Andrew's Birthday

Andrew turned 24 this year! We did a couple of different things for his birthday. One was to have dinner with some good friends. He has been friends with these people since he was a little boy. We met at Olive Garden in Vancouver, Washington. What a fun evening it was to celebrate Andrew's life with people who we know truly care about him.

In the photo, from left to right. Kathy and Dale Wright, Wayne Benette, Ana, Grandma Grace, Andrew and Shawn Burdette

Portland Zoo

Andrew's brother Pete drive back to Portland with us to spend a little time up here. One thing he wanted to do was go to the zoo. So off we went! We were joined by our friends Shawn and Chris Burdette. It was a beautiful day and a huge zoo. As cool as it was I have to say that zoos just aren't the same after you go on an African safari. But it was still loads of fun!

Pittock Mansion

One Sunday after church we joined Michael and Kristen for Indian food in downtown Portland and then we headed to Pittock Mansion. It was such a beautiful day and the view from the mansion was amazing! It looked right over the skyline of Portland. Here are a few photos from our outing.

Downtown Portland

Home!!

The first item of business when we got back to Portland was fix up our apartment. The furniture we had before was fine. It was what we could afford at the time. But after working a bit and saving our money we decided it was time to get some nice and comfortable furniture. So as I headed off to a meeting, the boys cleared the apartment of all the old stuff. We met at IKEA got a couch, went to Costco got a recliner! After a few more trips to IKEA, Target and Home Depot the living room area is pretty much finished. We moved the TV to a better spot and this opened up our living room a lot! I also had fun putting up new pictures from Africa and also summer and family pictures. We did not take many pictures of our apartment before the change but here are a few before and after shots. We just love it now and we love having people over. It's been so fun!!

Before

After

Before
After

And we got Andrew a nice big desk for work on for school. Now we can use our dinning room table for eating!

And finally.....WE HAVE A PO-ANG!!

Summer Pictures...Badriakis visit!

For our last few days in California we were accompanied by our friends from Portland, Micheal and Kristen Badriaki. They flew down to San Jose and then spent a few days in Fresno meeting our families and seeing the beautiful central valley. It was the first time either of them had come to Fresno. We drove them to downtown Fresno, showed them were we got married, we bowling and the number one thing they wanted to do was....go to In & Out!!! Then when it was time for us to head back up north, Michael and Kristen were kind enough to drive back with us. We had a great time with them and were so happy they could come to Fresno!

Family Pictures

Since Andrew and I were in town for the summer, both families decided to get some photos of everyone before we headed back up north. So here is a small preview of what was taken

The Wilson Family

The Horn Family

The Wilson kids

Summer Pictures...Santa Cruz!!

The day after Half Dome, we (Andrew, Anna and our friend Shawn) drove over to Santa Cruz to see some of Andrew's family and to just relax after our hike! Of course it was beautiful over there. We were only in SC for a few days but got to see Andrew's grandma, a few of his relatives and swim in the freezing water! One night I got to hang out with some of the Wilson girl cousin. It was the first time since we got married that I spent time with Andrew's cousins. It was a lot of fun to have a girl's night and just feel like part of the family. I felt very welcomed and just loved by them. I really love his cousins and appreciate them accepting me and making me feel special! Here are just a few pictures.

Summer Pictures...Half Dome!

For the past few summers I have wanted to climb Half Dome in Yosemite. Last summer we were all set to go but forest fires kept us from going. But this summer there were no fires around so up to Yosemite we went. There was about a group of 11 who made the climb. The group consisted of veterans but also a few first timers. We camped at Bass Lake the night before and then had an early start. On our way up the mountain the clouds began to roll in and there were thunderstorm warnings for that day. We made it all the way to the cables and then it started to hail. Before the hail came there was nothing to stop me. But HAIL...that's pretty bad. Plus my husband, who tends to have better judgment, advised against it. If this was my first time up there, I would have gone all the way to the top but this was my third time so I was ok with not making it to the top. I was more disappointed for those first timers who made so far but not all the way. Oh well, guess we'll just have to go next summer. "Half Dome, Summer 2010, Night hike"...who's in??