Halloween

We lost the face paint just before trick or treating... so here is Elsa sans puppy nose.

First Day of Third Grade!

Annual Family Trip - Seaside

 Running from the waves.

 All of the kids smiling at once with NO bribery!

 Celebrating Grandma and Joe's birthday (what did you get, Uncle Joe?).

 Sunset.

Riding beach bikes with Grandma.

 Nathan was just as happy chasing the bikes as riding them!

 We lucked out at Fort Stevens and saw a World War II reenactment.

 Adam photobombing... this is perhaps the best picture of all of Adam and Joe with natural smiles ever!

 Looking at the Wreck of the Peter Iredale. Grandma has a picture of herself and Great Uncle Mike sitting on this shipwreck when she was in college!

Pearrygin Lake and Gorge Lake camping trip

 Hike at Lake Ann and Maple Pass in the North Cascades.

 Pearrygin Lake with a haze of smoke from the wild fires.

 Cutest ice cream face ever.

 Racing for the shore after a swim - Diablo Lake is COLD!

After hiking up to Diablo Dam.

feeling crabby

at Grandma and Grandpa's

Horse Camp

with Leesha the horse

top of the world

Joe and I gained over 4000 feet to summit a 7000 foot peak today. It was magnificent and felt like the good old days 9 years ago or so when we could take off and do this all the time!

Lake fun

Annual trip to Oyster Dome

Chicago (minus the pictures of Chicago)

 Galena, Illinois

 the Mississippi

 Lincoln Presidential Museum

Springfield, Illinois

Goodbye, Honda

Saying goodbye to my car of 15 years... lots of memories in this trustworthy friend!

Mother's Day

Masquerade

Yep. These two are why I look forward to coming home from work every day. 

happy belated Easter

Elsa painted faces with me during our church's annual Easter egg hunt. Here she is painting our little friend Gideon into a bunny.

Spring Break trip

 Not what one might expect from the Pacific Northwest on spring break... but welcome to the sunny coast in early April!

-at Cape Flattery

 -avoiding the mud pit on the way to Shi Shi Beach

-playing with beach debris

-learning to skip rocks

 -watching gray whales!

-Hole in the Wall at Rialto Beach

...and the shoes come off.

New bike

Monsters

Pippi

Oh, boy. Watch out for this one, world.

Beach Day

Snowshoeing

Can't beat the day we had for snowshoeing. Bright blue sky and a foot of powdery new snow!

Christmas

 Reading to SwetePiy (the bunny) while waiting to go to Christmas Eve at the Glenn's.

 Ready to read scripture and dressed as a shepherd for the pageant at church.

 Helping the bunny open one of her presents on Christmas morning.

 Performing in a choreographed scooter show on Christmas night at the Roberts'.

Birthday #8

 Celebrating with family...

 ...and with friends. This is the gang headed to the park to play in the (remaining) snow.

 And another cake. (Total of 3 this year!)