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.