Natalia Turns Three!

This whole birthday planning was back and forth, back and forth... what day would be best? How many to invite? How to make the cake? The weather forecast kept me on the edge of my seat. First it was cloudy but nice, then it was rainy, and back again to partly sunny.... argh!!  Ended up being so windy we had to move the whole location from in front of the river and under the fall trees, to the garage.  I was disappointed, but it still came out very cute.  With the possibility of having to move to the  garage, I knew I had to keep it small, or we would not all fit... and because of schedule conflicts, only the Nymans were able to make it, besides our family, of course.  It ended up being small, yet cozy. :)  

At first, we were just going to make a flat cake and try to get a front view of Thomas decorated on it, but then, we decided to go for a 3-D look... it was so fun doing this together with Mom! :)

It was a WINDY day!! Natalia was so excited before the party, while we were setting up, she just kept twirling and singing to herself! So cute!

First, the girls got to decorate some gourds with cotton balls, feathers, googly eyes, and lots and lots of glue!! :)

We then headed out to the pumpkin patch!

Just about to enjoy some chili and cornbread! :)

Let's blow out some candles!

And open some presents....

Sporting their engineer hats...

No problem hitting that piñata!!

Three bags of candy divided by four excited girls.... hmmm....

Left-over goodie bags went to some kids at heart... :)

The morning after felt like Christmas, wanting to get the present open so they could play... and they were entertained all day . . . and then some!

Happy birthday, my sweet Natalia!! Growing up so fast! We love you!

Control

I try to control to protect myself.  Making sure I give my tithe so that I am not robbing God, ensures that God will continue to bless me.  If I don't tithe, I am robbing God, and He is not obliged to continue blessing me.  So, I tithe to control God, to make Him be obliged to bless me and take care of me.  In truth, God loves me so much, He wants to bless and take care of me, and in fact, has promised to do so, no matter what I do.  Even when I try to force Him to bless me, no matter what.  When has He ever abandoned me?  When has He ever quit loving me?  He cares more for me than He cares for Himself, even.

Forgive my selfish preservation of myself at any cost! Thank you for loving me so!

Mom's Birthday!

 I started to get that ol' itch to be traveling in the car, and was missing our traditional trips to Panajachel, Guatemala when I was little.... then I remembered going to Packwood last year, and how it was similar to Panajachel in that it is up in the mountains and you stay in a creaky, old yet fun, house and you get the opportunity to see some great nature! :)  So, I suggested we hop in the car this past weekend, and go for a couple nights, and while we were there, we could celebrate Mom's 60th birthday! :)  I was curious to see what Rainier looked like in the fall.  It wasn't in full bloom yet, but it was still breath-taking!

Right out of Yakima, past Nachees, we stopped by the river for some lunch.  The color of the water was so beautiful! :)

Dad found some acorn trees and was picking some branches to take home to decorate with, but in the end he had to throw away the branches because they had been picked clean of all the acorns by a fascinated granddaughter....

Here is where we stayed for a couple nights.... :)

Our first stop right before entering Rainier National Park

The girls kept entertained with this travel board....  Tory wrote: Umbrella Bird to go with her drawing. :) 

Keep Natalia fed and hydrated and she'll go for hours! :)

First Class Row :)

We had our eyes open for a good place to eat for Mom's birthday dinner, and this place caught our eye: Alexander's Country Inn in Ashford. I wish I had taken a picture of the whole building, it was beautiful.  This place has been a restaurant and hotel since 1902.

They were fascinated by this water wheel in a side garden 

Unfortunately, I do not remember the name of this path, but there was a museum showing stuffed animals which confused Natalia.  "Can I touch it?" "No." "Why?" "Because it is in the glass." "Why is the tiger (I could not convince her that it was a cougar) in the glass, Mommy?"

Signs that a beaver was in the area... :)

The moss was so beautiful!

Baby pinecones!

These bridges were a life saver! They kept Natalia walking, looking for the next one in the path.

There were so many of these stumps, and we kept imagining faces out of the odd shapes... this one was a long-nosed troll.

The wide range of color on the bark of this tree was so cool

We finally made it to Paradise! And the colors did not disappoint!

Tag teaming! After we could no longer hold her, she pretended to be the cat and Grandma became the mouse... she squealing and laughed, chasing Grandma down the mountain path

She did awesome all day and only started to lag at the end... here I am pulling her along... tired girl!

Got to see some wildlife! We also saw a chipmunk, a bluejay, and elk.

On the way back to the restaurant, Natalia was warming up for the grand event:

They had trout in a pond for anyone wishing that for dinner.  But first, they were fed bread by my girls.

We had such a fun time together, celebrating Mom's special day!