Book worms!

What Ben saw when he went to check why the boys were so quiet in the living room:

Book worms!

Cooling off in the Sprinklers

We've had a few really hot days, so I let the boys play in the sprinkler. Enjoy!

Camping... well sort of!

Two weekends ago we went camping by the beach... sort of! Since the Pacific NW weather can be unpredictable, we decided to rent a little "tree house" cabin on a campground about 10 minutes from Lincoln city.

We had such a wonderful time! The goal of the trip was a) relax b) spend quality time together as a family and c) have a good time by the beach. Our goals were more than met!

I would definitely recommend Coyote Rock! 

This house on stilts was perfect for us. The boys shared the (double) sized bottom bunk, and Ben and I shared the top bunk. "Real" bathrooms were a short walk down the road - this Momma was happy. 

I'll let the rest of the pictures speak for themselves. :)

We look forward to coming back next year!

Mark's front teeth

I think that toothless first-grader smiles are some of my favorite kind. Once his permanent BIG chompers come in, he will look like such a BIG kid... so I am savoring this in-between phase!

At this rate, the tooth-ferry will be poor soon!

The day after I took this picture, Mark lost ANOTHER tooth! At this rate, we'll have to feed him slop until his permanent teeth come in!

Multnomah Falls and Beacon Rock Hikes with Kirsti and Anna

Several weeks ago, Kirsti and Anna visited us for a little over a week. We did a lot of "tourist"-ish things, among other things, went on some fun hikes. I thought you might enjoy some pictures - most of them were taken by Anna.

Since we were going several miles each time, often uphill, I decided to carry Sean in our backpack. It was kind of fun to hear people commenting on the fact that I was able to lug all 30lbs of Sean AND carry on a conversation while hiking steep switchbacks!

The view from the top of Multnomah Falls

1.5 miles steep switchback hiking, but still smiling! This was at the top of Multnomah Falls.

Remind me to hike up Multnomah Falls in the MORNING next time. We did this in the afternoon, on a swelteringly hot day.

 A few days later, we went to Beacon Rock. The views of the Columbia Gorge along the way are some of my very favorite.

Yep, we live near here.

...about half-way up Beacon Rock

Thank goodness for having to walk uphill every day to pick Mark up from school!

...just a few more switchbacks to go...

The view from the top was absolutely worth the tough walk up! (Mark would tell you that it wasn't a tough walk... but then again, he wasn't lugging 30lbs of boy on his back)

Snack at the top

Mark made a friend. Not sure how excited I was that this mangy little guy was eating peanuts out of Mark's hand... then again, he's a boy, and probably immune to EVERYTHING.