The Great Kayak Adventure of 2005

One of our all-time, most exciting Labor Day weekends came in 2005. That was the time when Dad got an invitation for all of us to go kayaking on Lake Washington. And, here we are:

August 2005

We had interesting adventures in Seattle during August 2005, including trips to the zoo and to Green Lake. However, the camera stayed pretty close to home, capturing little Amanda moments:

July 2005

Life in Seattle was quite a transition. Some transitions were easy, like taking an elevator to our floor instead of climbing stairs, or using the stacked washer/dryer in our apartment instead of going down to a basement to use coin op machines. Others were a bit harder, like walking uphill to go pretty much anywhere, whether on the way there, on the way back, or both. There was plenty of walking to be done, and for things like church, which was a bit too far for an easy walk, there were buses and nice friends from church. On the bright side, we saved a lot on gas and parking fees with no car. Here's Mom with Amanda at a park up the hill from where we lived:

And, some pictures of Amanda at home:

Heading North

June 2005 brought big news and big changes: Dad got a job in Seattle. The move north from Utah was an extended family effort, starting with Grandmother and Grandfather clearing out all the stuff from Mom's old room at their house.

They loaded it up in a truck and brought it to us.

 Meanwhile, Amanda helped supervise the packing:

Once the truck was at our house, our church family helped load up the rest of our stuff:

They helped with move-out cleaning, too:

 Amanda, meanwhile, enjoyed grandparents:

 

 We spent the night of the truck loading at Grandma and Grandpa's:

 We spent the next night at a motel:

We saw a bit of Oregon Trail stuff on the way:

 And then we arrived at the new place:

Four generations (and family in general)

June 2005 was a good month for family visiting. Here is Amanda snuggling a toy that Grandma brought over during a visit. Note Amanda's hairstyle, which was all natural and very persistent:

Here we have Mom and Dad at Grandma and Grandpa's house:

Amanda checking out a friend she found at Grandma and Grandpa's:

A four generation picture with Great-grandma Lillian:

Great-grandma and Amanda with Aunt Eldeen:

Four generations, expanded version:

Grandma and Amanda having a grand time together: