Just a little pinch...

My baby's growing up! Shorter hair was a good reason to get the ears pierced! She just flinched - no tears or complaints! What a tough girl!

Locks of Love...A Worthy Cause

Here is Liz before:

And here she is after:




Some lucky girl (or boy) with alopecia or cancer will recieve a wig made of Liz' beautiful, blonde, curly locks! No, she didn't lose her curl - the stylist just straightened her hair after the cut. We couldn't get it that straight if we tried! She is a lucky girl - she looks adorable without even trying:).

Take Me Out To The Ball Game

Zach standing in front of his favorite baseball player: Ichiro! He and Mike spent the day in Seattle. They caught a dinosaur movie in 3-D at the Science Center,

Girls' Getaway

Liz has been helping me clean the church faithfully each week. To show my appreciation I took her on a little trip to the place of her choice. She chose Ruby Beach. Our trip started with strawberries & cream frappuccinos for the long drive to Quinault, where we stayed on Monday night. We laughed a lot, ate a lot, and have some secrets that will remain secrets :). On Tuesday morning, we ate breakfast and then hit the Amanda Park library before heading to the coast. At Ruby Beach we searched for tide pools but weren't very successful since low tide wasn't until 5pm. We did take a lot of great pictures, carved our names on rocks, and saw a bald eagle soar overhead (fumbled with the camera for too long and didn't get a good shot!). Our next stop was Kalaloch. We ate at the lodge and don't recommend it. The view from our table was spectacular but Liz finally met a clam chowder she didn't like and my fish-n-chips were just okay. Our next plan was to head back to Quinault and drive around the lake before heading home. The motel manager highly recommended the drive but didn't mention that the road is pretty much a logging road most of the way around! I kept waiting for a "turn back now" sign or to meet up with something/someone scary but we finally made it to the Quinault Mercantile for an ice cream cone for the road. We had a great trip and look forward to making this an annual event - but next time momma chooses the destination! Did someone say spa?

Camping - Take 2!

This time it's our annual camping trip with the Kloempkens. We spent 4 days at Wynoochee Lake and didn't get a single drop of rain! In fact, we didn't use our sunscreen enough and got quite a bit of color!

The kids spent their time biking, swimming and playing hide-n-seek. Zach thinks he's being clever "hiding" as a buck but the others are too smart to fall for that!

Here Liz & Zach snuggle up to keep warm in the tent. It doesn't look like they are going to sleep any time soon!

Typical Liz camping attire: swimming suit & helmet. Ready to jump on a bike or in the lake at a moment's notice!

Zach & Nate, both age 7

Liz & Kasie, both age 9

The kids (and some adults) enjoyed swimming out to the dock and playing. Here Nate, Liz, Kasie, and Sam (N&K's cousin) jump in unison.