One last fling!

With summer, that is :) We're enjoying these last bits of sun & warmth here and there, because the nights are telling us it's already fall. We went to Clear Lake Beach a few days ago with Shalom and family, and it was hot and we had the whole place to ourselves.

The kids went canoeing all day with some of Shalom's kids and Esther, and had so much fun! They're still talking about it and badgering Steve to buy a canoe. Sounds like a great idea to me but Steve would rather get a 2-person kayak (not sure our kids are ready for that yet).

Tired out after a long day of swimming... Holly didn't even make it all the way up the stairs!

Enjoying our sunflowers!

Our baby turns one

Time sure flies. I can't believe Jenna is one year old already! I think she's our most affectionate baby... I love it when she hugs me, pats me on the back, and says, "Aaaaw." She doesn't love being picked up constantly by Joel, Holly & Marie though.

I guess she figured now that she's growing up, it's time to start walking. She stands quite well, and has taken a few steps.

We had some concrete done recently (YAY!!! I'm loving it)

Enjoying the finished product! Now we have to start landscaping.

Jenn, Bobby & I took off for two days for a kid-free weekend, a much-needed and enjoyed break from regular life! We did tons of back-to-school shopping for the kids (3 Value Villages, 1 Goodwill, Ross & TJ Max), walking around the mall, a movie, a wonderful night at the hotel, and Kubota Gardens in Seattle.

This panorama is actually 3 shots combined (click link to see big version).

A guy from church cut down two big cedars for us, right behind the house. It was quite impressive (and a little scary) to see how he did it, trimming off the limbs as he went up and then cutting off approx. 15-ft. sections at a time, all in just 2½ hours. Now we have our work cut out for us, with lots of cleaning up and log-splitting, and a massive group of 3 stumps to work out of the ground and burn. Eventually we'll have a better view and less of a hill behind our house, especially if Steve borrow's John's equipment to trim some more trees himself.