Happy Birthday Wes!

Happy Birthday Papa!

Happy Birthday Hubby!

Thanks for the Halloween outfit Grandma Chris!

Walking in pans

Emeline has loved to put on our shoes and walk around for quite some time now, but this is a new one!

Zimbabwe Love

On our trip to Portland, we had a very providential meeting of some friends we hadn't seen in a long time. After we got settled on the plane, thanking God that we were able to have an extra seat for Emeline, instead of holding her on our lap for the flight, we saw another young family sit down and get settled behind us. They looked familiar, and we did a double take, then we realized they were a couple from our birth class that we took a few months before Emeline was born.

We hadn't seen Amanda and Ryan since the class, therefore we also hadn't met their darling daughter, Hope, just a couple months younger than Emeline, nor had heard that they are expecting another baby girl very soon! We had a great flight, catching up on the past year, watching the girls play, and hearing why they were also headed up to the Northwest.

It turns out, Ryan and Amanda have been working on plans to go to Zimbabwe (with TEAM) to serve as missionaries helping to support programs providing relief to children with HIV/AIDS. Part of their trip up north was to raise support for their trip. After hearing their plans, catching up, and just marveling at how amazing it was that God sat us right in front of them on the plane, we decided to contribute to their ministry. We were very moved by their love for Zimbabwe and their commitment to this work, so we wanted to share this little story with you in case you are moved too.

Here's a photo of Amanda, Ryan, and the cutie pie Hope in the airport before we parted ways.

It took me a while to post this, but it turns out TODAY is the day their plans are complete and they are flying off to Zimbabwe to get started. Congrats you guys! You did it!

If you'd like to read more about their story and their plans, you can check out their webpage at http://www.zimbabwelove.com.

PJs in the garden

My mom's garden was an exciting place for Emeline to play. She loved running around on the tarps my mom put out to keep the beds for next season. They made a crunchy sound when you ran on them.

She liked to pick pears, tomatoes, dig for potatoes, and explore.

On the porch

Emeline had a grand old time running around my parents house during our visit. She loved being outside, running around the patio, you name it. Here are some pics from one evening while the adults were relaxing on the porch, Emeline was in full form.

With Grandpa and Grandma...

Gardening tools are so exciting!

Gardening stools can be used for anything! Weight lifting, sitting, pushing, you name it!

Belated Birthday BBQ

My parents offered to have a belated birthday BBQ for me while we were in town. It was a great opportunity to get a bunch of people together to visit. Unfortunately, I was busy visiting with everyone, so we didn't get too many pics. But here are some :)

Grandpa manning the BBQ.

Emeline waiting patiently for Grandma Chris to come out of the car.

Friends!

My friend Renata has a little boy Jackson, whom Emeline LOVED to play with. Renata also recently had twins Cameron and Brendan, and since Emeline is obsessed with babies these days, two of them just gave her too much energy to contain.

Here are some cute pics of Emeline and Jackson running around being cute.

Cascade Locks

After the zoo, Emeline was desperately in need of a nap. The drive back to my parents house provided some time for her to sleep, but it wasn't long enough. So we just kept on driving east after we passed their exit. Not sure what to do, Emeline started to stir around Cascade Locks. Cascade Locks has some beautiful views by the river, and the best soft serve ice cream I've ever had at an old drive in style restaurant. So we pulled of there, got some ice cream and let Emeline run around at the park.

Emeline got to try her first ice cream cone with Daddy!

After a delicious snack, she spied the playground, and off she went!

A very fitting playground right on the Columbia River.

With swings...

And great views...

We walked around some more...

Enjoyed the river...

We found the spot where Wes and I had come on one of our first dates, over 11 years ago. We took our first picture ever together here, so we decided to take a new photo here of our family of three.

Here we are 11 and a half years ago, also after having some ice cream and enjoying the view at Cascade Locks. We look so young!

Then...

March 2000

And now....

September 2011

Portland Zoo

Back in Portland, we went to the zoo with Grandma Chris and Auntie Jenn! Lots of fun to be had running around the zoo.

Tunnels to go through...

Animals to see...

Tractor seats to try out...

Sad baboons.

Wrapped up orangutangs.

Gopher holes.

Rocks to climb.

Zebras.

And we even got to feed the lorikeets!