Home Sweet Home

After a very nice visit with my grandma we drove in a rush to make it to my hometown of Richland, Washington. A 6 hour drive easily in a car but hauling a trailer, well let's say it took us a little longer. We really wanted to make it for the 5:00 pm mass at Christ the King, where I celebrated my First Communion, Confirmation and our Wedding and just have so many amazing memories. Did I happen to mention that today is actually July 3rd. our actual 12 year anniversary? Well we made it to mass and saw the priest that performed our marriage ceremony and saw some friends too. The church has made some updates, but it still felt like home.
After mass we headed to a local restaurant for dinner with some close friends that we hadn't seen since our wedding day 12 years ago. It was a little surreal and amazing to introduce them to our little family.

The kids got an awesome experience at the Richland fire station, it pays to know the Fire Chief. Thanks Tom, the kids loved every moment.

The rest of the 4th of July weekend we spent with my Aunt Kay & Aunt Pam in Pasco at Kay's new house. We enjoyed yummy food, good company and fireworks from the backyard. It was also so nice to spend a few nights in a house instead of the trailer and shower in a bathroom that isn't 4x4!

The kids playing at my childhood playground, Chapparal Park. Our house is right behind the fence.

New Memories

We have now made it to Oregon and are visiting with my Grandma Kay. She is the sweetest most kind Christian woman and has always been there for my family. I feel so blessed that we were able to spend time with her and make new memories. Grandma Kay is a very accomplished seamstress and sewed many outfits for my sister and I when we were young and now she is creating beautiful pieces for my children. They are always so excited to open the brown paper wrapped packages. 

Grandma Kay was very excited to ride with us to visit Crater Lake. She grew up in Oregon and explored the area around Crater Lake with her family and it was great to hear her stories and show us the sights. Crater Lake is another park that cannot be fully captured in photos and must be explored. The water is a blue color like no other and the surrounding mountains are stunning. And yes, that is snow at the end of June.

California: End

We finish our California week with a visit in Lassen Volcanic National Park. We would have loved to spend many more days in this wonderful park but it is just an overnight stop on our way to my grandmothers in Oregon. The evening weather was perfect and we enjoyed a family meal outside and broke out the s'more goodies. We also enjoyed a very full and bright starry night sky. In the morning we woke up and visited the visitor center where we learned about the volcanoes history and were lucky to get a private tour of the first seismometer that was installed in the park and now is being restored by a park ranger. Before we got back in the car we enjoyed a short hike around beautiful Manzanita Lake.

California: Middle

Yosemite is amazing! This post will be full of pictures in hopes that it inspires you to come to this great family friendly park. So many parts of the park to see and explore. We saw the valley the first day with our friends and saw all the sights. The next day we headed to Tuolomne Meadows and even though it rained we had one of the best days of the entire trip. Our last day we played at a little beach and I took a photography class with the Ansel Adams Academy. Enjoy the photos!