The Falls

We took our annual family vacation to Yosemite this week and had a blast.
We hiked to the base of Lower Yosemite Falls the first afternoon-- a very easy hike-- and began to wonder if Lexy would be up for anything more difficult the following day. Granted, it had been a long day of travel, but she was a bit of a drama-queen on the maybe half-mile walk on a PAVED path that was relatively flat. This did not bode well.

But, we decided to stick with our plan and hike to the top of Vernal Falls the next morning.

The family.... at the beginning of the hike

Ryan (my bro) & Christy

But Lexy surprised us. And everyone we encountered along the way.

She hiked the ENTIRE thing by herself!!!! Without complaining!!!!




Preparing to head up the Mist Trail....
(apparently Poor Tori couldn't see a thing!)

She and I walked the Mist Trail portion together, hand in hand. It was WET.
I'm talking every-thread-on-your-body-soaked WET, water-drops-running-down-your-arms-as-you-walk WET.
See all that mist blowing around? It was assailing us as we climbed.

And very slippery... and yet she seemed undaunted. In fact, when we reached a point where there was a break in the torrential mist, all of the adults stopped to rest and catch our breath and enjoy the rainbows.


Not Lexy. She charged ahead, climbing the VERY steep steps. She actually had to use her knee to scale some of the stairs that were 2+ feet high. (sidenote: Bill requests that next time trailblazers use dynamite to create a rock staircase, could you please make the stairs more uniform? They are very hard to climb when they are all at different height increments. Thank you kindly.)


Enjoying her Gatorade-- her hiking Juice-- during a quick break.


The last few steps to the top!

So, we made it to the top of the falls, enjoyed some lunch as we shooed squirrels away, and then headed back down the mountain. Hiking journey= success!

At the Vernal Falls foot bridge on the descent

And then came the second fall....

We were a mere 20 yards from the bus stop, getting ready to head back to camp. Lexy had finally pooped out and asked me to carry her, and I had obliged, until my back started spasming. As I set her down, Bill decided to race Lexy to the bus stop (in an attempt to get her to go the distance on her own). However, Lexy, in her naive 3-yr-old-ness, took off WEAVING through throngs of weary hikers tired from their day's trek. I, ignoring the advice I'd given her ALL MORNING LONG of "watch where you are putting your feet", began craning my neck, trying to watch her as she darted in and out of the crowd, hoping she wouldn't trip anyone. And then.... BOOM.

I fell.

My ankle rolled right off the edge of the paved road and I landed in a big heap on the dirt. I immediately knew it wasn't good. Surges of pain running into my foot. As I sat there pondering my options, I realized there weren't many and decided to "walk it off" as my brother, standing overhead, was urging.

Fast forward three days... Thursday afternoon, when my foot began resembling a club due to CRAZY swelling, I decided it might be time to visit the local Urgent Care. I mean, why not? We're practically on a first name basis with these guys!

So, $15 and 3 X-rays later, my fears were confirmed.
I have a small fracture.
A BROKEN ANKLE.
The doctor wanted to give me crutches. HA!
I told him to keep 'em-- there'd be no way I'd use them with two kids to take care of.

So as I type, I'm sitting in an Gel Ankle Brace, icing my ankle.
And I'm supposed to go to an Orthopedic specialist next week.
I know you're jealous.
What a fun way to start off the summer!!! :)
Thankfully, aside from the initial CRAZY pain, it doesn't hurt. I CAN walk on it, although I'm not supposed to. And I think the intense swelling experienced on Thursday might have had something to do with the fact that the girls and I went shopping at Target that morning for more than an hour. Oops. Don't tell anyone. How was I supposed to know that keeping my foot in an non-elevated position was going to make it swell up like a balloon?!? Lesson learned.