The Fire Chronicles (Part 2)...first official day!

aaron just left for his first official day as a firefighter! we kept saying this weekend that it was the last weekend of a "traditional" schedule that we will have for a long time...maybe 30 years! it was an honor to pin his badge for him on friday at his graduation ceramony (more pictures of that to follow). the 17 firefighters who graduated academy were not only in the local news but also in the fresno bee. it is strange that he is really going to be a firefighter...but wonderful! after training for almost 4 years i am happy to finally see him do the job...and i think he would agree! God has been so faithful to complete the work he began in aaron and he has been with us every step of the way. i don't just say this as a cliche...but we are convinced that we could not have done it without God's guidance, provision and stamina & the help of friends and family along the way...we are truly grateful!

this is a picture of him from friday...they did outdoor demonstrations after their graduation ceremony. in the spirit of his new career i have changed the blog slightly...so don't be alarmed...you are at the right blog.

...our spontaneous adventure!

this saturday (April 21st) started out like any other. we had volunteered to help with special olympics and got up early to head out. we checked the directions on our way out the door and realized the event had been the day before (4/20). we were really bummed when we realized that we had unintentionally dissed the disabled...but we had a whole weekend ahead of us decided to make the best of it. i gave aaron his academy graduation gifts early in hopes that I could talk him into a last minute camping trip. a new tent, air mattress and some other accesories- along with some persuading and we were on our way up to Yosemite! it is really beautiful there in spring.we got to there in no time. the shot of half dome (below) was our first view of "the valley" on our drive in. our camp sight was just below half dome, along a river and not too far from curry village. we did some exploring before heading back to our camp sight. salmon, potatoes and garlic bread made the perfect dinner...along with smores of course. we even managed to play a game of scrabble before dark and turned in just as it was starting to rain! the forecast had predicted rain but we are used to that from camping in Washington- so we didn't think much of it!









much to our surprise we woke up to SNOW! it was beautiful...really beautiful...but not good for tent camping. it was a good thing aaron had put this tarp on our tent to keep out the expected rain. we got on the road as quickly as we could pack up the car and managed to make it out of there safely while getting in a few more good pictures along the way. the road conditions were not good...it was not an ideal situation driving out of there in a small car...but by the grace of God aaron knew how to drive in the snow and got us home in one piece.

The Pregnancy Chronicles (PART 4)...bellies!

Aaron was feeling jealous of all my belly shots...and so we took some of him just to be fair. I am 20 weeks and that means I am half way through the pregnancy!!!!

The Pregnancy Chronicles (PART 3)...i finally felt it move!

So the baby finally moved! Two nights ago I was trying to fall asleep and felt the little "flutter" they talk about. Wow- that has got to be one of the most amazing feelings in the world. One of my books said that the baby is often born 147 days after you first feel it move...if that is true I will have the baby on September 5th. Sorry Dad (he is hoping to share his birthday with the baby on August 26th)!

...happy easter!

My family came over for a quick Easter visit. It's nice to live so close now!

The Pregnancy Chronicles (PART 2)...belly shot!

This was taken the other day and boy am I starting to show. I cannot wear regular pants anymore!

The Pregnancy Chronicles (PART 1)...baby's first picture!

Here is the baby's first picture (taken on March 1st, 2007). It was so amazing to see this littlel child moving around inside of me. In case you are wondering- that is the head to the right (it is facing up) and you can sort of make out it's profile. The dots along the bottome are the spine. Isn't is just so incredible! To see the size of the baby check out the Baby Link (I'm 19 weeks along as of yesterday).

As for the next question, we are not finding out what we are having. We want to be surprised! This seems to be very upsetting to some people. In fact people we don't even know well seem to be very concerned and passionate about it. At least three people have sarcastically said to me "I hope you like green!" Don't worry- Aaron and I both love green- so save that one for the next person who tells you they are not finding out what they are having.

The Fire Chronicles (Part 1)...burning down the house!

Aaron and his fellow academy guys got to burn down a house here in Fresno a few weeks back. He took one of these pictures from the top of a very tall ladder. It's cool to see him finally fighting fire after all the training he's been through over the past few years.

...another valentine baby!

Elsie's little sister Carson was born on my birthday (valentine's day)...auntie LaLa got an extra special present this year! We got to meet her and see the Woodward's in February- just a weeks after she was born! It was fun to be together again.

...off to Hawaii again!

I was off to Maui again for Emma and Ryan's beautiful wedding in January!

...grandpets!

Who says my parents don't have grandkids? Grandpets maybe...but Rusty and Izzie seem to fill the void for now!

...oh christmas tree!

Our annual christmas party with the Meadow's and Christian's. Sharon got their tree just in time for me to help decorate it since we could not get one with the move! It was the best gift she could have given me!

...goodbye arden drive!

Saying goodbye to my grandparents house was so sad. Morse's have lived in that house since 1962. It was a bittersweet day moving to Fresno, even though we knew Aaron's new job was a great opportunity. This is also the first picture of me pregnant (although we didn't know yet). I couldn't figure out why I was so tired that day!

...aloha!

We had another adventure in Hawaii with Laura's family in October of 2006! We saw some amazing sunsets and had a wonderful time with the morse's and stromback's.

...alaska baby!

August of 2006 took us to Alaska by way of a cruise! We had an amazing time with Aaron's family and loved every minute of Alaska's breathtaking scenery and the cruise experience itself!

...the graduate!

Last spring (2006) Aaron graduated from Santa Ana College's 139th Academy! He was hired by the city of Fresno last fall and will graduate April 27th!

...i do!

On July 27th, 2002 we said I do! It has been almost 5 years!

...it all began in Seattle!

This is one of my favorite pictures; taken in the spring of 2002 before we got married. I (Laura) was a senior in college and we were preparing for our wedding in July. That was a fun time in our lives and I miss SPU, Seattle, our friends!