Waves on a Beach

Have you ever had one of those days or weeks where you have feelings of gratefulness wash over you like waves on a beach. They keep coming, one after another, calm and peaceful and even strong and more direct at times. I have been experiencing those waves lately...or maybe it is that I am recognizing that they are there, calm and refreshing. I don't think these thoughts of thanks are Thanksgiving induced...although not a bad idea.

The most frequent thought I found myself having is my thankfulness for a healthy body. The more I take care of it, the more I realize how wonderful it is to feel good, healthy and active. And it seems the more proactive I become in taking care of "me", the more aware and sensitive my inner spirit is to what my needs are and the needs of those around me are, which in turn motivates me to continue to be healthy.

It just feels great to be healthy!

~Sarah

Halloween Birthday Girl

Lauren turned 1 on Halloween and here are some pictures from her first birthday. We wanted to be near family so we spent the weekend at Jon's parent's house near Seattle,WA. We got to celebrate Lauren's birthday and Katelynn's first real Trick-or-treating.

I made two cakes, a chocolate covered cake just for her to get into...the chocolate frosting for the MESSY factor, and I made another two layer cake just to try my hand at making "fancy" cakes...It was a lot of hard work! But it turned out cute and worth my time :)
This is a little book Lauren absolutely LOVES. We saw it at a US Born Book party. There is a little mouse that you slip through the slots in each page to follow the cute little story about the "Mouse in the House". She squeaks and squawks when you read it to her because she likes to see the mouse pop up in the next page :)
Cute little dress from Grandma Rogers.

Lauren's little Ladybug cake.

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY LAUREN :)

Look for Trick-or-Treating pictures in next post

Two new family pictures!!

Check out the two new pictures just below of our little family of 4. We took some similiar pictures in the same spot almost a year ago. Sarah was still pregnant and Katelynn was 2 years old, my what a year can do!!!!

My Little Family

My little family

Above pictures taken Oct. 10 at a park

along the Columbia River,

Washington side.

Pictures taken September 26, 2009

The leaves are starting to crunch and the air is a little brisk in the morning...fall is here! I'm excited about warm apple crisp, snuggling up in a cozy blanket to watch movies, hot chocolate (herbal tea is more my style), PUMPKIN PIE, and sleeping with socks on :)

Lauren will be turning 1 on Halloween...I can't believe that a year has gone by so quick!

Here is a video of our little "Lou" from today.

HAPPY HARVEST!

Pictures of Lauren

Here's some up to date pictures of our little's one, Lauren that so many have been wanting to see--Grandma especially!! So loves that thumb so much. I tryed and tryed to keep that thing out of her mouth but no good. Enjoy!!

Katelynn is our little jumper. She just wanted to jump and jump so Sarah strapped two pillows on her with her belt and Katelynn went wild.

On Memorial Day we went down to a lookout point that over looks the Columbia River Gorge. The building is called "Vista House" and was built in the very ealy 1900's. We are on the Oregon side of the river, the other side is Washington.

These are my girls! Lauren loves that thumb and is almost a year old!! Halloween is the big day!!

Family Hike

A few weeks ago our little crew took a Saturday afternoon hike to a beautiful place called Bridal Veil Falls located in the Columbia Gorge just outside Portland. We picked this hike because it is only a mile and just right for little legs (i.e. Katelynn) to make it without having to be carried. The woods were beautiful and it was a sunny warm afternoon...ahh, summer :)

I saw these tree leaves glowing from the sunlight shining through them.

It was cooler in person :)
Katelynn sitting on the observation deck by the falls. She is such a sweetie!

Jon packed Lauren and she loved being out side. She is 9 months and doesn't have much hair. She has been called a boy several times despite being dressed in pink...
(Jon was quite the pack horse, pretty handsome and muscly)

Katelynn and I at the top of the hike looking at the falls.

It was a pretty place to spend our Saturday. We are looking forward to other hikes this summer.

We have found various other places to make our weekend trips to around our area and it has been very rewarding. Just this last Saturday we found a really nice paved path through a dried stream bed or gully and took our kids for a stroll, Katelynn's favorite part were the ducks we saw swimming in a pond by the path.

So far this summer has been treating us wonderfully:)

More family adventures to come soon!