Big Adventure

On Monday we drove to Crescent Bar (on the Columbia River, near Vantage WA) to meet Joe's family at an RV resort. Unfortunately, I forgot to pack to camera, so I don't have even a single picture of our trip! Anyway, Joe's brother John, his wife Janet, their kids Liberty (age 3) and Tobin (19 mo), as well as Mark & Lucy were there. Grace & Isaac love their family, so they were thrilled to see everyone. There was a great pool that we all played in and lots of room to run around. Mark & Lucy even rented a separate trailer for us so we'd have more space - it worked out really well. Tuesday we went down to the river & the kids had their first experience with life jackets & playing on the shores of the river. We were able to meet lots of Mark & Lucy's friends that were there as well. When we got back to the campground, we noticed a lot of smoke coming over the cliffs above us. As the evening went on, the wind gusts continued & the smoke continued to get worse until there were ashes falling from the sky & the air was thick smoke. Not thinking too much of it, Joe & I left the kids with our family & drove the couple miles up to the top of the hill to pick up a few things from the gas station & started to get pretty nervous as we began to see how serious the fire was. We got back in the car to head down the hill & decided we'd quickly pack up & head home (though we hadn't been planning to leave until the next day), as we didn't want the smoke to bother Grace's breathing (when she was so sick a few weeks ago, they said smoke or allergens could make her need the nebulizer treatments again). A fireman stopped us on the road & said they'd closed the road & we couldn't get back down!! Yikes! That was obviously a scary thought & did not sit well with us. We ended up talking him into letting us go get the kids. As we pulled into the campground, a policeman drove in right behind us & announced on a loud speaker "Everyone must evacuate immediately. The fire has jumped the highway. Evacuate immediately." It felt like the scene from a movie, with ashes falling, the sky an odd color & everyone frantically trying to get out of there. We loaded the kids in the van, threw all that we could quickly grab in as well, checked to be sure the rest of our family was ok & got out of there as fast as we could. It was wild. Thankfully, everyone was ok. I read today that the fire burned over 1,300 acres, but only a few homes and outbuildings, and no one was injured. We've had the van open all day trying to get the smoke smell out & have had to wash everything that we had with us. Joe's family drove home to Auburn last night & then went back today to get their motor-home. They said the campground was fine & the people that worked there had packed up the rest of our things for us, so we'll get them next time we see Mark & Lucy. What an adventure!!

Watermelon, friends & camp

The kids & I went to the Cumberlands house for a BBQ this evening. Matt & Krista are special friends of ours & the kids always love spending time with them. We discovered two new favorite foods for the kids tonight: watermelon & ice cream! They couldn't get enough of either one. Thankfully I only had a little ice cream & between the three of us it ran out quickly! We are especially excited that Matt & Krista are expecting their first baby this fall - just a few months before the newest member of our family is due to arrive. More fun ahead!


Isaac took huge bites & even tried to eat the rind!



I have never seen Grace go after any food with as much spunk & enthusiasm as she did with watermelon tonight!




Krista & Grace



Matt & Isaac - Isaac had been "helping" with the grill




Last week the Colbert youth were up working on Service Crew at camp, so our whole family joined them at camp for part of the week. Joe spent a good deal of time with the youth, but we were able to sneak in some fun family time as well. The kids love to be at camp - especially the waterfront. The beach is the only place around camp where I don't have to chase them, they are content playing in the water & sand for hours.


Isaac & Daddy



Sweet Grace



The only trouble was that both kids, particularly our little man, thought they'd like to eat sand. They kept piling it in their mouths then realizing how gross it was & trying to spit it out. Over & over & over.



More sand eating.




Not much cuter than little munchkins in swimsuits.

Joe is away at Beyond Malibu with a group of ten youth for the next ten days. He left early this morning, was scheduled to have a long day of travel today & should arrive at base camp sometime tomorrow. Malibu is WAY up north in Canada & you can only get there by boat or plane. If you've never heard of Beyond, you should check out their website - they'll have an incredible adventure to be sure, hiking, rock climbing, solo time, small group living, and mountain top experiences. I am so excited for Joe & for the group, I only wish I could be there too! We miss him already & will look forward to hearing all about the journey when he returns.

Can you read their shirts?!

Surprise!! Hard to believe, but Gracelynn & Isaac are going to be a big sister & big brother! We are still in shock ourselves. We found out two weeks ago & I'm already 13 weeks pregnant. If you know our story, this is no small thing. We had Grace & Isaac through in-vitro fertilization after nearly three years of trying to conceive. Numerous tests showed that our chances of ever conceiving naturally were slim to none. We did one round of in-vitro, got pregnant, miscarried. A few months later tried again & got pregnant with our two little miracles...had a rough pregnancy, an early delivery & a month in the NICU (though you'd never know it now!). Now, here we are with 15 month old twins and another little one scheduled to arrive in six months. Crazy! I rattle all of that off as if it were no big deal, when in fact it was a long and difficult journey. We're trying to trust that God has seen us through this adventure so far and he obviously has something more in store for us with this new little life. One last thing: When I told the kids that there was going to be another baby soon, neither of them responded at first, and then Grace looked up at me and in her sweet little sing song voice, said "uh-oh". HA!! It is her favorite word right now, but if only she knew how appropriate it was...it's going to be pretty wild around here!

Visit from Nana Lucy & Papa Mark

Nana & Papa came for a visit from the west side of the mountains last week & we all enjoyed our time together. Grace & Isaac love their grandparents and spent most of the visit laughing & squealing. Mark & Lucy brought us a number of fantastic yard toys for the kids & they have been an incredible gift! Now, if only it would stop raining so we could get back out & play!


The kids love to play rough with Papa




Can you see the resemblance?!!




Their first picnic




Gracie-belle loving the new slide




We were cleaning up the kitchen & came out to find Isaac on TOP of the dining room table! He has turned into a major climber - yikes!

Where Did These Days Go?

During our few days of summer so far this season, we've been able to get out & enjoy the sun. Here are a few random pics of softball games, the park & time up at camp. At Joe's game Isaac had a great time playing in the dugout, until the team came in from the outfield & I made him leave the bats & stay out...Dad found him an old bat to play with & he was pretty content for the rest of the afternoon. Apparently he loves the game already!