Meet The Newest Backholm!

Here she is... Brinna Rose Backholm born to Joseph and Brook Backholm (our cousins) on Monday, September 8th at 8:50 pm. She is absolutely adorable and has the sweetest pumpkin colored hair. Babies are amazing aren't they?

My Little Apprentice in the Kitchen

About a week ago Jia Tai asked, "Coco, can me and you have a tea party?" I said that would be fun and asked him "what should we eat at the tea party" he replied with a curious voice, "Chocolate?" I laughed and he gave me a grin that took over his whole face and made his eyes disappear. Thinking we would need something a little more filling and something the whole family would enjoy I asked him what he thought about chocolate zucchini bread. He gave his quick nod of approval and we set out to make it. The Apprentice Jia Tai


He had a few problems cracking the eggs....
But by the third one...he got the hang of it

While the bread baked we blew bubbles outside

I tried to get a picture of both loaves but the hoards devoured one before I got a chance!

My apprectice worked so hard making bread and then eating it he couldn't help but fall asleep during quite time. (He rarely sleeps during quiet time normaly he just plays with his toys or looks at books!)

Girls Night Out

On Sunday evening Melina, Laurel and I decided to treat ourselves and go up to Olympia for a little night out. We wanted to get a cup of coffee somewhere to start the evening off and decided on Mercato, a small Italian restaurant near the Olympia market. We planned only to get a cup of coffee and share a dessert but after arriving and waiting to be seated for about 15 minutes, our mouths watered and our appetites could just not be satisfied with sweet so we ordered an appetizer to share. We had a great time just chatting and sitting in the quite environment drinking our favorite coffee, Batdorf and Bronson. ( If you have not tried it, you have not had a cup of coffee.) For dessert we ordered one of our favorites, Affagato, generous scoops of white chocolate gelato, a drizzle of chocolate, a perfectly pulled espresso shot, a swirl of whipping cream and a quick shake of cocoa powder. I know it sounds amazing and it truly is. We hoped to only be there a half hour or so but we were there almost two hours! We spent the last few minutes of our night perusing the shelves at Barnes and Noble's Book store, mostly the cookbook section, and then began the 50 minute drive home. It was nice to get away for the evening and be with my sisters.

Wyatt's 14th Birthday!

Wyatt's Birthday was on Monday, August 11th. We had a fun day celebrating just hanging around and eating a delicious pork tenderloin dinner. He got some soccer stuff, money, and a couple of guitar books. He recently picked a guitar up at Rosevears and likes it very much. For dessert, he requested strawberry rhubarb pie with a strusel topping and vanilla ice cream. Now that he is 14,he is looking forward to working for O'Brien's Catering once in a while and using the weight room at the YMCA. Happy Birthday Wyatt! Thanks for being such a great brother!

Sailing at Lake Quinault

We had such a fun time yesterday at Lake Quinault. Our good friends the Jones', the Gross' and the Ballous invited us to join them for an afternoon of sailing, swimming and good fellowship. We eagerly took them up on the offer and had a marvelous time. Mr. Jones is teaching me how to crew for him, it is absolutely a blast and I love every minute of it, especially when you trap out. The feeling of gliding across the water without a motor humming in your ear is wonderful.Sorry I didn't get any pictures of the day... I forgot the camera! Anyways, we ate a scrumptious dinner of teriyaki chicken shishkabobs and a four berry trifle for dessert. Some how we managed to get a flat tire on the way up but Mr. Ballou kindly offered to change it so papa wouldn't hurt his back. All in all the weather was gorgeous until about 7:30ish when some raging winds came up and we all about froze to death!

But It was so cute, almost all the way home Jia Tai sang a happy tune until he drifted to sleep in the last few minutes til reaching home. What a tremendous day!

Glorious Summer Time!

Our back porch The first few cherry tomatoes
The first ripe strawberries



The most scrumptious smelling roses and not to mention beautiful!

Back yard
Back door

Ahhh... I woke up today and after fixing breakfast and doing up the dishes, I went out to water the garden. While I was watering, I thought how marvelous and wonderful God is to design millions of different plants and how astounding His beauty is. I felt overwhelmed with joy as I gazed at the garden. So I thought I would share some pictures of our garden and back yard.

Independence Day Celebrations!

Wow! What a weekend! On the 4th we celebrated at the Wright's house with lots of fellowship, great food and some hilarious games! First up was the "Marshmallow Drive" the object of the game was to place a marshmallow on a tee and with a golf club send the marshmallow flying as far as you possibly could. This sounds like it wouldn't be too hard and I yes... even I... the most nonathletic person you have ever seen could maybe do this, so I gave it a shot. HA! Whatch the video below and see the results for yourself! Warning: You are about to see someone who should never hold a golf club again! We also played a water balloon toss and an egg toss. We had a marvelous time.

On the 5th we went to the Bradrick's Independence Day celebration at their farm. It did rain for a good portion of the day but we enjoyed ourselves and had a great time. It was so good to see Laurelle Michener and her family again and other people that we met at the Christian Heritage Conference in April. To start things off there were some short historical presentations and some very fun patriotic songs. Then we did a sack race, three legged race, tug of war and a water balloon toss. Yes... we were soaked and looked rather dishevled but we had so much fun! We dried off in the barn while we ate a delicious barbeque dinner. Afterwards came the pie contest. Melina and I each made a pie, Melina a pecan chocolate chip pie and I a lemon cream pie. When they announced the winners I could hardly believe my ears! I placed First in the non fruit catagory and Melina tied for Grand Prize! We were both so happy! The funny thing is, I made Melina's pie crust! She was in a hurry and saw that I had some extra pie dough in the freezer. So I will have to give her a bad time about it. :) Then we got to enjoy all the pies. Later we sang hymns around the camp fire and talked a little more. Most of the family went home but Melina and I stayed and went home with the O'Briens later. The day was so enjoyable! A huge thankyou to the Bradrick family and everyone else who helped make that day so memorable and fun. I am already looking forward to next year! I will post pics of this day soon our camera is having problems.