West Coast Wanderings

Headed out to the beach to hear some exciting news!

These five shall soon be six fantastic Mitchell kids!

Who doesn't love "delicious dim sum" in San Francisco's Chinatown?

We loved getting to visit with my awesome Uncle Chris and Aunt Hedy, and these kids loved cooling off in their pool.

Capped the night with a few rounds of "The Great Dalmuti"--we were so spoiled by these guys.

Off to the Redwood Forest, which ended up being a big highlight of the trip--incredibly beautiful!

Cora got the star treatment the whole time--lucky girl!

This gorgeous hike took us to a spot where parts of the Jurassic Park movies were filmed.

How did we wind up with such a bunch of good looking kids?

Inside one of the redwood trees--so big and so beautiful!

I sure love this girl, even if she's doing her best to outgrow me right now.

Unbelievably enormous trees--this is one of the biggest.

And the best part--they draw your eyes heavenward.

Gorgeous views all through the forest, and all the way up the coast besides.

And a bit of sea breeze besides!

This girl was a fantastic camper . . . right up until it was time to go to sleep. We had a great night and a great meal of ribs, corn on the cob, watermelon, and baked beans, though it was dark by the time it all finished cooking.

And a visit with my awesome cousin Jonah and his family, who were in the middle of moving to Hawaii literally the next day! They were so great to stick around and hang with us for a while--we love and envy their adventurous lifestyle.

 

Fabulous seafood chowder in Port Angeles before taking the ferry to Victoria, B.C.

I wonder how long it will be before this little bundle of snuggles figures out how lucky she is.

Well . . . . mostly lucky, hahaha!

Hanging with the Pearces (literally)!

These kids got along so well, although Addy missed Emily, who is only days apart from her in age, but who was visiting a friend in New York.

They did a great job showing us around the adorable, old-fashioned, Victorian era (obviously) town of Victoria.

And we even got to celebrate Canada Day again! Poutine and fireworks and lots of fun.

Fireworks on a waterfront are the best--it's like a double show when you count the reflection.

Then Butchart Gardens the next day.

We have about a million photos of flowers, but none half as lovely as this bunch.

Finding a bit of inner peace.

Hanging gardens

Then we hiked up Mt. Douglas for an amazing view.

And a lovely dinner with Jennifer and Brandon--never a shallow conversation with these two! We hope to spend time together again before too long.

And the ferry back to Seattle--with some card games for entertainment for these guys.

The views were so fantastic that I couldn't stay inside for long--it took a some doing to lure everyone out with me, but you don't get to tour the northern Pacific like this every day.

Obligatory Space Needle photo.

Then we took the train in to visit Pike's Market.

Unfortunately everything closed earlier than we expected and there was no amazing seafood to be had. You can imagine how crushed these guys were when they found out that we'd have to settle for (exceptionally delicious) pizza instead.

Then a visit with Aaron's brother, who has constructed this fabulous treehouse in the huge apple tree in their backyard. He also treated us to some of the delicious apple jam they make from it.

And a Fourth of July visit to Grandma Donna's house, and fireworks in Medford, Oregon.

That makes two Independence Days celebrated by the Mitchells this year (and we're not done yet)!

It's a good thing we like fireworks!

 

Though we take entirely too many photos of them.

And then Yosemite!

Half-dome, waterfalls . . .

Gorgeous natural wonders.

One caveat: it was hot and crowded.

We were there only a week after the Obamas made their visit.

Still, we couldn't help but immerse ourselves in the beauty.

National Park trips are the best.

Love these two "mountain kids."

By this photo, I pretty much had to bully my kids into smiling though, if you want the truth.

They were all troopers though, heat notwithstanding--especially Cora.

After this last lookout, we watched a gorgeous sunset before heading back.

We couldn't have done it without Esmerelda, though! She managed all our luggage, camping gear, and food with nary a complaint. Happy summer!