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Seaside 2010

Mom, Casey, and I took all of the girls to Seaside last week. It was supposed to be over 90 degrees in the city so, we were thinking it would be good timing to go to the coast. Who would've known it was just as hot (or hotter!?!) at the beach!

We tried to go out for one of our LetterBoxing adventures one afternoon, but it was too darn hot! (Johnna's poor little face looked like a ripe tomato!!) We decided hanging out at the pool would be a better choice!

We went back out later to try again after it had cooled off... but we didn't have any luck finding the stamp. Frustrating! The girls were starting to lose interest, but Casey and I were determined and kept insisting, "Come on! This is fun!" (as I crawled out from under a shrub pulling pine needles and cobwebs out of my hair.) But, we did get to see an amazing sunset on the walk home!

Alison and Merilyn’s favorite part of the trip was all their time at the pool. And the ride on the carousel. And the cotton candy. And Funland... and... It was a great little get-away. Breakfast at Pig-n-Pancake, lunch at Dooger’s, lots of pool time, and plenty of treats from the candy store. The little girls slept all the way home! (As we watched the temperature go up and up... ugh!)

July 4th Weekend

Mom's side of the family had a reunion on the weekend of the 4th with relatives coming from Seattle and San Francisco to stay at my mom's house. We decided to take our camper up to my mom's for the weekend as well so we could be there all the time, rather than running back and forth.

We spent one afternoon doing some letterboxing at a nearby nature park. We thought it was going to be a short, little walk... however, it turned out to be a little more like a "real" hike! We were all wishing we wore shoes other than our flip-flops!

On the day of the fourth we decorated bikes, scooters and wagons and headed to the HV park to join their family parade. Johnna and Meri were in the wagon throwing candy to all of the people watching from the sidelines. {Ali, Natalie, and Carly were some of the girls watching from the curb!}

Later that same day, we walked back to the park to check out all of the booths and games.

Ali and Lucy decided to try their luck at the rock climbing wall... go girls!!

That night we had more than enough food, sparklers, fireworks, and s'mores. The daddies were in charge of the lighting of the fireworks... Greg started getting fancy with his lighting techniques!

Even though the weather wasn't exactly "summery", it wasn't raining! It was a great holiday weekend spent with friends and family. As Travis would say,

"Happy Independence Day 2010!"

Dance Recital 2010

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the girls had their dance recital this weekend. After a year of Saturday morning practices, all of their hard work came to an end. Alison and Merilyn were super excited to get into their costumes, make-up (this might've been the most fun for them!), and dance shoes. They couldn't wait to perform on stage!

Merilyn came on first. I wasn't sure if she would get stage fright, but she was very into it! Meri was super determined to get all of the steps and jumps down, and sang her heart out. She was fantastic!

Ali came out after the intermission and did a great job! She looked really happy to be out there... in fact, she never stopped smiling!

We were so proud of the girls. They worked very hard all year, and looked so cute in their costumes. I loved watching them up on the stage!

First Camping Trip of the Summer

I am determined to use the trailer as much as possible this summer. We got it at the end of August (last year) and only used it once before I had to go back to work... and all else stopped for 9 months.

Trav unwrapped the trailer from it's "protective gear" and we were happy to see that everything looked good - except for a leak under the sink. Apparently, there was a minor casualty with the sink hoses?!?

It turned out to take us quite a bit longer than we planned to get on the road! Obviously, we were out of practice with getting the trailer ready for a trip... So, after a stop for a new sink hose and ice, we were finally on the road to McIver Park.

We had a great time! The weather forecast was predicting a 10% chance of rain, so we weren't sure what we might run into... but it was beautiful! High 70's and sunny. Perfect. We were there in the middle of the week, so it was also pretty quiet. Our camp site was next to Gramma's - which was very exciting for the girls. Ali and Gramma played quite a bit of "Go Fish", and Merilyn was intent on helping Grampa Mikey with the dogs. (Walking Annie is her specialty.)

There were several walking trails around the park, so we went on some great walks. We walked down to the Clackamas River to throw rocks and watch boats load into the river. One of our walks led us to the Fish Hatchery... the fish were ginormous!!

At night we hung out around the campfire roasting marshmallows (of course!) and played a few rounds of Mexican Train Dominoes.

Now that our "maiden voyage" for the summer is out of the way - with only a few trailer hiccups, and a list of everything we forgot - we can't wait for the next camping trip!

Happy Father's Day!

Last year Ali and I made these. This year, I got super ambitious! Ali and Trav surprised me with this cupcake book awhile ago... and Ali thought it would be great to make the golf cupcakes, since the dads always golf on Father's Day. It's a very fun book to look through... but to make something from it is something else! However, I decided to give it a try. {Being out of school helps; I'm much more relaxed - and have more time to play!}

I have to say, I think it turned out pretty good! {Casey has also dabbled in creative cupcakes with these.}

All of the girls planned/prepared dinner - chili dogs - while the boys golfed. After playing golf, it was more golf {watching the US Open}, and dinner on tv trays while they watched. The girls all loved the cupcakes... Johnna and Merilyn like the frosting the best!

The Lion King

Travis and I had the chance to see the musical the last time it was in town, and we loved it! We knew we wanted to take the girls when it came through again. Last week, the whole family went to see The Lion King. It was amazing! We were surprised to find that our seats were in the very first row! You could see everything... from the make-up and costumes... to the sweat and spit! The African animals walked right by us as they made their way to the stage. All of their costumes were fascinating! The girls were so into the show - the whole time. I thought Meri might lose interest, or get tired, but she was intrigued throughout the entire performance. (Even Baby Charlotte was mesmerized!) Merilyn especially loved Timon and Pumba. They were hilarious!

After the show we decided to walk down to the waterfront for dinner at the Newport Seafood and Grill. (This turned out to be a good call as it probably would've taken at least an hour to get out of the parking garage.) It was a beautiful day to be downtown and out on the water.