pictures from the trip

lunch - day one.
our boat - we have a crazy amount of pictures of the kayak - i think one is enough for the blog.

amazing day - you can see the ferry in the distance as well as mt. baker. pictures never seem to do things like this justice.

end of day one. settled at camp. enjoying the quiet. little did we know 35 high school students would be showing up in a few short hours...

day 2:

a seriously beautiful sunset - and this is the view from our campsite if you can believe it! we spent most of the afternoon thursday hanging out on the beach - reading and resting. it was incredible.

bald eagles and sea lions kept us company on our journey - see if you can spy them in the picture...

now that's a good looking man in a life jacketi am too tired now for stories so these pictures will have to do - we had such a great trip. i only cried once - a tradition on most knipp outdoor adventures. but seriously it was full of good conversation, rest and simply enjoying God's fantastic creation.

home

we are back!! lots of stories, lots of pictures, lots of fun!! but i am having too good of a time playing with samantha to take the time now to write- so i will wait until my lunch break on monday to share. :)

thanks for the thoughts - tim and i feel refreshed and connected. sammy had a blast with her grandparents. faith was sad to see us as it means her days in bellingham are numbered...

happy saturday,
k

going away

tim and i are leaving sammy for the first time overnight. we are going kayaking for 3 days (2 nights) and sam is staying with my parents. part of me is super excited - looking forward to the chance to connect with tim, be outside and enjoy the quiet. the other is sad, maybe not sad exactly but reluctant to leave. i know sammy will have an incredible time - she loves being with my parents. but i would be lying if i said tomorrow's good-bye will be easy.

tim and i will be taking our "broken" camera. (the one tim sat on while we were in Jordan - the screen has never been the same). so no promises for centered pictures where we both have our eyes open, but i will post some pictures upon our return.

until then...

opening presents

we celebrated my birthday with my family on sunday. samantha was very interested in the opening of the presents. she sat in my lap or stood close by the entire time with focused attention. here are some pictures complements of defense:

sweet girl looking older every day

since sunday i have felt very spoiled. the last few days have been filled with amazing meals, special treats and lots of birthday wishes. thank you for making this birthday so special!!

parenting joys

samantha pooped in the bath for the second time in her life last night. until a few moments ago i had forgotten about the first time (it happened when she was a few weeks old). the experience wasn't as gross as i feared it would be (again forgetting it had already happened). thankfully she was pretty much finished and i had wanted to clean the tub in the next few days. tim was pretty grossed out by the whole thing. sam had no idea why she had to exit the tub so abruptly. faith could care.

the joys of being a parent.

hillcrest

july 1st tim started work at hillcrest chapel as a part time teaching pastor. i grew up going to hillcrest and it has been a great joy to get re-connected with the community. people have been extremely welcoming, and we are feeling more and more settled.

if any of you are interested in hearing tim - his sermons are on the website. and from a totally biased perspective - i think they are worth your while. :)

weeding

my new favorite hobby: weeding! i know - i am such a dork. and no, i will not come to your house to weed. :)

but for some reason i have found a new passion for getting after the disaster that is called our yard. i spent hours outside this weekend pulling weeds and really enjoyed it. i think i will try to get out there as much as i can while the weather is nice. i find it to be therapeutic. just me and the earth. (and so far no neighbors have come to complain - wink to you bekah).

samantha's new hobby - walking. she can't get enough of it. we went to the park multiple times this last week and she could care less. who wants to play at the park when there are sidewalks to be explored and big grass fields to cross.

tim hasn't found a new hobby - i think he is enjoying our renewed desire to be outside.