...on to the desert

On June 26th we headed to the Yakima desert and away from the rain to visit Nana, Grampy, Auntie M and Cousin Joy. Uncle Ben and soon to be Auntie Sarah joined us in July.

Uncle Ben and Auntie Sarah left their new house in their contractor's hands and joined us in Yakima for some fun in the sun. We spent the 4th of July at the Gorge for the Willie Nelson music fest.

As you can tell, it was incredibly hot! That didn't keep Cooper from cuddling up with his Auntie M, who he frequently called mama.

Nana and Grampy were happy to finally have both grandkids home together.

We will definitely be home again next summer for Uncle Ben and Auntie Sarah's wedding!

Sunset at the Gorge. The sun finally went down and made the evening much more comfortable.

Cooper and Grampy laughing it up at Auntie M and Joy's house.

We spent our last weekend with Nana and Grampy in Walla Walla wine tasting and wandering around the downtown area. We somehow lost all of our really great photos from the trip, but I will post Grampy's when he sends them to me.

Back to Our Original Rainy City

We arrived in Seattle on July 12, 2007 and spent two weeks with Cooper's grandma, grandpa, Uncle Steve, Cousin Cameron, and our old friends.

Cooper loved the painted chalkboard wall at his buddy Murray's house.

He especially loved that tasty blue chaulk.

Cousin Joy and Auntie M couldn't wait for us to get to Yakima, so we joined them for lunch in Seattle before we caught the ferry to Whidbey Island with Cooper's grandma, grandpa, Uncle Steve, and cousin Cameron.

Cooper's first ferry ride from Mukilteo to Whidbey Island.

Cooper and grandma were both ready to play in the sand as soon as we got there. Grandma didn't enjoy eating it quite as much as Cooper, but she still had fun.

Even more fun than the sand was the bucket on our deck that was full of water.

We drove up to Camp Casey to see the light house and the old military barracks.

Papa and Cooper enjoying a walk on the beach and exploring the water.

Cooper's buddy Murray joined us for a couple of days for some low tide beach fun.

As you can see, Murray could not get enough of the water.

Cooper's cousin Cameron was eager to show him just how playing in the sand was done.

We went up to Deception Pass for a picnic and short hike with grandma and grandpa.

Cooper decided the sticks in the woods weren't actually very tasty.

Before we headed to Yakima we had a fun play date with Murray, Sadie and her brother Jack who is only one week younger than Cooper.

Two Blond Boys

One blond surfer boy and one blond city boy, destined to be buddies...

After leaving Burma in July we spent a month with friends and family in the U.S. We started out in San Mateo to visit Marcy, Gar, and their son Tristan, who is 5 weeks older than Cooper. They didn't exactly play together, but seemed to keep each other entertained. Their dog Daisy was Cooper's first experience with a dog. Poor Daisy was probably barking for joy when Cooper left. We spent a lot of time catching up, watching the kids play, and walking to the nearby parks. Marcy and Gar are expecting baby number two in August!

Marcy and I met in 1993 the day we both arrived at WSU and spent 4 years as roommates. In 2024 when Cooper and Tristan go to college they will already be best buddies.

This was our first stop in the U.S. and until we saw Tristan we had no idea what a shaggy guy Cooper was. We had such a great time with this little family. We can wait for them to visit us in Fiji!