Today was a wonderful day to be out and about in Portland.  Everything was abuzz wit1h Saturday Market, the Brewers Festival, and a beautiful eighty degree day.  In the late morning, we took the kids down to Waterfront Park for some biking and playing in the new fountain by Saturday Market.  All the kids had a great time, but Franny especially enjoyed riding her bike along the waterfront and over the Steel Bridge.  We had the bonus that the bridge went up for a tall boat while we were on it!  And, of course playing in any fountain is fun for her.  It was a really great day and one of the first that has really felt like summer was underway.  We are all looking forward to many more days like this one—nothing beats summer in Portland!

I love these two pictures…

I really love how much Franny, Cole, and Delaney adore each other.  They do have their moments  and short periods of growing pains, but in the end they truly do love each other and enjoy being with each other.  Their relationships are very sweet and it’s amazing and touching to listen to them talk to each other.  These three are definitely the best of friends, and I hope they always will be.

Rick had a great opportunity to work in Europe for the last five weeks.  Not great that we would be separated for that amount of time, but great in the specialized work experience it gave him.  There are really no words to express how much we missed him, but we made the most of it and kept in touch through email, texts, and Skype.  We counted down the days, as well as the final hours, until he was to return.  And, Friday evening we finally took the trip to the airport to bring him home!  It was a wonderful reunion, and we are so happy to have him back with us!

Cole’s Lightning McQueen car hasn’t seen much action this summer…until today.  While sitting in the car, as she frequently does, she managed to figure out on her own how to make it go.  She had a great time zooming up and down the driveway.  Unfortunately, she hasn’t figured out how to steer, yet.  And, she was so excited about taking Lightning McQueen out that she wasn’t very interested in any kind of instruction.  But, given how much this girl loves speed, I have a feeling that she will figure it out quickly and that this car is going to see a lot of action in the upcoming weeks!

Over the past several weeks, Delaney has been my partner for grocery shopping.  For our family, this is quite a process, as we get different things from Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Costco, and Fred Meyer.  But, wherever we go, Delaney always insists on picking out an apple (one of her favorite fruits).  I’m not quite certain when or why this little ritual started, but it is now definitely a must-do.  I guess for all the things she could insist on buying, this is among the better choices.  But, I still have to shake my head and chuckle whenever she runs up to the apple display, picks up her apple, and puts it in the cart.  It seems so silly to me, but it is very important to her!

Cole’s school camp theme this week was soccer.  He was really excited about it, so I was very anxious to hear how it went.  My first question was Was it fun? and he responded with an enthusiastic nod.  So, I followed up with Was it really fun or just kind of fun?  And, he response was It was really, really, REALLY fun!!!  At his request, Delaney and I went to watch him on his second day of camp.  I can see why he liked it so much.  They had fun games where everyone had their own ball, and then a scrimmage at the end.  The coach was really great and made sure that everyone had a chance to kick the ball during their scrimmage.  Just some very loose structure and a whole lot of fun—exactly Cole’s style!  In this picture, Cole is in the navy blue shirt, kicking the ball up the field.  He did a really great job!  He has a another little soccer camp later in the summer—I hope it will be as fun for him as this one was!

It’s hard to think about back-to-school so early in the summer, but with Gymbucks to redeem, Franny and I decided to put them toward just that.  Franny loves to shop and put together outfits, but it can get very expensive very quickly.  So, starting last year, we started the tradition of her putting together one special outfit head-to-toe for back-to-school.  She will need other things, as she is growing incredibly quickly, but this is the one time she can put together the matching shoes, accessories, leggings, or whatever she wants to complete her outfit.  This is what she picked out.   I think she is really quite pleased!

We don’t live in what would typically be described as a walking neighborhood.  There are a lot of big hills, regardless of what direction you go.  And, although we have a park, we have never walked there, as there is one, very long big hill to walk up to get home.  But, after walking it with Franny a few weeks back for a birthday party in the park, I thought I’d give it a try with the whole crew.  I am glad we did, because we had a really great time.  We walked a combination of street and trails before reaching the park, played there for a long time, and then walked up the street to Pizzicato for dinner before heading home.  The hills were absolutely no problem, we stopped to talk to two families we knew, and Franny played with one of her school friends for awhile, as well.  All on just a random stroll around the neighborhood!  We all look forward to doing this easy evening adventure again!

Taking a water break

Franny on the bars (of course!)

Cole and Delaney

Cole LOVES pizza!!

It seemed like a good idea, but the coordination of three active kids didn’t align today.  Still, it was a good try!

Cole was off to school camp today, so Franny, Delaney, and I headed out to get some things done. Surprisingly, (since we were on an errand run) we all had a really great time.  Everyone was relaxed and laughing the entire time.  We loaded up at Trader Joes, redeemed our Gymbucks for some great back-to-school clothes, had lunch at Chipotle, hot chocolate at Starbucks (who were very sweet to ask for their names and call them out when their drinks were ready), and then went for a short walk before picking up Cole.  We did miss Cole, so Franny insisted on getting him a treat at Starbucks to let him know we were thinking of him.  It was a very full morning, but definitely full of fun, as well!

Sunday, Delaney had her first horseback ride on Gator.  She never hesitated, and smiled ear to ear during every minute of her three rides.  I  think she would have ridden all day if she could have. She was still talking about her horse rides when she got home that night.  And, I don’t doubt she’s been dreaming about them ever since!

The dependence that I have on my computer, is never more apparent than when something goes wrong.  Last week I lost my hard drive and the majority of it’s contents—this is the reason I have had a temporary lapse in the blogs.  Ironically, it was an unprecedented busy week—in addition to the 4th of July, the kids had a mini day trip to Auntie Noelle’s, two family gatherings with their cousins, a kindergarten reunion, and an evening at Grandma and Grandpa’s .  Given the schedule, as well as Franny and Cole also having two sleep overs together, we ended the week exhausted.  Very happy, but exhausted! Here’s just a few of our memories—and these barely scratch the surface!

A pile of cousins, and more cousins!

Sleepovers

Playing in the sun and water…Franny eating sweet Oregon cherries from our neighbor

Delaney swingin’  and Cole and Auntie

The kids have been ready for the 4th of July pretty much since the 5th of July last year!  And, for weeks now, Franny has been talking non-stop about the parade and party at Auntie Noelle’s house.  Everyone had a great day.  The parade was lots of fun, as well as playing with the sprinkler ball and having a great BBQ, complete with hot dogs and ice cream cones (and sprinkles, too!).  It was a relaxing day, free of any melt-downs, sibling squabbles, or crazy behavior—I don’t remember the last time that happened!  They just had a great time being with family and having fun.  It was a wonderful day from beginning to end—lots of smiles, lots of memories, and lots of love.

Delaney’s trip to the doctor for her 2-year check brought in no surprises.  Healthy, happy, long, and lean.  The kids’ doctor doesn’t quantify percentiles—he just makes sure she is growing according to her appropriate curves and hitting her milestones.  But, because she is so lean, I was curious and put her stats into a growth percentile calculator.  The results: height:  85th percentile, weight:  <3rd percentile.  As I said, no surprises, here!