Labor Day at Smith Creek Ranch

On Labor Day our church family enjoyed a fun picnic outing at 

Smith Creek Ranch, hosted by sweet friends.

Of course I was on baby duty and didn't get photos of 

Ryder and Daddy on the hike, at the reservoir, or shooting on the range - 

but, I did get some other fun shots of the littles.

This sweet little kitty was oh so curious.

Silly...

...sweet...

...and sleepy.

There is such beauty in this desert!

Then on our way home we saw the famous 'shoe tree.'

You can read about the legend here.

Labor Day at Smith Creek Ranch

On Labor Day our church family enjoyed a fun picnic outing at 

Smith Creek Ranch, hosted by sweet friends.

Of course I was on baby duty and didn't get photos of 

Ryder and Daddy on the hike, at the reservoir, or shooting on the range - 

but, I did get some other fun shots of the littles.

This sweet little kitty was oh so curious.

Silly...

...sweet...

...and sleepy.

There is such beauty in this desert!

Then on our way home we saw the famous 'shoe tree.'

You can read about the legend here.

Yosemite

On Monday we made the trek over to Yosemite.

Talk about beauty!

Our picnic lunch spot was next to a cool river.

And happened to have a stunning view of El Capitan.

Friendly ducks too.

Much better than the Canadian Geese we encountered at Lake Tahoe last weekend.

 This fella wasn't crazy about 8+ hours in the car.

Half Dome

Love these two. 

Yosemite Falls

The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

Psalm 19:1

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Our Canadian Vacation

Well, I lost track of documenting each stop along the way at about this point.

I was having so much fun seeing friends and family that I forgot to pull out my camera and preserve memories in photo - but, we saw many dear friends and toured my uncle's dairy farm (where my Dad grew up) while north of the border.

One of the big highlights of our trip was spending a day visiting my Grandma (Oma, to the boys) and Great Aunt Helena.

Here they are with Aunt Helena - after playing all morning with her fun vintage toys.

At Grandma's house we had to play a game of Scrabble for old times' sake.

She had some pretty fun old toys tucked away in a closet as well.

We sure do love and miss Oma.

And so many members of our extended family got together for a Duerksen brunch gathering. 

We were glad to see so many and can't wait to live closer again.

One last picture with Oma

and Auntie Joanne, who was a great host for the week.

Finally it was time to get back on the road home. 

We didn't attempt the drive straight through again, 

and broke the trip up into two days on the road with these traveling champs.

Pretending to sleep - and actually sleeping.

We stopped to stretch out legs at an outlet mall on the way home. 

While I was browsing, 

Daddy sniffed out the cotton candy vender and gave the boys their 

first experience of this sweet fluffy treat.

A request from Ryder to dip his toes in the water couldn't be passed up as we were driving through Klamath Falls, OR. 

Everyone stayed healthy and the van gave us no trouble at all.

We were so blessed to see loved ones over the course of our vacation.

And finally, 

Home Sweet Home!

The Pacific Northwest

After our long drive through the night, we finally caught up on sleep and then were excited to spend Sunday with friends. 

First, breakfast at The Donut House in Anacortes, 

followed by visiting our old church, and lunch with the pastor's family. 

So sweet!

Then a quick trip up to Bellingham by way of Chuckanut Drive (right along the coast).

I wish I had snapped a photo of that for you all.

Dinner with more dear friends at Goat Mountain Pizza downtown 

was followed by ice cream at Mallard Ice Cream.

 They must have known I was coming because they had fresh rhubarb ice cream ready and waiting. 

Yum!

The perfect end to a great day was had at Boulevard Park on the Bellingham Bay.

The boys and their friends had the time of their lives throwing rocks into the water. 

Can you see that rock in the picture on the right?

Girls can throw rocks too! 

Love these sweet babes.

 On Monday morning Ryder entertained himself in the hotel room with a pen and paper.

The result, his first 'R' printed completely solo - without any help at all.

And what's a trip to WA without visiting Woods Coffee?

Breakfast of champions for me and the boys before heading up to Canada.