My New Favorite Pic & It's A ....

I LOVE this new picture that my mom took of Grace last week. I think it captures her sweet spirit and I just love those big blue eyes. I feel a little bad only posting a picture of Grace tonight, but I decided it's ok since she & I are about to be outnumbered. That's right, we're having a BOY!! I'm not sure why, but I thought for sure it would be a girl, but once this little guy finally revealed himself during our ultrasound today, it was apparent that I was wrong! He was really feeling shy...the ultrasound tech kept trying to get him to move, she finally had me get up and do "toe touches" in order to get him to change positions. Now, remember, I was a cheerleader in jr high (gasp!), so when she said toe touches I thought she wanted me to get up and do cheerleading jumps. I was afraid I would hurt myself until I realized she meant lean over & touch my toes a few times. Ha! Anyway, it worked just long enough to get a glimpse of our new little guy. He looks great and everything is progressing nicely. I really can't believe the difference between this pregnancy and my twin pregnancy. I know mine was an unusually complicated pregnancy, but seriously, this is a breeze compared to carrying the two of them! Now let's just hope it stays that way & we don't have all the excitement of being airlifted, an emergency c-section & a month in the NICU. Whew.

Mary Jane's Farm

The kids & I are down in Moscow visiting Grammie & Poppa for a few days. This evening we all went out to Mary Jane's Farm. If you are not familiar with Mary Jane's Farm, you should check out the website. We had a great time exploring, picking berries, and just being outside together on a summer evening.



Grace & Isaac have discovered hammocks this summer & love to play on them. The only trouble is when they flip over!



Grace loved all of the berries, but especially the fresh strawberries.



Picking rasberries Grace-style...if you look closely, you can see the nasty mosquito bites she got at camp earlier this week.



Exploring with Poppa



The kids love animals & Isaac especially enjoyed his first experience with chickens.



They love being together



My beloved Palouse





Mary Jane has a number of outdoor bed & breakfast style lodgings that guests can come and use. As you can see, they are unique and beautiful. I know I would love to stay sometime.

While Mary Jane's has really taken off (food products, magazine, linens & more), the fun part for me is that I grew up going out to the farm when it was just their house. Mary Jane's daughter, Megan, was one of my best buddies - particularly in middle school & early high school. I remember many nights sleeping out on the trampoline & various adventures out in the country - including the outhouse! Megan and I lost touch for a few years but have reconnected in the past couple of years and have had a blast visiting each time I come to town. Her daughter Stella is just a few months older than Grace & Isaac, and she will be having her second child just a couple of months after our new little one arrives. What fun!

Future Whitworthians?!

My favorite new summer tradition has been our almost daily walks to Whitworth in the evenings. The kids love exploring & playing in the loop. While we try to venture to new spots around campus each time, they have a few favorite places where we always seem to end up. Here are a few pics from one evening last week.


They love their Daddy



So much to climb on & always together!



Grace & Isaac love to smell the flowers...they sometimes try to eat them too...




Chillin' out, maxin', relaxin' all cool...




Can you hear her squeeling? She loves to hear her own voice.



Doesn't this look like a picture from the Whitworth website?! If only she were a few feet taller...




I love that they always have a playmate




Thought I'd better add a picture of my new addition. Can you see it? If you look closely, you'll notice a little something shiny on my nose. :)

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.