Puget Sound

We went up to Tacoma to visit the grandparents since Orin had a three day weekend.

Mom took a family picture of us to laminate and send to Ethiopia to my new sister B who just turned 7. I still can't believe my children are technically going to be her neices and nephews!

Grandpa's the tickle monster



Nyah wants to ride bikes like the big kids

Marquez loves to get tickled!

silly

had a picnic at Sunnyside Beach on the Puget Sound with Grandma, Phaedra, Jeffrey and Jojo

Hi honey!

The kids couldn't wait to get down to the water while the adults were finishing up lunch. They were so adorable.

Are you guys done eating yet?

a good spot to dig

My dad has been out scuba diving in this spot last Fall and saw an octopus!

time to make seaweed soup

They had so much fun!

good morning sunshine

Point Defiance the next day to enjoy the gardens

Chinese gardens

Nyah kept asking "Pick it?" because she knows she isn't supposed to pick the flowers in our backyard.

They had so many varieties of interesting plants that I didn't know could survive the winters in the Pacific Northwest, like banana and palm trees.

Orin wants to make me a flowering arch in the backyard like this one. Maybe for our ten year anniversary next year.

Ben and Marquez watch the parasailing in the bay. "Kids fly free" the sign said and Marquez was trying to talk someone into going with him.

seafood restaurant on the waterfront

Yum! Thanks Dad:)

Trout Creek Bible Camp

Saturday we picked Marquez up after a week of camp. He had such a fun week and we had missed him so much! Marquez's favorite part of camp was when they had a mud fight- boys vs. girls. He got to take mud and dump it in the girls' hair and apparently he really enjoyed that. Boys!!!!

But on a more serious note, summer camp is such a neat time of spiritual growth. Thank you to all you relatives who gave him birthday money to go to camp. Thank you for investing in his life like this. He liked the Fireside time every night when all the campers got together for worship and sharing. One of the nights Marquez encouraged his friend to go up there and accept Christ and he did. That is awesome!

Ben tries out the big slide at camp. He really wants to go next year too when he is old enough.

Biruktawit came over after camp! We are so excited for her. She is going to have a new baby brother from Ethiopia soon :) Hopefully by Christmas?!?!

sweeties

Hillbilly Fun

Orin and I took the kids to the fair on Demolition Derby night. It has become one of our favorite traditions!

Makaylee thought Marquez needs one of these for our lawn :)




The kids were afraid the lama would spit on them but the owner explained that he trained his lamas not to spit by squirting them in the face.

"Did you just see that?"

never seen a cow poop before

that was educational

The hay is always better on the other side of the fence.

Makaylee's not so sure about the horns

loves the baby goats

the boys waiting with great anticipation for the Demolition Derby to start

my hillbilly hottie

You know you're a redneck if you think "Start Your Engines!" is the last line of the National Anthem

The house was too quiet...

The other day the house was too quiet and I couldn't find the girls. Last time this happened Nyah was coloring on toy boxes and window sills with a black crayon. To my happy surprise they had snuck outside to play in the sand where we had the pool last year. We don't have a pool this year for that very reason- kids going outside without asking. They were playing together so nicely and it was so cute I grabbed my camera and followed them around for awhile.

Because everything she does is so cute...