Catching Up

2010 so far has been about as wonderful as 2009 was terrible. This summer we had a great time with family and friends. Some highlights:

Alan and Nathan are teenagers now! I would say, "This is best age ever!" But Roger would remind me that I say that about every age (for the boys). I would argue that I never want to live with an 8-year-old boy again, but otherwise he is right. Seriously, though, we are really enjoying them as they are becoming more independent, responsible, and thoughtful, and as they are developing their own personalities and interests. We are also seeing their faith in God deepen and grow, and it is wonderful to hear examples from others in the community how Alan and Nathan live out their faith and aren't afraid to share it with others. Another highlight was spending time with family. Here we are celebrating August birthdays with cousins. This is what their presents are beginning to look like more and more!

We also celebrated Roger's parents' 50th wedding anniversary at a family reunion in George, at church, and at a family dinner pictured here (along with the trip to CA last spring). Congratulations, Mom and Dad!

In August, we went down to CA to spend time at my parents' house. Hannah had fun with her cousin Mya.

We got to meet my new nephew Eli!

We spent time kneeboarding, tubing and waterskiing.

We also had fun visiting horses at the neighbor's house, playing in the sand, playing Airsoft, celebrating my mom's birthday with my cousins, and swinging!

We went to Great America on my mom's birthday, and had a great time on all of the rides there! The kids loved going on rides with Beppe, Pake, and Uncle Aaron!

While we were in CA, we got to spend a day at Yosemite. The kids hadn't been there yet, so it was great to be able to introduce them to one of my favorite places in the world!

Hiking and camping were definitely highlights of the summer. Alan and Nathan camped 6 times over the summer! Here are the kids at Mt. Rainier. They had a great time playing in the snow!Here is a picture of our campsite at Ohanepecosh. We camp there every year and love getting the great spots by the river!

Other camping highlights include Roger and Hannah's Daddy-daughter camping trip, and our trip to Kalaloch with some friends, pictured here.

Soccer

We finished up another soccer season last night. Roger did a great job coaching 18(!) 9-12-year-old boys, including many who had never played soccer before but now love it! Alan played goalie and forward most games. It was fun to watch him, because he was very focused and energetic on the field.

Nathan was a great defender! He was very aggressive and determined to stop opponents from getting past him.

The team tied for second place overall, and it was really fun to watch them improve over the season. I loved watching the older ones guide and encourage the younger/newer players, and seeing the boys shake Roger's hand and thank him after games. They were a nice group of boys. Great job, Wolves!

4th of July Weekend

My family came to visit!Besides watching the World Cup and going to a soccer game, a softball game, and church, we...

enjoyed a visit from the ice cream man,

blew bubbles,

played with Buddy,

went to Tumwater Falls,

and did lots of fireworks!

We did it!

Jessica and I ran our first 5k today! We weren't quite sure what to expect, and running in a race is certainly different than running on our own. We are both excited to run again, but maybe not Sound to Narrows! Most of it was uphill, and we were not prepared for that. Still, I did better than I expected, and Jessica only beat me by a little. :) Lindsay and Roger ran the 12k and both beat last year's time, so that was great! It was Lindsay 10th time running it, and Roger's second.

Boston Harbor Marina

30 years ago, Roger went on a field trip with his preschool to Boston Harbor Marina.Last week, Hannah got to go on the same field trip (same preschool, same weekend, same place!)

They even played on the same beach afterward!Roger was pretty sure he hadn't been back there since his field trip, so he was thrilled to go along with Hannah! It was a beautiful day, and the kids loved looking at the starfish, crabs, sea cucumbers, jellyfish, etc. and playing on the beach nearby!

Running

While we were in Indio, Roger twisted his ankle while running beside a golf course. He had been training for the Capital City Marathon, but had to take a couple of weeks off after this injury. It's hard to tell how swollen his whole foot was in this picture.He recovered fairly quickly and was able to run the half marathon this weekend. It was a fun event, since about 15 or so others from our church ran the marathon, half marathon, or 5-miler. Everyone did a great job!I decided that 5 miles is too far for me (for now at least), since I've never run much (except when forced to in volleyball conditioning), but last year I committed to running a 5k this coming June. It's not always easy to fit in training, but I've got two very willing running partners!

Spring Break Celebration

For Spring Break this year, we celebrated Roger's parents' upcoming 50th anniversary.
Travelling with cousins is lots of fun!

We all had a wonderful time at Disneyland for a few days.

Hannah and I even found a birthday cake just for us in Mickey's house!

Then we all headed to Indio. On the way there, the 5 of us stopped in Chino to visit my grandparents. We had a birthday party for Hannah at the nursing home where my grandpa and grandma live. We were thrilled that lots of relatives were able to be there, including my parents, aunt, cousins and their children. The kids had fun doing an egg hunt together!

Then we headed to my Beppa's house for a great visit. Hannah loved playing with her cousin Mya! Hannah's 5th birthday in Indio.

We went for a hike at Joshua Tree National Park, where Hannah got her first Jr. Ranger Badge.

We did plenty of swimming in Indio and had a great time in the nice, warm weather!

The trip was a wonderful way to spend time with family!

Hawaii

In February, we went to Hawaii for my cousin Sara's wedding. Roger played the guitar, and my mom and I sang "Deeply in Love."It was a BEAUTIFUL wedding!

The bride and groom.

The food was delicious! Many kinds of wonderful Hawaiian foods were served!The reception was also amazing. This group performed many different dances in many beautiful costumes.

There was even a surprise from a Dutch friend at the reception! Sorry the video is so dark.

My family after the wedding.

Here is Roger at a heiau. We took my brother-in-law and his friend along on our way to the beach, and here was his text to my cousin: "We thought we were going to the beach, but Roger took us to a pile of rocks." :) We did make it to the beach after our archaeological stop.

We stayed in a building with my parents, aunt and uncle, cousins, and other family. This was our view.

We stayed in the top right of this building. There were kayaks we could use, so we definitely took advantage of that!

Roger and I even were able to go on a hike to a waterfall. It was a great hike, but the trail was very muddy and we had to cross the river about 10 times. See how muddy my shoes are? They were covered by the time we got back to the car. Some people jump into the water here, but all the clawed creatures lurking behind rocks at the bottom scared me off! Still, it was a beautiful hike, with many nice viewpoints.

Since we were without our kids (Thanks, Mom and Dad Kiers!!), we were able to tour much of the island, including Pearl Harbor, Waikiki, Kailua, Dole Plantation, Pipeline, etc. Here we are at a beach on the North Shore.

Another heiau.

Here is one of the highlights of the trip. We had a little worship service on Sunday morning while we were there. Here are 40 family members of 4 generations, singing "How Great Thou Art." This has been a favorite song of our family, as it always brings up memories of wandering through "forest glades," looking down from "lofty mountain grandeur"...It was so special to sing it in such a wonderful place, surrounded by family.