June 2022

 June!  The first month of summer went by quickly, but we really did enjoy every minute.

Eric turned 50 at the beginning of the month.  We celebrated with his favorite foods, desserts, restaurants, and activities.  We could not be more thankful for his life and all that he means to us.

The youth group had a picnic to kick off summer.  We ate picnic food and played a bunch of fun games.  What a great group of kids.

Another birthday picture...

There is always fishing going on, no matter the month!

The hi-light of June was our vacation to California.  We spent a few days in Yosemite National Park, and then we headed to the coast and spent a few days there, near Big Sur and Santa Cruz.  We had a blast, enjoying being outside in God's beautiful creation and spending concentrated time together.  We are so grateful!  These pictures are in reverse order, as always, but here we go anyway...

Our house near Santa Cruz was a short walk to the beach, which we took full advantage of!  This is sunrise on our last day there...

Eli and I braved the ocean.  It was FREEZING, and the current was super strong, but we got in anyway and had a blast.

Fish sandwiches on the pier in downtown Santa Cruz.

Eric and Eli spent some time fishing off the pier and only caught this one tiny little fish.  :)

This is one of Eli's all-time favorite activities- "tidepool-ing."  We found so many crabs, anemones, and starfish.  

The walk along the coast in Santa Cruz is beautiful.  I logged a lot of miles here!

Back to the beach near our house- this time at sunset.

We took a super long hike in Big Sur.  The hike is about 4 miles uphill, which is challenging but absolutely worth it to take in the views once you reach the top.  And 4 miles down feels easy after that!  :)

Another sunset at the beach- this time fishing.

On this day it was cloudy, chilly, and sort of foggy.  We really enjoyed walking on the beach and just listening to the waves crash in.

Alrighty, on to Yosemite, which was actually the beginning of the trip.  This was on our first hike of the trip, along a beautiful river.  Eric and Eli spent a long time fishing in this spot.

Obligatory national park sign photo.

We took a long hike to see a grove of sequoias.  These trees are unbelievable- huge and majestic.  Everyone hikes down and kind of goes silent when they hit the grove.  There really is no other response to seeing such beauty and majesty.

This was our favorite hike- a super long one up to a waterfall.  We started at sunrise and made our way up.

There really are no words to describe this experience.  We had hiked up 2,000 feet to stand here at the foot of this waterfall.  The pounding of the water was a roar, and the spray was all around us.  It was worshipful and unforgettable.

The house where we stayed near Yosemite was on a private lake that was so pretty!  We spent some time here swimming and fishing and eating ice cream.

Back in Yosemite- beauty all around!

This hike was gorgeous, but the mosquitoes were awful on this trail for some reason!  It was hard to even stop for pictures.  :)

Eli Capitan...

More fishing...

On this hike we ran into some Aggies from the Dallas area, coincidentally!  It was fun to talk with them and take pictures for each other.

We loved the month of June, and we are thankful for another month of summer ahead of us.  Love to you all!