Happy Birthday Clara

We celebrated Clara's birthday with some good friends and pizza and cupcakes.

It was an unusually warm September day.  In fact it was the first time the Seattle area has hit 90 degrees in September in 22 years.  I don't think Clara has ever had bad weather on her birthday.

A few pictures of her special day.

Happy Birthday Clara!

May you always...

Trust in the Lord with all your heart
And do not lean on your own understanding.
 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3: 5-6

August Retirement Home Day

Just a short post to share a couple pictures from our retirement home day this month.  We painted nails with some of the residents and the younger kids played balloon toss with those who didn't want their nails painted.

Pre-Birthday

I had to share these adorable cupcakes that Grandma got for Clara's pre-birthday.  Since Grandma couldn't be with her on her actual birthday she came up and we had a mini party so Clara could open her presents from Grandma and share a birthday meal.

Clara's favorite present from Grandma was this adorable bed set and wall hanging.  It matches her bedroom like it was made to go with it and is perfect for Clara's "horse" birthday.

A Treat From Far Away

Tonight we got to experience a tasty treat from the other side of the world.  Daddy works with friends from India and one brought back some foods for us to try.  We aren't sure of the names of what we tried but if daddy gets a chance he will find out and we will update the post.

First we searched for India on the globe

Elayna needed some help

Very Pretty!

Not sure at first...

Then...Yum!  They are very good!

Anna liked them best. 

 It was fun to try something new.

Thank you Subash!

Stanwood Fair With Grandma

We had perfect weather for the Stanwood fair this year.  Grandma was with us and we all had a great time.  One of the best things about a small town fair like this is that the older kids can go off a bit on their own and explore and go on the big rides.  Unfortunately it also means that we don't have many pictures of the older kids.

Elayna was brave and went through the fun house all by herself this year....well, Clara wasn't far behind.  Notice her keeping an eye on little sister.  So stealthy Clara!

Strawberries!

Thank you to our Awesome neighbors who let us glean strawberries from their strawberry patch when they were strawberried out for the year.  The kids went for a couple hours and picked the best strawberries we have ever had. 

They got about 20 pounds of strawberries and then we all made jam together. 

Two batches of cooked and one batch of freezer jam.

And of course some for the neighbors!

Special Friends Camp

A month is too long to go between posts so I am going to get caught up this week! 

Stephanie spent much of her summer as a counselor for special needs adults.  This is an amazing program at Warm Beach camp.  People with special needs have the chance to do things they might not otherwise have a chance to do.  They can swim, play miniature golf, play tennis, basketball, baseball, arts and crafts, go on a zip-line, climb the climbing tower, go on trail rides, climb inside real fire trucks and learn about the equipment and at the end of the week they have a talent show. Most of them live in a world with a lot of no's.  While they are at camp they hear lots of "YES you can". 

I will let the pictures speak for themselves.