Goodbye Training Wheels

Sean has not been terribly interested in taking the training wheels off his bike. Even with 2 friends riding without their training wheels, he still did not seem too be concerned. Jim has had him out for practice at least twice. No luck. Finally today it happened. There were a few wobbles, a few protests but then finally Sean was yelling, "Dad, let me GO!!!!!".

Cold Day at Lost Lake

We drove and drove and drove on winding roads , twisting and turning our way up the mountain..in search of Lost Lake. We made it, and while it was chillier than some of us would've preferred, the boys loved it all. Lots of fun trails, fallen logs to climb on, a row boat to paddle around in (mostly in circles) and a hot chocolate at the end.

Definitely not in accordance with kayak safety rules

A few nights ago we swam in the lake with some friends in an attempt to stay cool despite temps over 100 degrees. The kids had a blast and at one point they all piled in the kayak with Jim...which lasted about 5 seconds before they decided the water was much more fun.

A Day at the Races

Jackson and Sean did the kids triathlon and I did the All Women's Sprint triathlon. Jim was our gear coordinator and we all had a great time. Somehow, I ended up as the top woman over 40 so I got a nice little trophy and some other stuff. The boys thought it was very cool to hear their Mom's name called over the loudspeaker and came up with me to get the prize. Jackson decided the medal looked better on him so he wore it the rest of the afternoon!

Day in Hood River

This is a beautiful town!! The boys played at the new waterfront park and we watched a wind surfing competition. Lots of cute restaurants and shops, too. We will definitely plan to spend more time here. It's only about 35 minutes from the cabin.

Warm summer night at the lake

More summer fun

These are all pics from my phone...which is why it is such a random assortment. The photo of the boys sitting by the window was taken when our neighbors had to remove a 100 year old douglas fir from their backyard. It was quite a project and the boys were fascinated by the process. The chicken with Sean is Noodles...she belongs to a neighbor.

summer fun

4th of July weekend

We headed up to the mountains for the holiday weekend and had lots of fun with Sue and Brian. We rode the alpine slide, did a zip line, went skiing, did some hiking and walked the trail around Trillium Lake. We also ate birthday cake and watched the boys do Pop-its! So beautiful to be in the mountains!

What to do when it's really hot outside

Visiting family

I was hoping I could figure out a way to load a few new pictures from my phone here, but so far it has not been a success. So we will be back after June 27 with many new photos!

Part of Jackson's music program

what happens when I leave the room

This is a glimpse of our morning. Just after breakfast, everyone had brushed their teeth and I ran upstairs to put away laundry. When I came back Sean was wearing my swim cap and Jackson was rolling around in the cooler.

Another gorgeous weekend..this time the Hood Canal

Weekends like this make up for the rainy winter. In 2 1/2 hours, we are can be in a place that is absolutely breathtaking. I wish I had better photos because the ones I took do not do it justice. We were away for Jim's annual office retreat. All the families meet up every year in May for a weekend of recreation and little bit of work (for Jim and his partners). There are a ton of boys the same ages as Jackson and Sean...you can see the 7 and under posse in the photo above.

Mt. Hood Weekend

NW Portland

These pics were taken before the swine flu hysteria set in. Now I am sure the poor pigs are not getting many visitors!

Recent Happenings in Our World

Sean's favorite part of Opening Day

Just before the official team photo