Point Defiance Zoo

The day after we got back from camping was the one year anniversary of the day that Micah's uncle and cousin died in a plane crash. And it was our niece, Eden's birthday. Some of the family went to the crash site, and some of us went to the zoo. At the end of the day we all went back to our house to celebrate Eden's birthday.Andrew waves at the sharks.
I remember loving this big polar bear carpet thingy when I was a kid.
Family picture in front of the elephants.
In the aquarium they had all these costumes for kids to try on. We had to get a picture with the crab since Andrew had a crab on his shirt.
Aubrey and Sabrina (Micah's second cousins) pose in some of the costumes.
Uncle Luke joins the fun with Andrew.

Bathing Cousins

While Micah's family was here I wanted to have Andrew and Violet take a bath together. I have pictures of me and my cousins in the tub together when we were really young, so I thought it would be fun to do it with Andrew too. At first Andrew was a little scared and didn't want to get in the tub. I think it was because he is used to taking a bath alone, and not having another little baby in there with him. Violet loved it, and had fun splashing and eating the washcloth.

Alaska Airlines Picnic

The Saturday before Micah's family came out was the Alaska Airlines company picnic. It was at Remlinger Farms in Carnation, WA. Most of the activities were geared for elementary age kids, but they did have a little toddler play area. It was fun watching Micah and Andrew have fun with the little kiddie toys.

One Year Pictures

At the end of June we took Andrew to get his one year old pictures done. Yuen Lui was having a great deal, so we decided to go there since we have had great experiences with them in the past. One of the deals was if you spent a certain amount you got a disc with all of the digital images. So...we ended up buying enough to get that deal. I am excited to be able to keep all of the shots, and be able to have them for back-up.
Andrew was so cute when he was getting his pictures taken. He did a great job of looking at the camera and smiling. And when we set him next to the chair he was supposed to hold onto it, but instead he wanted to check out the sheet on the floor. I love how that shows his curious nature.

Dinner and a Haircut

On Thursday we left Walupt Lake and got back to our house around 4:30pm. We quickly took showers, washed cars and unpacked, and then headed over to my mom and dad's house for dinner. We had a wonderful meal and great conversation. After dinner some of them played volleyball while my mom and I took Andrew and Eden around the yard in the wagon. Then it was time for Andrew's first haircut. We asked Micah's dad if he would cut Andrew's hair since he cut Micah's hair when he was growing up.

Andrew's long locks
The first snips
Distracting Andrew
All Done!!!

I am amazed at how getting a haircut makes him look like a little boy, and not a baby.

Camping Trip Part 2

We only had one full day at Walupt Lake. While we were there we sat around the campfire, made s'mores, walked to the lake, talked with family and played games. It was a nice time of all being together, although we would have preferred that the mosquitoes weren't there. Most of us got LOTS of bites. Those mosquitoes were vicious.

Storer Camping Trip Part 1

This week Micah's family has congregated in the Seattle area. We have had lots of fun while they have been here. We've been busy with going to BBQs, hanging out with my family, going to downtown Seattle, and going camping.
On Tuesday we left and headed to Mt. Rainier for lunch at Sunrise. It was a beautiful day. We had fun eating lunch and ice cream bars, then we tried to leave. But...there was a jack-knifed truck and trailer blocking the road down the mountain, and we were stuck at Sunrise for 2 hours. It was hard to try to keep Andrew, and the other young kids busy while we were stranded in the parking lot. Thankfully Micah's aunt Lynette rented an RV, so we had fun hanging out in there.
Once we were able to leave we traveled the 2 hours to Randal and then on to Walupt Lake. We quickly set up camp and cooked a late dinner. I was ready for bed after a long day. Andrew did pretty well, but he did get cranky in the car, thankfully I had some snacks to keep him busy. And he slept in the tent with us, so he thought that was fun, and wanted to explore before bed, but then he slept well.

Tour de Pierce

It has been awhile since we have been able to blog, but we are hoping to be posting more frequently. Here is a picture of Micah and our friend Bryan before they started out on the 30 mile Tour de Pierce bike ride. They did it last month, and started in Puyallup. Andrew and I came along and walked around with my good friend Melissa, Bryan's wife. We had a nice morning walk, and even stopped at a farmer's market while the guys were riding.

