East to West // July Photo Dump part 1

Hello, blog world! Did you miss me?
It has been awhile since I have been on here. So far my month of July has been very full. Full of fun stuff, and a little bit sad.
As some of you may know, my boyfriend Josiah flew 3,000 miles to stay with my family and I. It was so good to see him as we had been apart for a month! It felt like an eternity.
I loved having him here, growing closer to him, and watching him get to know my family. I think Liberty became quite attached to him. He may even have sort of liked her too. *wink*


I thought it would be neat to just do a photo dump of the time he was here! July is not yet over but, I doubt anything else too exciting will be happening in my life since he's gone. *sad sigh*


Here we go!

Josiah flew in around 10:00 p.m. on Monday night. It was a long night and quite late before we all got to bed. The next morning, which happened to be the 4th of July, I showed Josiah around our house, made us some breakfast, and then we left for town. Ran some errands, and stopped at a local coffee shop. Josiah tried his first Italian Soda! Just a sip of mine. I should have made him another one while he was here. *oops* Next time, right?

After coffee we took a walk at some local scenic areas and found some falls to take pictures of.

 Later that day we went to my Grandpa's for a family Independence Day gathering. Josiah met a lot of my family, and we spent the day hanging out with them. Playing games, visiting, eating, and just enjoying being together. I loved walking around the property and showing Josiah all my childhood haunts. The memory tree. The shop where I spent so many hours. The "tunnel to China". my climbing trees. The brick chimney. The pantry I used to hide in. Everything.

Blurry picture but I love Josiah's cheesy smile! Sue snapped this while we
were all watching fireworks in the dark. *smiles*

Some evenings we just gathered around the fire pit and roasted whatever we could dig up!

 Josiah and I hiked Bells Mountain Trail together, after eating breakfast out at a local diner. It was a fun, beautiful day!

Who else grew up eating these? We always called them "sour leaves". Mm!
Taste like my childhood for certain.

*my heart*

Gotta have a "sun through trees" photo!

This guy! <3

After hiking, we ran to my favorite place. Ever. I have been wanting Josiah to try
this place forever! I think I got him hooked. *wink*

 Friday morning the whole family loaded up and headed to "Johnston Ridge". I wanted to show Josiah Mt. Saint Helens up close. Isn't my home beautiful?

Above the clouds!

You always have to have a feet photo. Right? Or maybe it's just me. *shrugs*

My happy place. <3

Last, but not least, supper at Rocky's! My favorite place and a childhood restaurant.

There you have it! Just the first couple days he was here. I was afraid this post would be far too long to do in one round, so stay tuned for more!
I hope you enjoyed.