Back to the coast!

Paul took another trip to Texas to visit friends this past summer, so when it was time to pick him up at the airport, we headed to the west coast and back to Seattle. We decided to take the younger two to visit the ocean, since Paul was getting to hit the beach on his trip. We drove over to Cape Disappointment State Park in Washington and found the nice, cool Pacific Ocean. The northwest beaches aren't as warm as Florida or Texas beaches, but the scenery is magnificent!

Got a little sand covered!

Went to visit a big volcano... made a quick stop in Mount Rainier National Park!

Get out on the river and the lakes...

In Montana, whenever you can get out on the water, you better do it. The warm weather is only around for a brief time, so we do our best to take advantage of it. This past summer we made a few trips to the lakes and dropped the paddleboards in the river for a nice evening float...

Kayaking in Alaska... or so he claimed.

Celebrate with Fireworks!

The Fourth of July has always been one of our favorite holidays! With things like fireworks, cookouts, warm weather, and family hangouts, how could it not be? This past summer was full of all of these things! We took a trip up to the Idaho panhandle and visited Silverwood theme park with the Miller family, and later had an Independence Day extravaganza at the elder Miller kid compound! Here are the pics of how it all went down...

The roller coaster riders!

Arseny is just excited to be here...

It's a boy! Not Morgan, but the child his wife is carrying... the big gender reveal was a success!

Grandpa Jim was the first in the food line...

Still just excited to be here...

Light 'em up!