June Gloom

There's a phrase we have here in Cali, known as "June Gloom" that refers to a brief stint in time when it's supposed to be summer, but it's cloudy and cool, and we freak out because it's below 80 for two weeks of the year. So to escape that, we thought, why not head to Washington state, where we can embrace the cloudiness factor, enjoy the coffee, and bond with the relatives. Here's some of what we did. Jumping: This is pretty much what Morgan did the entire 8

days we were in Washington, because both Auntie Carol &

Gamma Luci have trampolines. Who knew these modern

day death traps could provide parents with so many hours

of happiness. Well, girls enjoy it, cuz Mom's NEVER getting

one. BTW, above is Morgan and cousin Sollie.
Miraculously, the day of the long-anticipated outdoor grad

party at Auntie Carol's was beautiful & sunny. The decorations

were beautiful, the food was good, & the grads were great,

it was a perfect afternoon.
Above, Rhaquel, our niece just graduated from high school

home schooled all this time, her parents deserve equal

commendation in my opinion, and there they are!
We also got to celebrate all the June bdays in the family,

3 of which are in our own immediate family, and we were

totally blessed and spoiled by everyone's generosity, and gifts.

I'm thinking we should go in June every year! That's our

friend Andrea joining in on the present opening.

Oh, look, Dan's friend from high school had cutie pie

puppies for the girls to admire and hold. Again, girls,

puppies are like trampolines, fun to enjoy at other peoples'

homes, not ours, EVER.

Uncle Doug graduated from Seminary, that's right Dan's little

brother is now officially ordained!
At one point during the week, Dan and I slipped away for

an overnight trip to Seattle. It was awesome, and most

of our time there was spent eating, looking for places to

eat at, or waiting to eat. Here's a glimpse of Pike Place Market.
Have you ever watched a World Cup Soccer game with actual,

real live Brazilians? I have.
Token cute shot of youngest child.
Some of the cousins & my girls with their 92 year old

great grandma and their grandma on Dan's side. What an

amazing woman - she came all the way from Brazil for this

trip!

In all, family, friends, fun, food, and well, we won't talk about the 18 hour drive to get there and back, because I don't want to relive that and lapse into a SERIOUS case of June gloom. Instead, we'll focus on the good times: My fellow Leamans, thank you for hosting us on yet another fantastic family vacation. We miss you already!