Olivia and I went to a women's retreat in Winthrop with our old church last weekend. It was a lot of fun, but we were sure glad to get back home to see Daddy. Here we are having some free time together. The Methow Valley Ranch (where we stayed) is beautiful, with a creek that runs through the property, several cute houses, farm and wild animals and a gorgeous view! Too bad it isn't just a little closer to home.

Yes, I just about let her eat a leaf because the picture opportunity was perfect. Anyway, I'm sure she has eaten worse things. ;)

This was one of my favorite spots to come in previous years. The creek is so peaceful and I even had two deer come within feet of where I was sitting once (so, I happened to be sitting in the middle of the deer path... go figure!). I didn't have much time to sit, read and pray in my spot this year though. At least Olivia and I were able to get a picture of it, if nothing else.

This is Anna and Mallory. Mallory watched Olivia many times over the weekend with another helper, while we had sessions and small group time. There were 5 babies who came to the retreat. I'm convinced that God will reward them greatly in heaven for their patience!

This is pretty much the whole group of ladies who spent the weekend together. We weren't lacking in girl time, that's for sure!

These are just some random pictures of Olivia. She is 9 months old in these photos.

I love this one. It's a rare thing for her to fall asleep in my arms anymore, so it's nice to have it documented!

How can Daddy resist this sweet little face?

We look like we're planning something mischevious.... ;)

oops!

Hi everyone,



As embarrassing as this is, I actually forgot that I have a blog! I guess this summer has been a little crazy for us. So, I will give a little update on the last couple of months. Olivia got her first tooth around 7 1/2 months old and since then they have been coming one right after another. She now is working on her 6th tooth! In my opinion, she is handling the teething fiasco quite well. :)

About a month after her first tooth came in, she started crawling and hasn't stopped. I have a feeling she takes after her daddy in this way. Apparently he was quite the busy troublemaker when he was a baby. I think I'm going to have my hands full.... oh wait, I already do!

Our lives have been good. Marcus is working the evening shift at the machine shop where he works. It was an adjustment for us, falling into a new routine, but we are all really liking the change (especially since he has Friday, Saturday and Sunday off work!).
We also recently started going to a new church, Hillcrest Christian Fellowship. It is the church Marcus sort of grew up in and his grandma and aunt still attend. It seems like a really good fit for us right now and I think great-grandma is enjoying seeing Olivia so often.

I feel like I am writing a Christmas update letter. Well, I'll stop here. Now, off to post more photos of the baby. We love you all!