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.

Not one, but TWO fairs this year!

Kind of overkill, I know, but it was fun. We certainly are blessed! We joined up with Jenn & kids at the smaller local fair without Steve on the free day. The kids had lots of fun looking at and holding the animals. Now I'm hearing a lot of pleading about getting an animal. "A bunny, Mommy? Please please??" "OK, then how about a cat? a dog? a goat? a chicken?" (We're waiting to get a shed built before we get some sort of small animal, and in the meantime there's a wonderful dog next door who loves attention.)



Sooo many cute baby bunnies!

Baby chicks... they got to watch some of them hatch.

Petting a goat...

Yesterday we spent most of the day with Bobby and her girls at the Lynden Fair, and then Steve came in the evening with Joel & Holly. It worked out well because the older girls got ride passes and went on rides together while Bobby & I walked around with just Naomi & Jenna (very peaceful without lots of kids tagging along!). We got to visit with Jenn there too; after searching for her mom's booth most of the day, Bobby called her and we found out where she was.

Nice hair, Bobby!

Naomi's first experience with cotton candy

Emily & Marie went on the "good" rides (upside-down/fast ones -- they have my genes :) but it's hard to get pics of those.

The reptile display was amazing! This alligator is pretty old; in the wild he would be over 9 ft. long. They feed him a controlled diet to keep him small. He's always been around people so supposedly he won't bite (here's where trust really comes in :) I thought it was interesting which of our kids were cautious (scared!) and which ones weren't (couldn't get Holly near him). Joel almost stepped on his tail, which could have been bad.

Holly pulls weird faces for pictures!

Jenna's latest thing is pointing. I think it's cool because you can see a little bit of what's going on in her head. She did A LOT of pointing at the iguana, so I think she found it fascinating.

Love those big powerful draft horses!

Jenna's clapping with Clint Black's singing :) We didn't go to the concert but I did get to hear a bit of the music.

Wow! My favorite picture in the photo contests, taken by an amateur! (I didn't see any signs that said not to take pictures of the entries, although I have to admit I purposefully didn't look for one :)