July 4th: Hiking at Mt. Rainier
Erica, Erin, and I went to Snow Lake for a hike on our day off. :)

Me & Erin
It was mostly snow still, so we couldn't actually see the lake, but we did get to see Marmots climbing on the rocks, so that was pretty cool. :)

Some Mountain
We were in Mt. Rainier National Park... gorgeous scenery abounded! While our particular hike was still covered in snow (in July!!), not all of the park was. It was a new experience for me to be 60 miles out of Seattle hiking in snow in July. We're definitely not in Texas!

It's Alive!!
Well, needless to say, some tomato plants need lots of sunlight... apparently more than many Seattle gardens can provide. My plant quickly grew from 6 inches to 3 feet tall, then promptly turned black, shrivled up, and lost many leaves. Well, I figured it had died, and my To Do list included tossing out the dead body. Image my surprise yesterday when Dieter pointed out it's first tomato!! Hallejulah!

Dieter & His Parents
Dieter, Krys, and Cal after dinner at Ivar's Salmon House on Lake Union. His parents live in LA and don't visit often. This trip through town had them here for two lovely nights and we got to join them for dinner both times. Very nice folks, grandma too!

Fletch & Jen's Wedding!
I didn't know the couple before the wedding, but the day was pretty fabulous, even for an outsider like me. Gorgeous location (dad's house on Bainbridge Island), nice folks, and a great picnic afterwards with frisbee and basketball.

The Band
Fletch's dad and uncles can still play a mean jig! Quite a musical family!

The Dance
The happy couple dances before heading to the park.

Dieter and his flowers
While he doesn't like to admit it, Dieter really knows his flowers and can identify most he encounters around town.

Mr. Brand
Andrew smiles a cute little grin on the ferry home after the BBQ...

Near St. Edwards
Dieter took me to a place he likes to jump...

The Bike
...but sadly glass on the ground led to a premature flat tire. Lame! That's okay though. We headed home, exchanged bikes, and went to the bunny rocks at the park for more jumping fun. Happy ending to a lovely month!