Mt. Rainier and Multnomah Falls

Sorry it took me awhile but here are the pictures of our Mt. Rainier trip.

The first day we got to Rainier after dark and had the joy of setting up a tent in the dark with a one year old running around. Things went smoothly, though. This is a picture of the family cuddling in the tent before we went to bed.

This is a picture of Mt. Rainier as we were headed up the trail. This area is one of the prettiest places I have ever been to. I hope Rainier doesn't decide to explode between now and the time that we can go back.

It was really windy the first half of our trip so a mile up the trail we stopped behind some rocks to eat our lunch and give Josiah a break from the wind. You can see part of Rainier in the background.

Josiah and Jason at the top of the ridge that overlooks Rainier. Notice house Josiah is all bundled up and not looking happy.

After we got off the ridge the trail headed down into a valley and the winds went away and the sun warmed us right up. So after we being cold and assaulted with wind for an hour, the warm sun put Josiah to sleep and he slept most of the way back to the car.

One the way back we stopped at Multnomah Falls. This is one of my favorite pictures of Josiah and his daddy. Multnomah Falls is in the background.

This is Josiah and I at Multnomah Falls.. Notice how he has his finger in his mouth. Yes, it is because he is teething. Right now he is in the process of getting 4 molars. The top two are starting to poke through, but the bottom two are still really bothering him.

Josiah Update

We just got back from spending some time at Mt Rainier National Park and visiting friends in Port Orchard. I want to show you pictures, but Jason left for his student leader retreat today, and took the camera. So you will have to wait on pictures. To hold you over until then, I thought I would give an update on some of the fun things Josiah is doing now.

The biggest news is last week Josiah started talking. His first word was ball. This is not too much of a surprise since that is his favorite thing to play with. He can only say one syllable words so mama comes out as mom. The list of words that he has said up to this point is ball, bird, dog, book, mom, da (dada), milk, duck, pa (papa), nan (nana or Grandma) and uh oh. It is a lot of fun to hear him talk.

Josiah can also blow bubbles in his bath water. He is pretty good at. Sometimes, though, he starts blowing out before his face gets to the water and then inhales when his face gets to the water and sucks water up his nose.

He is also working on getting some molars. There are two on the left side that are starting to poke through. It will be good for him to have his molars so he can eat chicken easier.

I think that is all the exciting stuff. Jason will be back Friday, so hopefully this week-end I will be able to put up more pictures.

Josiah's first camping trip, Crater Lake National Park

A couple of weeks ago we set up our tent in the living room and camped out to see how Josiah would sleep. He slept great so Jason and I decided it was time to go camping. So we packed up and embarked on our first family camping trip to Crater Lake National Park. We all had a great time hiking around and enjoying the beauty of God's creation. We took over a hundred pictures so it was hard to narrow down the pictures for the blog. I guess if you want to see them all you will have to come visit. :)

The first day we got settled into our campsite and went to Watchman's Peak for a hike. At the top of the peak is a platform the National Park service uses to watch for forest fires. From the top we had an amazing panorama view of everything. This is Jason and Josiah at the top looking down on the lake. The island in the background is Wizard Island. It was formed by volcanic activity after the lake was formed.

Another picture of Jason and Josiah at the top.

The peak in the background is Watchman's Peak, the peak we just hiked.

The next day we took the trail down to the lake. Crater Lake is an amazing blue color and is really clear. On a clear, sunny day you can see over 100 feet down. The water is really cold, around 38 degrees, but Josiah enjoyed dipping his feet in it.

As we were hiking back out Josiah was just too tired to stay awake. He finally checked out halfway up the trail. When we got to the car he couldn't even open his eyes as we were transfering him into his car seat. He slept for the next two hours.

While Josiah was sleeping we drove around the lake and took pictures. This is a picture of Jason and I with Phantom Ship in the background. Phantom Ship is supposedly a reminant of a little volcano.

Then it was back to camp for lunch. This is a picture of our camp and Josiah drinking from a camelback. Dehydration was never an issue for Josiah because he thought drinking from the hose was fun. He was constantly asking for a drink.

After a long nap and some food, Josiah was ready to play again.

Josiah playing in the black volcanic ash.

This is the beginning of Josiah's first hike, a 1/4 mile hike to a view of the lake. I think he is pointing at a tree.

Headed up the trail.

About half way up he started to get tired so he laid down in the dirt to take a breather. We were willing to carry him but he wanted to keep walking on his own.

As we were hiking along the trail, Josiah really taught us how to stop and smell the flowers. Every single flower along the path. :)

For the Love of Blackberries

It is blackberry picking season and since blackberries grow everywhere in the Northwest all we had to do was go behind our apartment to find some. While picking berries we discovered that Josiah loves them. The follow pictures will show you how much.

Josiah trying to climb the counter to get to the blackberries.

I moved them to the table so we could snack on them. Josiah is begging me for one.

He then decides to climb the chair to get to them.

He is so excited he can't hardly stand himself.

If I open my mouth wide enough maybe you could put 2 or 3 in at the same time

Fun Pics

Hello everyone!! Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. Josiah and I have been busy helping daddy around the student center. We just had a big work day to get the UCC organized and cleaned before the students come back. It looks so much better. People from the church helped put in two new doors, clean the kitchen, weed the flowers, trim the bushes, organize the rooms, and other clean jobs. We were grateful to have so many people from church to come and help. It would have taken us weeks to get done what they did in a day. School starts in a month. Please pray for this school year. Pray that God's spirit can be active in the UCC and on campus. We have a small group and it is only by God's power and creativity that we will be able to reach out to the campus in an affective way. Pray for faith to follow God's will for the UCC.

Now onto some fun pics. Here is a series of misc. pics of Josiah from the past couple of weeks. Hope you enjoy!!!

Josiah dancing to the music on his fire truck.

After days of looking we went over to a near by town to Target and found Josiah shoes that fit and had a flexible sole. He refused to walk in shoes that had a hard bottom. He loves these shoes. Now all I have to say is, "Let's put on your shoes," and he sits down and lifts his foot up in the air.

It is hard to believe that just a year ago we thought his other car seat was too big for him, but Josiah finally grew out it. He loves his new car seat because he can see out the front and watch what mommy and daddy are doing.

Hi daddy!

If you were here, daddy, we could play ball together instead of me playing by myself.

Port Orchard

This past week Josiah and I have been hanging out with the Benjamins in Port Orchard while Jason is in Memphis. Josiah and Kayli have been having fun playing together. Josiah is now standing on his own and walking around. He is still wobbly, but becoming more stable. Hope you enjoy these pictues of Josiah and Kayli playing.

Josiah trying to push Kayli around.

Playing with toys together.

Enjoying pizza together on the back porch

Josiah picking his nose. He makes his mommy proud. :)