Ah Mammoth. I can just say that and feel instantly relaxed and at peace. You don't have to know me for too long or even very well to know that I LOVE nature. One of my biggest loves and passion is the great outdoors. Especially mountains and the ocean. If I had to pick one place to live at for the rest of my life. It would be no contest. Mammoth all the way! Mammoth has always been my home. It's such a big part of my heart and I miss it every day that I am away. So with my birthday coming up and my husband that knows me way too well, Ian came up with the perfect birthday gift for me. A Mammoth trip. Of course I jumped on that offer. We knew that we probably wouldn't camp this time around because of our last horrific camping trip when Brandon was Danny's age. But we have lots of camping planned with the kids next year for sure!! So even though we weren't gonna camp this time (which is a huge bummer for me, I live for camping!!) it still was gonna be way worth it to take a trip up for a couple days.
I'm not going to lie. It felt really odd staying in a hotel and not camping or staying at my buddy's home but it was still really great. Our view from our room was of course spectacular.
First thing I wanted to do when I got there was go to June Lake. This is by far my favorite place on the planet. The water is so clear and beautiful it looks like the ocean. June Lake is the best of both worlds for me, where the mountains meet the ocean. Except its not the ocean just a beautiful lake that is out of this world. But you know what I mean ;) For me, its like my two loves coming together in one place.
This was Lily and Daniel's first time at June Lake. And they loved it. Well I know Lily did. Daniel mostly hung out shaded in his carseat. The water is a bit too cold for him. It was a little bit of a struggle handling Lily. She just wanted to be with me in the water which was awesome but after awhile I wanted to take a minute to get to spread my fins :) and swim out farther in the lake without a body being attached to me. Well she just wouldn't allow that for too long without screaming her heart out for me to come back and get her. I did get to enjoy it much more than Daddy. I'm so grateful for that time at my favorite place even if it was for a short time. And Lily is even more like her Mama, she is officially a mermaid :)
After the lake we went back to the hotel and got cleaned up and ready for dinner. My birthday dinner was at the great and wonderful Giovanni's. YUMMMMMY!!!! The BEST pizza ever! You know I love my pizza and this is the best. Afterwards, we discovered that Vons surprisingly has really good cupcakes. Ian treated me to a cupcake for my birthday and also gave me one of my favorite classic all time movies...E.T on DVD! Yay!
In this picture we caught Lily sneaking in a bite of my cupcake. What a cutie!
Indulging my cupcake:)
The next day we headed up Twin Lakes and stopped by one of my favorite views at Mamie Lake. What a killer view! I could stay there all day.
Then we took one of my favorite hikes up towards McCleod Lake. We probably only hiked for 20 mins and headed back down because we were running out of Mammoth time:( But it was still amazing.
The last couple pictures are of a spot on the trail that we always stop at to take pictures. We still have a picture of us with Bubba on that rock when he was Danny's age.
This was by far the best birthay I have ever had. Even camping on the beach in Palau comes in as a close second to this birthday. My hubby is so thoughtful to not only know what I need but to do his best to make it happen. I love him! Leaving is always the hardest part. I pretty much cried all the way home. I'm such a baby.Mammoth will always be my home. My heart aches when I am away.Maybe one day I will live there again with my family. That would just be ultimate happiness. Till then twice a year will have to do!
