Natty's first cut

Grandad and Grammy came to visit last week and Grammy brought her sissors. We thought it was time for Natty to snip off a few locks. She was willing as long as mom sat with her. We always love it when Grandad and Grammy come. They are so fun! We are heading down to central Oregon to visit them in their new house and do some end of summer camping, tax free school shopping, and just relaxing before the hustle and bustle of school begins.

Oliver's 50 miler

While home, Oliver hooked up with his old grade school buddy, Daniel Perrine. Daniel's family was nice to let Oliver hang with them for a few days which included a 50 mile bike ride to downtown Seattle, ferry ride across the sound, riding on the islands and then back to Seattle. The group that went included people from various churchs in the W. Seattle area riding in support of the Homeless. These boys have grown up quite a bit since they met in Kindergarten!

Chelsea was here

Becky's best friend, Chelsa Seagraves came to visit us from PA. We loved having an excuse to go to Seattle and out fun places. Chelsea is now addicted to Jamba juice, tried thai food for the first time, and saw a big waterfall to name a few things. We also enjoyed a day at the Seattle Aquarium. Thanks for coming, Chelsea, we know Becky misses you already!
Audrey and the octupus
the scuba crew
sleeping river otters

Free flowers

Every Saturday we have a local farmers market near our home which I think we'll be enjoying a lot. Last week I bought a boquet and the sweet asian lady who runs the produce/flower stand gave each of the little girls a flower for free. It was a nice way to spend a Saturday morning.

Becky and best friend, Chelsea who came from PA to spend a week with us.

8/8/08

Tim and I took a quick trip to Logan, UT for a wedding of a former missionary from the Honesdale, PA ward, Elder Brett Thielbar. It was a fast 2 days, down and up, but we had fun just the two of us. We also met up with Vanessa for a nice dinner before we headed back North. What a treat to attend a temple wedding and feel the beautiful spirit of the Logan temple. We both agreed it looks like a castle. The date being 8/8/08 we learned they had about 60 weddings that day. Salt Lake temple had over 100!

It's great to be 8!

Celeste turned 8 a few weeks ago and her baptism was Saturday. It was a beautiful program and baptism. We are so proud of you, Celeste! After the baptism, we had a lunch at our home. It was wonderful to see our Portland family (Aunt Stephanie, Uncle Steve, Brooke, Kate, and Sara, Uncle Carl, Aunt Stacy, Cameron, Hyrum, Andrew, and Scott) and to have Aunt Trish and Sacia come over too. So many cousins to keep track of! I tried to get a picture of them all, but nobody wanted to stop for a picture...go figure! From the time Brooke and Audrey saw each other, they were in cahoots all day figuring out a sleepover. Kate and Celeste even switched clothes thinking that would help them stay together longer. I guess they didn't realize that wouldn't really keep them together, just at each other's houses! So in the end, we kept Brooke and Audrey and Celeste and Sophia went to Portland for a few days with Kate and Sara. How fun to live close again!

Scott

KateSaraSacia, Celeste, and NattyUncle Steve, Oliver, and DadBrooke, Audrey, and CameronCameron!

Drive-in movie

We'll it wasn't a "drive-in" movie, but a "sit-in" movie, or better yet, outdoor theatre. Our new home has a large deck and after 2 years of having a huge blow up outdoor movie screen, we felt it was time we use it! So we set it up, grabbed our blankets, popcorn and licorice, set up the stereo, speakers, and projector and had a showing of "Pirates of the Carribean 3". It got a little cold, the deck was a little hard, one of our speakers blew out, but we had FUN! We made note of a few changes we'll make next time...a brighter movie that isn't so long and more comfortable seating. We thought for sure the neighbors might report us for disturbing the peace. We were kind of loud.

Nana's trip West

We were so excited to have Nana come stay with us for 2 weeks. She drove out from PA with Tim, Becky, and Sophia. She had never been west and so the drive in itself was quite an experience. She said she'd never do it again...the mountain passes were too much to take, especially when riding close the guard rail, looking down a STEEP ledge. She named it "suicide drop". But, she made it safe. They drove from PA to Seattle in 3 days and were some tired and sore travelers when they arrived. So, after a few days of recovery, we were able to get out and about and have some fun...
We did the Seattle thing and went to Pike Place Market, had seafood on the waterfront and walked around. We went out to dinner a few times and Pat watched Tim try and eat the largest hamburger ever seen at Triple X burgers in Issaquah. Snoqualmie Falls are practically in our backyard, so we went over there. Nana had the same "suicide drop" feeling and felt it enough to just take a look from a distance. We unpacked boxes, boxes, and more boxes, planted flowers and worked on sprucing up the house (Thank you Nana for all of your help!) Tim and Nana also took a drive to Portland to go the temple because the Seattle temple was closed for renovation.

The Day before Nana left we went to Tillicum Village, a NW Native American tour with ferry ride, salmon lunch, and a show. They smoked the salmon over the fire the traditional way.

This picture was pretty blurry, but at least you can see the beautiful colors of the performance. We miss you already, Nana. It was so wonderful having you with us!