Mount Saint Helens

Saturday we drove South to visit Mount Saint Helens.  These pictures definitely don't do it justice.  It was beautiful!  There were clouds hanging around the mountain yesterday.  The destruction you can still see 30 years later (the volcano erupted in 1980) is unbelievable.  It was amazing!

 

 

 

 

 

Even with the clouds around the mountain, it was a great day!

Snoqualmie Falls

Matthew was off work on Friday so we decided to drive out to Snoqualmie Falls.  The water is beautiful.  Right now there is construction going on, so you cannot hike down to the bottom which was once possible.  Hopefully once the construction is complete, we'll be able to do that again.

 

 

 

 

 

July 4th

We had a fun 4th of July!  A couple of weeks ago, a couple from church invited us to come to their house for the 4th.  They told us our kids could participate in the neighborhood parade.  They left out a lot of details.  It turns out 100s (maybe a couple of thousand) of people turn out for the parade.  Not only do they show up to walk around the neighborhood, they decorate their bikes and go all out with red, white, and blue.  Many people also sat outside their houses as the parade went by.  It was really cute!  The parade ends at a park where a carnival was set up.  A local church pulls out all the stops for this carnival.  There was food, bouncy houses, the fire department, some game trucks, a climbing wall, horse rides, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had some friends over for dinner (they actually brought dinner) and then the girls went to see fireworks.  We picked a park where we could see fireworks from all over the city, but none were being shot where we were sitting.  Next year we'll have to pick a different place.

What a fun day!

Swimming lessons

Canaan started swimming lessons today.  She was so excited about swimming though it will be a while before she is actually swimming.  We will be at the pool for the next four weeks in lessons.  She loves the water so much.  My hope is that she will get more comfortable with water in her face.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Super kids

On a recent trip to the store, I was looking for some larger pjs for Jude as he is outgrowing the footed pjs we currently have.  Canaan saw these Superman pajamas and talked me into getting them for her.  Of course, they are currently her favorite pair of pjs to wear.  And now we have our very own super heroes!

 

 

Around the yard

The only other place Matthew and I ever tried to grow anything was our house in Colorado.  We started from scratch there and had a hard time.

Our yard here in Washington was well established before we purchased our home.  Things seem to grow very well here.  Here are some things we are enjoying in our front and back yards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Canaan's 4th birthday

Just like every birthday before, I cannot believe Canaan is now four!


I, of course, waited until the day before her birthday to figure out how to decorate.  I blew up 40 balloons for Canaan to walk through when she came out of her bedroom.

Canaan asked for a white cake.  When Matthew or I suggested adding some kind of fruit in between the layers, Canaan insisted that she just wanted a white cake.  So that's what she got!  It isn't beautiful, but it tasted good.
 

 

This is Canaan's piece of cake.  That is all she ate of it!
 

This girl was so happy to be celebrating her birthday.
 

I know it's fuzzy, but I like this picture of her and Max.

All Canaan asked for was a white cake, a daddy doll, and some tools so she could work with Daddy in the garage.  None of us (even Canaan) knows what a daddy doll is.  I looked for a male doll but couldn't find anything.  If you have any suggestions, I will gladly take them.  Matthew bought her a set of tools.  She has already used the hammer and saw.  She is anxious to build her own work bench with Daddy.