Bullet-Point Ben http://www.benandalonna.com/wp/?p=37 A Bullet-Point Blog by Ben

    • Weekend of May 9th, 2008
    • Visit with the Scott family
      • 5 siblings (Bonnie, Ben, Jon, Beth, Kim)
      • 3 spouses (Jose, Alonna, Amanda)
      • 4 children (Joseph, Joshua, Amanda, Alissa)
      • 1 grandmother (Robin)
    • Table tennis, grilling, photo-sharing, balloon-folding, and long walks on the beach
    • Weather was cold and windy, with a dash of tornado
    • Photos…
    ]]>     http://www.benandalonna.com/2008/06/kitty-hawk-nc-a-bullet-point-blog-by-ben/feed/ 1     Thanksgiving 2007 http://www.benandalonna.com/2007/11/thanksgiving-2007/ http://www.benandalonna.com/2007/11/thanksgiving-2007/#comments Mon, 26 Nov 2007 03:57:52 +0000 Alonna http://www.benandalonna.com/wp/?p=33 Thanksgiving in White River, South Dakota
    November 21-25, 2007

    ]]>     http://www.benandalonna.com/2007/11/thanksgiving-2007/feed/ 0     Frontier Days http://www.benandalonna.com/2007/08/frontier-days/ http://www.benandalonna.com/2007/08/frontier-days/#comments Mon, 20 Aug 2007 08:25:52 +0000 Alonna http://www.benandalonna.com/wp/?p=23 Trip Dates: August 17-20, 2007

    Every year in the tiny town of White River, South Dakota they have a weekend called Frontier Days. My mom grew up in White River, and my Aunt and Uncle and Grandparents still live there. Growing up we often travelled the 7+ hours by car to White River for Frontier Days weekend. This year, everyone in the family went – including me and Ben, Mom and Dad, Clay, Cody, Heather and the kids. We all went to the parade and rodeos, Kenn took Ben and I prarie dog hunting, and we even stopped by the Native American Pow Wow on Saturday night. It was a lot of fun!

    ]]>     http://www.benandalonna.com/2007/08/frontier-days/feed/ 0     Yosemite http://www.benandalonna.com/2007/08/yosemite/ http://www.benandalonna.com/2007/08/yosemite/#comments Sun, 05 Aug 2007 07:13:08 +0000 Alonna http://www.benandalonna.com/wp/?p=17 Trip Dates: August 2-5, 2007

    Coming from Idaho (Ben and Alonna), Minnesota (Alonna’s Mom Candy), and Virginia (Ben’s Mom Robin and two sisters Beth and Kim), six of us met in California to take a weekend trip to Yosemite National Park. None of us had been there before, and we had a great time sightseeing in Yosemite Valley and hiking around the giant sequoia trees. I think we all look forward to going back some day.

    ]]>     http://www.benandalonna.com/2007/08/yosemite/feed/ 0