The Party's Over

Close Up

We never get tired of Pepper's many expressions. From serious to goofy to giggles and smiles... we love it all!

Picnic at Jubilee

The last of the summer weather was heating up the valley and Jo was gone on Senior Survival, so we decided to escape to the mountains. Jubilee Lake was beautiful! Warm and sunny, but not hot. We had a picnic lunch and then walked around the lake. The Grandmas had a great time and Pepper didn't sleep at all while we were there. She was awake and happy, riding in the front pack with Grandpa Lee. In some ways I am not ready for summer to be over...but fall colors are so amazing. Bring it on!

What's For Dinner?

Belly Laughs

There has been so much to celebrate in the last few weeks, it has kept us incredibly busy. Very cool! I'll get caught up on the blog soon, but in the meantime here is a little video to make you smile.

Aaron and Nikki Canwell - 9/18/2011-

An omen.

Pepper can't wait to see the bride!

Our Family...and Andrew

The beautiful Grandmas trying to stay warm.

The Wymans trying to stay entertained pre-ceremony.

My Mom looked so pretty!

Cousins

Wymans

Heather and Allison

Pepper chilling with Grandma Pat

Dean and Audrey with their sweet little Hadley

Pepper was fascinated by my flowers.

Pepper and her Grandpas

Handsome Canwells

Fun spending a bit of time with Sherisa

Dad, Bob and their granddaughters

Emmarie and Pepper

The day started out rainy, causing us all to hold our breath a little. Thankfully the weather cooperated. It was cool enough that Aaron did not get too hot in his suit, but the rain held off during pictures, the ceremony, and reception. The venue was beautiful, Leach Botanical Gardens in Portland. The bride and groom looked wonderful and the flowers were amazing (great job Nikki). I may be a little biased but I thought that "Reverend" Johannes Fackenthall did a splendid job officiating. The reception food was very tasty and the cupcakes were a delight. All in all, the day was perfect and seemed to fit Aaron and Nikki's personalities very well. Congratulations to the newest part of our family!

Rain and Rehearsing

Nicole and Allison

Pepper and Grandpa, both always content together outside

The guys solve the worlds problems

Our beautiful Grandmas

Painting to Perfection

MacLaren and the baby whisperer

 Rehearsal on Saturday night was at Nikki's parents house. They have a nice big backyard that worked well for enacting the ceremony and they also had some tents set up to hide under if the rain started. Thankfully, the rain stayed away during the rehearsal. We had haystacks and amazing cupcakes. So fun visiting together!

Teamwork

So many people can fit into Ralph and Heathers new kitchen!

Oh, those curls feel neat!

Pepper is going to be a Settlers of Catan girl.

Mom and her finger.

 One thing I love about our family is our ability to work together and have a lot of fun doing it. The weekend after Pepper turned 4 months was Aaron and Nikki's wedding. We stayed at Ralph and Heather's and it was so fun! We chopped a lot of food for the rehearsal dinner but, as you can see, games were also played. Thanks to Heather's amazing cooking skills, we even had a curry feast to keep us very well fed. Unfortunately, Mom's finger got in the way of her knife but otherwise no casualties to report. Thank you to everyone that pitched in to help and thank you for being such a fun family!

Another Birthday!

Happy Birthday Nancy!

Christina is so cool!

Gruncle Keith

Tiny Dancer

 Nancy's birthday marks the end of the summer birthday line up in our family. It was such a great reason to get together for a scrumptious pasta dinner... and Pepper enjoyed lots of love and attention.

Tuckered Out

I was studying for ACLS on the computer and Pepper seemed content in my arms...then I noticed she had drifted off. So sweet!

An Unexpected Visit

We were so excited to have Jeff and Alisha Downs and family stop by for a visit. Since they were in Alaska when the youngest two were born, we had never seen their whole family. Noah and Jonah found the pond and lost the clothes in no time. Micah and Miya were much more content to sit close to Mom and Dad and eat ice cream. We had a great time visiting and when Noah pushed Jonah off the raft into the freezing cold water, face first, Jeff and Alisha rounded those kids up with the skill and speed that only seasoned parents have. Jo and I watched in awe. We hope that they will be coming through Walla Walla for a visit again soon!