Visitors

 This past weekend Derek and Amy came up to Washington for a quick visit. They had a wedding to go to of a friend and it was great that it was so close to us that we got to spend the weekend with them

They got here Friday evening and we had dinner at our apartment and then went to Dale and Margaret's house to stay for the weekend so we could all stay together in one place. We played a game called "Watch Ya Mouth" where you put this mouthpiece is and try and say phrases to your teammate to guess. It was so entertaining and we were all laughing. Amy was the most entertaining since she was laughing so much when it was her turn that she couldn't get any words out.

Then Saturday we went to the Kubota Gardens in the morning and enjoyed walking around there and enjoying nature and each other's company.

 We then went to lunch at Ivars to get some fish and chips since Derek loved it so much the last time they came to visit us. We then went to a couple of thrift stores before heading home so they could get ready for the wedding. Saturday evening was the wedding so they were gone but we also had a ward potluck at Lake Wilderness so it was good to go to that while they were gone.

Sunday we spent the day at Mount Rainier. It was so beautiful and the perfect day. It was just the right temperature that you didn't need a jacket and the scenery was so gorgeous.

We went up to Paradise first and here are a few pictures of our way up.

 We got up to Paradise and had our picnic. There are a few hikes up there but there was this darn cloud that covered Mount Rainier so  we walked around a little bit but decided not to stay up there too long since you couldn't see the mountain. It would have been the perfect view of the mountain if that cloud wasn't there. That was disappointing but it was still really pretty and we drove down and made some stops along the way to the Grove of the Patriarchs which is down a bit.

 We stopped and enjoyed this gorgeous waterfall for a little bit right after leaving Paradise.

 Mount Rainier trying to peek out from the cloud.

 At the waterfall there was a guy that told us that they had seen a bear when they were coming up and to be on the lookout for it in the meadow which was just a little ways down. I was looking for a group of cars because usually if there is a bear then there are people stopped to look at it. I just happened to look down and saw the bear and we were the start of a group of cars stopping to take pictures of the bear. Paige was excited to see the bear since I told her that last time we came up to Mount Rainier when she was a baby that we saw a bear and we got to see one this time too.

 Then as we were stopped along the road to look at the bear Derek looked to the other side of the road and said is that a rabbit? And we found another animal to look at that we think is called a marman or marmant but he was really cute and got pretty close to us.

 Another pretty stop along the way down.

 We then got to the Grove of the Patriarchs which is the perfect hike for kids. It is not very long and mostly shaded and has this awesome suspension bridge.

We stopped the river and I guess it was hot enough that Derek wanted to put his face in glacier water.

 The hike was beautiful and lots of big trees to look at and explore around.

 This is the end of the trail where there is a grove of these ginormous trees that you loop through.

 The suspension bridge was pretty cool but shaky. You have to cross it to go to the grove so this was on the way back. For this hike Paige was Amy's little buddy and Paige wanted to hike by her and wanted to cross the bridge with Amy both times.

 We put our feet in the really cold water at the end of the hike before heading home.

 We then started the drive home and there was a viewpoint of Mount Rainier so we stopped and got a few more pictures before driving the rest of the way.

 You know it has been a busy and fun day when she falls asleep in the car. 

I loved going up to Mount Rainier and it was such a beautiful day and so much beauty to look at. We enjoyed dinner once we got home and spent some more time just visiting with Derek and Amy before it was time for bed. We said our goodbyes Sunday night since they got up around 4:30 in the morning to head out the next day. It was such a fun weekend and we always love having visitors.