After I returned from San Francisco from my mini-trip, we made the drive to June Lake. It’s always a great trip for us because we found out we were going to be Little T’s parents when we were hiking in Rainbow Falls. 🙂 Little T actually does really well on long car rides. To make the 6+ hour trip easier, I went to the dollar section at Michaels and put a little treat in a brown bag. Every hour that he was good, he got a bag with the treat in it. Big T and I tried to plan the bags out so the treats were timed well with the trip. We had a glow necklace for when it would be dark, a bouncy ball around the time we went to the park, etc. We also downloaded books on tape, got some coloring scratch pads (perfect for him because he has trouble holding a crayon and coloring), and pre-planned a few car games. For part of the trip, I sat in the back with Little T. It was so smooth, it was one of his favorite things about the vacation. 🙂

One of the places we always stop is Schat’s Bakery to pick up Monkey Bread. Yum!

  On the first day there, we decided to see if Little T would be up for a hike. He did really well until the very end, and then Big T and I had to take turns carrying him on our back. Little T loved pretending he was an American Indian on the hiking trail and was picking out sticks for a bow and arrow. We tried to tell him that he should use a quieter voice to be an American Indian, but I think that concept may have been lost on him, haha.

The next day, Big T and I hiked together. I was so proud of myself, it’s the biggest hike I’ve ever done, and it was beautiful.

  
The coolest part of the hike was when we came across an old mine cart system with some of the mine carts there, it was used to bring supplies to the miners.

The next day, we went to Bodie, they were having a festival and it was fun seeing everyone dressed up. They had a lot of horses and mules walking around, Little T was nervous but he warned up quickly. 🙂

Little T took this pic, heehee. Not my favorite angle, little T!

  
 It was a fun trip, and it always feels a little too short. 🙂 Until next year, June Lake!

When we got back home, I had the D23 conference. I had the best time seeing familiar faces and taking pictures. I even got to take a few for myself this time. 🙂

  
I also photographed a gorgeous wedding!  

And then took photos for a former bride that beat cancer, that wound up on EOnline, so happy for her!

That was our summer, we had a great time and got to spend much needed time with family. ❤

Up next Little T’s bday party 🙂