Our Trip to Seattle, WA
Before we left the west coast we wanted to visit my brother, Daniel, and his family. Our trip began with the 15 hour drive from Visalia, CA to Seattle, WA. It was a long drive but well worth it. We had a wonderful time. While we were there we visited a very cool Science Museum, the Space Needle, the Locks, the Old Market in Seattle, and finally Victoria, Canada. Daniel and Heidi showed us a great time and as always, fed us very well!



Our Family in front of the Space Needle in Seattle

Jacob and Uncle Daniel















Jacob absolutely adored his cousin Regan and for the most part she loved his attention (although in this picture it looks like she's not quite sure).

Jacob by the ocean in Seattle















Joshua - trying to take a dive














Our family in Seattle

The Ferry Ride was a very exciting part of the trip for Jacob and Joshua, but actually Shane probably enjoyed it the most.

Victoria, Canada
In the picture below, Shane and I are sitting in front of the bay in Victoria. The huge hanging pots of flowers can be found on every light post in downtown Victoria.















The building in the background in the Empress Hotel.


























Joshua and Jacob both enjoyed these goats at a petting zoo at Beacon Hill Park in Victoria. Joshua especially loved the goats. He could not stop giving them hugs.

The Butchart Gardens in Victoria, Canada
The Gardens were definitely the highlight of the entire trip. While we were there, we learned that they have been in the making for over 100 years. It is impossible to describe the amazing beauty. Hopefully the pictures showcase it a little.









Uncle Daniel helps Jacob and Shane helps Joshua accross a pond in the Japanese garden.

Joshua with his Uncle Daniel








Two Boys - Both Jacob and Joshua enjoyed smelling the flowers in the beautiful gardens. When we would tell Joshua to smell the flowers, he would blow on them. Several times he "accidentally" picked the flower he was smelling. His immediate response was to try to put the flower back together.

Aunt Kirsten

While we were packing for our move to California this spring, Jacob became concerned about what we were taking with us. He asked if we were taking his toys and if we were taking his bike. I answered his questions and he seemed to be satisfied for a moment and then he asked, "Momma, do we get to take Aunt Kirsten?" I was so happy to be able to answere "yes" to his quesiton. Kirsten came out to sell pest control this summer (yah, she's a tuff woman!) making it two and a half years that she has lived by our family and we have loved every minute of it!

The Seqouia National Forest and the Natural Waterslides

The Seqouia National Forest is only an hour drive from our home in Visalia. It is a beautiful place and we love to visit. Not only does it contain the world's largest tree, but it also has a beautiful river that contains many natural waterslides. The following is a picture of Shane going down one of these slides. (I have to say that the picture is a bit of an optical illusion. It makes Shane look like a crazy fool. It was a pretty intense slide, but only about half as intense as the picture makes it look.)

While we were up in the Sequoia National Forest, we found some black berry bushes. Joshua really enjoyed the yummy berries. Our caption for the picture to the above is: "Umm . . . I suppose I could handle one more."


Throwing rocks is definitely one of our boys favorite things to do. This pile of rocks could have entertained them for hours. Both Jacob and Joshua have quite the arm.

Shane's Graduation














Joshua and Shane

Jacob in the "Big Truck" with Grandpa

The Largest Tree in the World


















Boating at Lemon Cove













Jacob's First tube ride













I love California Strawberries













Wow! That's a lot of water.

Ride 'em cowboy!














Looking at a starfish














Jacob, Grandma and a Sand Monster!













Joshua and Dad at the Shamu Show













Jacob and Kelson - Buddies

Ready for a dive


















Sea World















Point Loma, San Diego













Our Group














Pin the Tail on the Donkey

Duck, Duck, Goose

Jacob and his pinata

Joshua's First Birthday

My brother and his wife have inspired Shane and I to do a little better at keeping in touch with our friends and family. We have created this "blogger account" where we plan on periodically posting pictures of our family and writing short updates on our family's activities.
So, now for a quick update. Our family is living in Visalia, California for the summer. This is our third summer in California and again we are loving it. This summer has been especailly fun because we have Shane's brother Chad and his wife Ginger living close by, as well as my sister, Kirsten.
Shane has been putting in many long and hard hours for Elite Sales. Yet, we have found many opportunities to do fun things as a family. The highlight of our summer so far has been our trip to San Diego. There we met up with Shane's parents, Jay & Leah and family, Alisa & Wilson, and family, and Chad & Ginger. We had a ball on the beach and at Sea World. Jacob had an especially fun time with all his cousins and continues to talk about Rennan, Kelson, Eric and the "other Eric" (he could never remember Ethan's name and finally resorted to calling him the "other Eric").
Jacob recently had his third birthday. We had a little party for him in the morning with some friends and family. The highlight of the party was the pinata, which had to eventually be broken by Shane with his hands (after he broke the stick trying to bust the thing open) because I put a couple too many layers of paper on it. Still it was a hit. I have never seen Jacob eat so much candy so quickly. He could have cared less about the cupcakes and the presents. All he wanted to do was to eat candy. He seemed to recognize the novelty of the situation. For his birthday dinner he requested hot dogs and french fries. I think it took him a week to recover from all the junk he ate. But hey, you only turn three once, right?