Boulder Cave Redo

After a failed attempt in May, we finally made it back to the Cascades! And we actually were able to hike to Boulder Cave. Success!

Jared really believes in the importance of sports drinks for even small hikes.

Note to self: If you are going to a cave, you should bring flashlights. Or your children may be slightly terrified walking into the dark. And you'll have to rely on the kindness of strangers and their cell phone lights.

(I really didn't think that one through!)

Portland Adventures

I've been doing a little more exploring. I've driven past this a few times, but I decided that we needed to stop and really see it.

Multnomah falls from a distance

This is the view from halfway up! We hiked up to get a better view.

See?!?

She likes striking a pose.

My awesome cousin took my brother, Joe, and I blackberry picking.

(Joe had a business trip in Portland, so I had to skip over to see him!)

Rosie mostly snacked while Jared and I picked.

Matthew, Grace, Rosie, Jared, Christian

Wild children!

I just love Matthew's face. I can't resist!

Swimmers

So, I finally got brave enough to enroll Jared and Rosie in swim classes! It was good for them to get more comfortable in the pool.

 Unfortunately, most of Rosie's lessons consisted of her teachers trying to lure her off the steps. But two rounds of lessons ($$$!) got her this far!

Jared loved the showing off and competition aspect of lessons. He loved getting to the "otter level" class!

(It is a blast watching 6 year olds brag about their 6-7 second stints underwater!!!)

Family Day at PNNL

We don't usually get to go into Ken's building for work. It is pretty strict as far as who is allowed around. So, no lunch dates at his desk!
But this year, they had a family day and you could get passes to get tour a bit!
Since it probably won't happen again for a while, we thought that we ought to commemorate the occasion.

Porter Family Reunion

We had an amazing time together near the Grand Coulee Dam. 

The Porter clan is just amazing. I wish we did this more often!

A lot of time was spent at the reservoir. We took turns boat and relaxing while watching this crew!

I love Norah's sandy little toes!!!  Eeeee!

 Hams.

 Norah gets all of her style from Grandma!

Great Grandma and Grandma  

There is a laser light show ON the dam itself. It was fun! 

Brothers 

These two were both keyed up and exhausted by the time it was over. (It takes a long while to get dark this far north in the summer!)

Local wildlife 

One of the best parts was boating, we mostly tried wake surfing!

I felt confident going in!

 After a few tries I just felt like I was drowning.

Lots of this.

But with some good coaching from Uncle Kurt, I finally got up! It was awesome! 

But I looked significantly less cool than Uncle Jim. 

 Great Grandma's giant birthday card.

 Family history from Marcy and Dan (below)

 Andrew and I bonded!

The wonderful matriarch.

She shared her testimony and her love. I'm sure glad she started this great family.

Bicyclist

 A new parenting experience!
I've been putting off removing his training wheels for quite a few months now. There just wasn't any good biking space near our apartment. And moving and stress, yada yada yada!

One morning I finally just decided to do it. (And I knew where the toolbox was!)

 And first try, he was off!

He still likes help starting, but he has much better balance than I had anticipated! He rides in the cul-de-sac most days and should be an expert soon, by his estimation.

I can hardly believe he is old enough for this!

Homemade Zoo

Perhaps inspired by our trip last month, these two created a zoo one quiet afternoon.

The zookeepers!

I was flabbergasted by the level of detail they got here. Creating environments for each of the animals. And also being really into the name Steve.

These kids make me laugh everyday!

Norah is 1!

 I just can't stop thinking about where I was a year ago and how eventful the first year of this little girl's life has been. And she has been wonderful through it all!

 Happy Birthday, Norah!

(Newly weaned and onto cow's milk)

During her nap, Jared, Rosie and I made her rainbow cupcakes.

Norah was present for the frosting and climbed up on the oven drawer and got stuck in her attempt to get closer!!!

 Final product

For dinner we had tortellini and cherries; Very messy fare.

 Presents!

 She did pretty well with the wrapping paper.

What I love about Norah is that she is nearly fearless, a cuddler of all things soft, can hold her own with her siblings, loves splashing herself and others, and she loves to laugh!

The cupcakes made a beautiful mess!

Happy Birthday, Wonderful girl! We are so happy to have you in our lives!