Weddings, birthdays and babies

Wow, this has been an exciting week! It started on Friday when the Fenton family took the ferry over to Vashon Island for Dana's wedding. We spent two nights there, setting up the wedding, rehearsing, celebrating and having a great time. We actually spent those two nights in a teepee, yes I said teepee. It had horses on it, and it kind of smelled like mildew......but it was still pretty awesome. The wedding was beautiful, Dana and Brian are the most amazing couple and it really was a wedding to remember. I also got to see my friend Alexis again who has a baby (Eli) who is two weeks younger than Ramona.

After we got back from the wedding we picked up Max from my parents' house and were getting ready to go on our next trip camping at Mt. Rainier. As we were packing up the car we got a call from the Mapps. They welcomed baby Beatrice in the morning of August 4th, 2008 at 8 lbs 8 oz (almost as big as Ramona!). We went and visited the little four hour old baby, and she was beautiful! She was big, healthy and gorgeous. We got to hold her, Ramona did a lot of pointing at her, and we left them to relax in their room.

After our baby visit, we headed out with the Howells for Mt. Rainier. We camped in the State Park, surrounded by amazing sites. We went on some small hikes (since we had the babies and an illegal dog). The next day was my birthday and the Howells cooked us blueberry pancakes that were the most delicious pancakes that I've ever tasted. Justin gave me my birthday present which was a new lens for my camera that zooms in from crazy distances. It would also be helpful for spying on people, but I have yet to use it for that purpose. The timing of the gift was perfect, because I took a TON of pictures that day. We went on another small hike with the Howells, and then sent them on their way back to Seattle. We stayed another day, where we swam in a glacier lake, and drove up to Paradise. We had a great birthday dinner at the Paradise restaurant which is some kind of hybrid between fancy restaurant, a place old people like to eat, and a place where you pay at the register. We had fun........Ramona charmed our neighbors (who were of course old), and it was a great end to my birthday.

The next day we drove back and I have to say I'm glad to be back home.......but the adventures we had were fantastic. I'm so excited to do family vacations every year. We still have one more trip planned......to Boulder, CO for another wedding. For the time being, we're trying to get our life back to normal.