Three kids, three dogs, one busy weekend

We were in Central Oregon this past weekend to babysit for a close friend I've known for almost 20 years. She went on an overnight hiking trip with her husband, and Jim and stayed at their house to watch their daughter and two dogs. We brought the boys and Talus and had a lot of fun going swimming, playing at the park and enjoying the beautiful views from their house.

Why September is our favorite month

Sean's first day of school

First Day of First Grade

Today was Jackson's first day of school. He was very excited and happy to see all his friends. It was crazy at his school...all the parents were catching up while trying to drop of huge bags of school supplies. The kids and siblings were running around, photos were being taken, and the poor teachers looked a bit overwhelmed. Jackson was very calm and confident and was ready for me to leave his classroom. He put up with the incessant photo taking and did his best not to make a funny face.
Tomorrow is Sean's first day.

At The Oregon Coast

We took an end-of-summer day trip to the Oregon coast on Friday. We decided to bring Talus with us and he loved it. He kept running in the water to chase the waves, but as soon as he got his paws wet, he ran right back out. He was exhausted by the time we headed home. The boys loved it, too. In typical Oregon fashion, it was sunny and clear for 15 minutes, then clouds rolled in with a little rain, then the sun came out again.

Sipping on a lava flow

Lava Flow

I was just looking through our Hawaii photos and found this.....we all had to have at least one oversize friuty drink with an umbrella in it. In this case, a non-alcoholic lava flow.

At The Lake

This is what we did almost all day on Friday in an attempt to keep cool when it was 100 degrees outside. Our friends Laura and Andrew joined us.

Summer Fun

It has been very hot here the last few days. The boys have decided it is too hot to wear a shirt so they spend most of the day wearing only shorts.
It is also becoming very apparent that it is time for haircuts. But at this point I'm just going to let their hair be a little messy until we get the official back to school haircuts.

Sean hits the waves

Surf photos

Jackson did really well with surfing. He got up almost every time. The rest of us weren't so lucky...more photos to come.

Too much vacation

Boys playing in ocean at Kapalua

We had a great week in Maui. Did 2 days of snorkeling, a surf lesson, visited the Ocean Museum, ate lots of pineapple and enjoyed a lot of time at the beautiful beach.

Morning at the beach

More Hawaii

The beach in Kapalua

Jamison Fountain

This is one of our favorite spots downtown. Normally the boys would be in swimsuits and playing in the water, but this was just a quick visit on our way to get ice cream. I knew if we stayed much longer, both boys would be in the water. Fortunately, the prospect of ice cream was able to lure them away.

Waiting for candy

As all the floats go by, candy gets tossed out to all the spectators. So, of course, this is the focal point of the parade. After all the floats have passed, the kids (as well as strollers, wagons, scooters and dogs!) get in line and parade down the street.

Decorated bikes

Watching the 4th of July parade