Oh, hello! We are slowly surfacing from a beautiful, busy, and abundant summer. Marie's first. And how could I have let you miss almost the entire thing? Here is a quick flashback:
We helped my Grandma and Grandpa with their extreme garage sale in preparation of them moving.
Lots and lots of canning... on the list (so far) is lots of dilly beans, dill pickles, peach jam (4 kinds!), canned peaches, canned pears, peach bourbon preserves, salsa verde... what am I forgetting?
Marie's first hike on Mt. Rainier! It was a cold grey September day, but that mountain is gorgeous no matter the weather. Marie's the one wearing the bear hat (purchased in the gift shop when I realized I had optimistically only packed a sun hat for her).
We had as many beach days we could fit in between everything else. Not enough, that's for sure.
Marie's first canoeing expedition, on Bead Lake near Joel's hometown. A secluded little lake in the hills, most of which was wasted on Marie. She wasn't too thrilled with us making her wear a life jacket, and also not letting her fall in the water. It appeared she wanted a thrilling exciting day, while we had sought a simply subdued one.
Caring for the garden (on the right, in April when it first opened).
A family wedding! Beautiful and so well planned it was a delight to attend, and see some of Joel's family we don't see much (read: most of them since our wedding 6 years ago).
Lots and lots of swinging happened this summer. Lots. and lots more. Marie loves swinging! Good girl. She is almost almost almost walking, picking up lots of things and holding them to her ear like a phone and saying "iowa" (she means hello, we're pretty sure), still sticking every new discovery into her mouth, and getting better and better at communicating. (Baby sign helps! She knows water and all done, and we're working on others).
So that's a bit of what we've been doing. How about you? Anyone newly pregnant? I'm sure you're out there. School has now started for Joel in 2 out of 3 places, and we (well, Marie and I anyway) are looking forward to life settling down a bit and a decrease in travelling. Hopefully get Marie in some more swim lessons, catch up on dishes, that sort of thing.
Joel and I got married 6 years ago today. Congratulations us! How different our life looked back then... hard to imagine there were nights in my life that weren't interrupted. I could sleep through the entire night and not wake up once! Whew that is what dreams are made of. Those oft-interrupted dreams. This baby is wonderful at many things, but not at sleeping. We love her anyway. We'll keep her anyway. We'll defend and encourage and love her at all costs. And her first birthday is coming up this month! Stay tuned...