Our Growing Garden

It is so much fun watching our garden grow. And now we are getting to eat the fruits of our labor. Our romaine lettuce is ready, and we have enjoyed eating some of it. And our raspberries are starting to be ready as well. Yum, yum! Andrew really likes eating the berries. Last week I took him with me to pick some of them. He was taking them out of the bowl and eating them as fast as I was putting them in the bowl. At least they are good for him. :) I can't wait until we get to eat more things from our garden.

Splish Splash

For Andrew's birthday my parents' good friends Pam and Dean gave us a little kiddie pool. It is a little turtle, and it even has a sunshade and it sprays from the top of his head. Andrew had lots of fun splashing in the water. I don't know what he thought of the spraying water. He kept his head down and was trying to "catch" the water as it went down the side of the pool. We had fun splishing and splashing and beating the heat.

Happy 1st Birthday Andrew!!!

Wow! Where has this year gone? It is hard to believe that our precious baby is one year old now! He is leaving the baby stage and entering toddler-dom. We have been so blessed with Andrew. He is a wonderful baby, and so easy going. The only struggle we have had is over his sleeping, but that is mostly behind us now. He is so much fun. He loves to laugh, and we love to laugh with him. We are looking forward to many more years with our sweet little boy, and can't wait to see how God molds and shapes him.
Yesterday we took this shot of Andrew since Micah took a similar one on the day we brought him home from the hospital. It really shows how much he has grown!
For his birthday present we gave him a Harley Davidson motorcycle wooden rocker. We hope he has lots of fun with it. (And Mommy hopes this is the closest he gets to owning a motorcycle.)

1st Birthday BBQ

On Sunday we celebrated Andrew's 1st birthday. His actual birthday is June 26th, but my mom and dad were leaving to go to Brazil on a mission trip, and we wanted them to be able to be here for his party.
We had lots of fun with family and friends, and Andrew did really well with all the people and excitement. I was a little nervous that he would get overwhelmed, but he didn't. My mom made him this awesome cake with cute animals on it.
Andrew didn't know what to think of the cake at first, but once he got a taste of the frosting he dug in and enjoyed eating his cake.

Fixing the Deck

Last week Micah and our friend Steve worked on fixing our deck. A couple of months ago we noticed that some of the parts were rotted or rusted and needed to be replaced. They spent three days taking out the old crossbeams under the deck and replacing them, as well as replacing the concrete footings that held up the posts. Andrew had lots of fun watching the action. He also liked the power tools and enjoyed touching them (when they were off, of course). It is nice to know our deck is safe, and not have to worry it is going to fall to pieces. Micah and Steve did a fabulous job!

Fun in the Sun

Last week when it was so hot I wanted to let Andrew go for a little swim to cool off. He loves the bath, so I figured he would love to go for a dip. But we don't have a kiddie pool, so I had to improvise. I store the clothes he has grown out of in plastic storage tubs, and thought that one of them would be a perfect pool. Andrew had fun splashing around and playing with his beach toys. It was a great way to cool off on those sweltering days.

When You Give a Baby a Cookie...

Yesterday I made some cookies, and Andrew was in a bad mood after he woke up early from his nap, so I thought I would give him a little piece of a cookie. He LOVED it, of course. And he had fun getting his face all messy from the melting chocolate.

Our Garden

We got some tomato starts and they have already grown so much. I can't wait to taste tomatoes straight from the vine.
Here are some more pictures of our garden. Things have really started growing. I took these pictures almost a week ago, and already I can see that our garden has really taken off since I took these. The lettuce has gotten a lot bigger, as well as the carrots, butternut squash and green beans. Our corn has not fared so well, we only have one lone stalk coming up. Thankfully Micah's uncle is thinning out his garden and offered us his corn that he needs to take out, so we will plant those in our garden. Our cucumbers didn't come up the first go around, so a few days ago I planted some more and they have already started to come up. We have had unusually hot weather here lately, so I think that has helped things grow. Last week we hit the 90s on a couple of the days. I am looking forward to when we can start harvesting and eating our veggies!