June 7 -- Elsa is Twenty-One Months

Elsa turned twenty-one months old today, and to celebrate we took a drive through one of the most -- if not THE most -- majestic scenic landscapes I have ever experienced. The drive into Sentinel Campground at Cedar Grove in Kings Canyon National Park was a bit slow going, but the scenery throughout the latter part of the drive, once we were out of California's Central Valley and into the mountains, made it worth every tiring second. If you have never seen these mountains in person, I am not sure anyone would be able to really convey to you how breathtaking they are. Really, it was almost too much for me to take in. First of all, they are monstrous and the canyon is deep (deeper than the Grand Canyon at its greatest depth). And then there is just the simple, pure beauty of it all. I did not get to take any photos today since we were in the car, but don't worry -- there are plenty to come.

The river that flows through the canyon here, Kings River, is raging like no other river I have ever seen. We plan on taking some video of it probably tomorrow, but let's just say when they speak of "white water" it does not get any more white than this. With above-average temperatures over this past weekend and all of the snowmelt, the water levels are high, and apparently even rose last night (and then receded today) to cover part of the road we took to get in here. There is still a ranger warning out pertaining to a flood watch, but we are not in any kind of danger in our campsite. In speaking with a ranger, the most danger we are in is the slight possibility that part of the road could wash out and we would be stuck here for a few days until they could repair it, but she did say those chances are pretty slim. However, the short hike we were planning to do this afternoon was out not only because we got here later than expected, but also because part of Zumwalt Meadow is flooded (and part of the trail is a footbridge that goes over the river).

But back to the Elsa update... she indeed seems older everyday. Today I was taking note on how much her walking skills have improved as of late. She was traversing significant inclines and declines without much trouble, as well as bumps, curbs, and small steps. She has not yet proven to be much of a daredevil in terms of climbing, so even just these improvements in her walking and balance are pretty big.

Her verbal skills and memory capacity continue to amaze us, however. She has basically memorized most of her favorite books, and it is so entertaining to watch her flip through and read aloud to herself. Just lately she has shown some signs of independence with her books. Occasionally she will decide that she absolutely does not want you to read to her. She wants to sit there and do it all herself, thank you very much. But aside from that and building her "mountains," she usually wants to stick pretty close by, and it is always, "mommy," "mommy," "mommy."

She has started using make believe more, especially with her kitchen. She cooks us eggs and pizza, and she enjoys putting her wooden steak on a plate and eating it with a fork.

Elsa still has a strong preference for the color purple, still loves walking around outside (and still throws tantrums when it is time to go inside), and is still a rather picky eater. She is super easy to put to bed these days, and will sometimes now even request to go to sleep at nap time or bedtime. Sometimes she will chat and chat for up to an hour or so before actually falling asleep, but there is rarely much of a complaint when we put her down.

All in all, she is a great little girl -- still a fairly whiny and high-demanding little girl -- but oh so lovable and darling in every way.

So now, here we are -- Elsa is asleep in the back of Betty, the name I have given our trusty camper van, and Jarrett and I are sitting out at the picnic table, under the stars and with the sound of the river roaring in the background (and with all of our food stuff and smelly items -- which ends up being a large portion of our belongings! -- locked up in the bear box). I cannot wait for our little family to explore more of this wildness over the next few weeks.







Here she is with the rock collection/mountain building she had going within the first 15 minutes of arrival at the campsite.