Oh, Yosemite - Part One (via cell phone)

I really just don't know what photos to include here. I don't want to bore ya'll. Here are some photos from my cell phone:

That wasn't a backdrop, either. It was the real thing -- El Capitan and Half Dome. Magnificent. Here's another:

Here are some snowy woods (that we stopped by in the evening):

Whose woods these are? I think I know.

Oliver looked so cute all week, all bundled up. Honestly, you'd think he was half-Swiss:

Sophie wore -- and rocked -- a black turtleneck.

She also appeared in a pair of fantastic leg warmers:

Henry has morphed into a serious teenager and proved an elusive photo subject. Here he is in profile:

And here he is with red eyes:

Did you think this post was going to be about Yosemite and not photos of beautiful children?

That's the High Sierra Bloody Mary that I drank (and consumed) one afternoon at 2:00. The garnishes, as you can see, were outstanding: a whole carrot, big enough for a horse, a whole piece of celery, a sweet pickle, a pickled onion, a sweet pepper, a slice of lime and an olive. The salted rim was perfect, as was the spicy drink itself. I counted it as a salad and felt virtuous even when I lay down on my hotel bed, slightly drunk, in the late afternoon, with my children as witnesses.

The Husband? Were you wondering whether he came to Yosemite with us? He did come -- and we had the first family vacation we've had in many, many years. I'll post photos from my "real" camera later today and maybe tomorrow and maybe the next day. You'll see so much of Yosemite that you won't ever have to visit it yourself.

In the meantime, enjoy this:

My beautiful friend and travel companion extraordinaire, Cara