some things i've been doing this past week...

riley got baptized!

we were blessed to have our families and some friends join us as we had riley baptized this past sunday at our church. it was a really special event - - - something we will cherish for a long time. she, of course, won't remember it, but our pastor explained that it signifies God choosing riley. we hope and pray that riley will someday choose God, and we are encouraged and excited to have our family & friends along the way to support and love her through life.

andy, erin & wesley came for the whole weekend...we got to spend some good girl/guy time with them - pedicures, walks & dinner for the girls and biking, tennis, frisbee golf and some good ole' garage time for the boys. we borrowed our friends' RV for the weekend (since our 904 sq. ft. house won't accommodate 4 adults, 2 babies & 1 dog) so the boys had the pleasure of sleeping out in the cold while the girls and babies were tucked warmly in the house :) after church on sunday we had a bbq lunch at our house. the weather cooperated and there were even a few trying to catch the last few rays of summer.

i can officially say that i am VERY excited that it is fall. i was a bit hesitant, as i didn't feel that i had a sufficient amount of sun for the summer. however, the last few weeks of brilliant sun and cooler nights have lit the fire in my belly for lots of baked bread and yummy stews. i have been running again, just 2-3x/week, as i'm semi-training for the bellingham traverse. a few friends and tyler and i are on a team together - team spork "we're not forking around" (i didn't make up the name or slogan and will not express my opinion about it either). i will do the first leg, 6 miles along the water and up a huge hill to hand off to tyler, who is doing the mountain bike leg. it's coming up in just a week and a half - yikes! needless to say, i have been enjoying my runs as the trails in bellingham are littered with beautiful fall trees.

and now a few pictures from this past weekend:

Ten on Ten (9/10)

8:00 am- Putting away Riley's clothes that don't fit her and hanging up the next size
9:00 am- Cleaning/picking up while Riley naps

10:00 am- Start of a little art project while R still naps

11:00am- Head to Fred Meyer for groceries & gas

12:00pm - Nap time again after we return home...notice the teddy she has become extremely attached to lately and screamed today when I took it away during lunch!

1:00pm - Leftover boring lunch for me

2:00pm - A late lunch for Riley

3:00pm - Bike downtown to pick up a book at Henderson's Used Bookstore

4:00pm - Snack for Riley...forgot to put a bib on her...does plum stain???

5:00pm - Daddy, please come home very soon so Mommy doesn't go nuts

Sun Peaks, Canada

Tennis, mountain biking, hot tubing, walks, lots of eating, naps, movies & football...we had a great time in Sun Peaks last weekend with our friend's at their family's condo.

There were also lots of unwanted kisses from Riley to Paetyn...

Life is Good

1, 2, 3, Wahooo!

Riley and Tyler had their first Parent & Baby swim lesson last night. I went along to document the occasion and of course wanted to watch Riley & Tyler together. Riley was in true form as she was the loudest one in the class - laughing, yelling, shouting & splashing away. I was quite impressed by the fact that there were a few other Dads with their babies - aren't we lucky to have a generation of involved Dads??? Here are a few pictures that I snapped from the sidelines (and yes, there were several other Moms/Dads sitting next to me with camcorder and camera in hand, making sure to not miss the slightest bit of excitement).

The story on this last picture is hilarious. The instructor had the parents put their baby on the side of the pool, either sitting or standing. They were to say, "1, 2, 3, Wahooo!" and then have their baby jump (or parent pull them) into the pool. The first time Tyler went through the cue, then pulled Riley into the pool. She was smiling & laughing, so they tried again. The second time around Tyler only got to "3" before Riley launched herself into Tyler's arms. She was again cracking up and smiling so he puts her back on the wall and he could only count to "1" before Riley threw herself into the pool. We were laughing so hard. We obviously don't have a timid child...:) And she obviously loves the water!!!

Swim lessons are 2x/week, just for the month of September. Next week they are going to dunk the babies...hope that goes as well as jumping off the wall!