Annual Camping Trip- Aug 20-22

We went on our annual camping trip with the Timms and Salibas. This year we headed down south near Olympia to Millersylvania State Park. It was an awesome park with great camp sites, a lake with multiple swimming areas, and some good hiking trails. As always, we had an awesome time. Our group is growing every year. We had two new additions this year with Nathan and his little buddy, Isaiah. We ended up having decent weather this year, no rain, although it wasn't quite warm enough to go swimming in the lake, unless you are Hani or Steve. They both decided to jump in the water, but the rest of us were happy watching from the shore. We did have fun hanging out by the lake, going for walks, making s'more boats...all those great traditional camping activities. What I always enjoy the most is hanging out with some of my best friends.

The Boys - Notice the facial hair for their annual "stache" camping

The Girls

The Kids

The Salibas

Love the cowboy hats!

Isaiah hanging out with his mom

Two happy boys

Thanks for sharing, Ashley!

Isaiah and Danielle playing trucks

Our fam by the lake

More Birthday Celebrations - Aug. 15

We headed over to my parent's house to celebrate Patrick's and my dad's birthday. It was a gorgeous day out, nice and hot. My mom and I found this cute little swimming pool for Nathan, so we set it up for him to cool off in. He liked it for the most part. He wasn't too excited when we turned on the sprinkler part of it, but I think he just didn't like the water getting right in his face. We sure had fun playing with Nathan in the pool. I just wish it was a little bit bigger, so we could have cooled off in it too.

Sliding into his new pool

Playing with Daddy

Nathan and Grandpa O.

Nathan and Uncle Patrick

"Uh-oh" - Aug. 11, 2010

Nathan came home from daycare one day saying "uh-oh". It was so adorable. His little voice is just so cute. I'm sure he must have learned it from one of the other kids. It's amazing how quickly they pick things up. I'm not sure if this would be considered his first word or not. He sometimes says "mama" and "dada" too, but it is much more random.

Silly Boy

Nathan does this funny thing when he gets really excited or frustrated, so I just had to post a picture showing his silly face. The picture doesn't quite catch the full effect of his gesture, but I thought it was still pretty cute. We sometimes like to call this his "silent scream". Now if he would always do his "silent scream" instead of his ear piercing scream. Oh well, that's probably just part of being a little boy.

Oklahoma - July 31 through Aug. 7

For our summer vacation, we went to Oklahoma to visit Steve's parents. We had such a great trip. It was so nice to visit with Steve's parents and his grandma, and it was so fun for them to get to spend some time with Nathan. It was definitely a scorcher there with the temperature staying above 100 degrees for most of the time, but we managed to stay cool. It was the first time Steve had flown with Nathan, so he got to see what a challenge it can be to fly with a baby. Nathan did pretty well, but he was and still is at the age where he constantly wants to be moving, so it was hard to keep him contained in a small airplane seat. He did end up taking a few good naps on the flight down and back which was very helpful.

Rachel drove down from Nebraska to spend a few days with us in Oklahoma. It was so nice of her to drive all that way, and it was so great to see her. She brought her new little kitten, Lucy, with her. Nathan loved the kitten, but I'm not so sure Lucy loved Nathan.

Grandma restored the boy's old red wagon, so Nathan could ride in it. She did such a great job, and Nathan loved his new set of wheels. Here he is headed to the swimming pool which was right down the street from the house.

Rachel, Steve, and Grandma swimming with Nathan

Nathan floating in his turtle

Rachel's kitten, Lucy

Steve's parents made him a delicious birthday dinner of lobster and steak. This was his yummy chocolatey cake his mom made him. Happy 30th, Steve!

Nathan getting kisses from Grandma

Nathan loved this truck. It was Steve's when he was a little boy. Nathan spent a lot of time chasing it around the house.

This was Aunt Diane's rocking chair when she was a little girl

Grandma and I took Nathan to the splash pad. It was so nice to get sprayed by the cool water on such a hot day.

Hanging out with Great-Grandma

Grandma and Grandpa took us to the aquarium

One of the boy's old rocking horse
Daddy, I don't think you fit in my pool.

Daddy's Birthday

We were going to be in Oklahoma for Steve's birthday, so we celebrated with my family a few days early. We had a great BBQ at our house, had cake, and Steve opened his gifts. My mom's good friend, Marcy, was visiting from Spokane that weekend, so we had the pleasure of having her around too. Her birthday was around the same time, so we had a double celebration!

Steve and Marcy - Birthday Boy and Birthday Girl

Sleepy Boy

July 23, 2010

This was just too funny, and I had to share it. I had put Nathan in his Jumperoo then ran downstairs to do some laundry. He was kind of fussing, but I didn't think anything of it. When I came back upstairs just a few minutes later, I found him asleep. Too cute!

STP

July 17-18, 2010

Steve participated in the Seattle-to-Portland bike ride this year. It took some training over the spring and summer months, but I think it was well worth it. The training paid off, and he made it all the way to Portland feeling pretty good. I was so impressed. I'm sure it was very gratifying for him, and we were very proud.

My mom drove down to Portland on Saturday with me to keep me company. It was so nice to have her with me. We spent Saturday afternoon/evening with the Timms who live right outside of Portland. It was so great to see them and spend some time with them and their kids. Hani and Danielle were also visiting, so we had a great bbq with everyone. My mom and I stayed in a hotel that night. We got to take Nathan swimming which is always so much fun since he doesn't get to experience the water all that often. The next morning we met up with the Timms again and went blueberry picking. You should have seen all the delicious blueberries we came home with! I had never been blueberry picking, so it was fun to try, and it is definitely something I would do again. Afterwards, Brian went and picked Steve up from the finish line. He went prepared with Gatorades and snacks to refuel Steve. When they returned, we all went out for a late lunch before heading back to Seattle. What a great weekend!

Nathan has been practicing his walking, but still needs something to hang on to.

Grammy and Nathan

Isaiah

Ashley and Nathan playing at the water table

Swimming with Mommy

Ashley and Nathan blueberry picking