Birthdays

A and J turned 8 in July with high -- and answered -- hopes for skateboards.  We headed over to a local skate shop, let the kids loose, walked out with their new boards and pads and quickly realized we had no plan for teaching them without anyone ending up in the hospital.  We immediately proceeded down the stairs to the indoor skate park tucked in the ground level of the building, talked with the manager, and enrolled them in skate camp starting the next day.  Whew -- adult embarrassment and potential injury averted!  I skated back in middle school, but I claim zero muscle memory.

A circus arts birthday party!

Waiting for camp to start.

Riding at one of the local skate parks.

Stella getting in on the action.

Jorja riding in the bowl.

Rolling by.

Even with their new skateboards, they still love to do this...

Riding at Fort Flagler back in June with Scout.

Iver turned 3 in September complete with a school bus cake.  His love for yellow school buses remains strong despite their near absence over the summer!

Awesomeness!

The Washington Coast

We headed north and east for a few days of sand, surf, and smores.  After a three hour drive, we headed out to explore the town...

and the beach.  With miles and miles of beach to explore, it felt great to stretch our legs after our 3 hour drive.

Climbing the driftwood.

With the low tide, it was quite a walk for the little ones to make it the ocean, but we did.

There were A LOT of jellyfish in the tide pools.

Iver loved digging in the sand.

 Communal sand play.

Anders enjoyed burying his feet.

Jorja spent time creating her extensive castle and moat.

While Stella spent time "decorating" her face.

Heading back to the town.

A trek through the mysterious, ever-changing Gnome Forest.

A great place to live!

We spent a lot of time on bikes.  It was a great way to ger outside, explore the town -- and it's one activity we can easily do together as a family of six.

Stella loves, loves, loves to go for rides!

The High Desert

Last week, the six of us loaded up and headed several hours south for a bit of vacation time in Central Oregon.  Our cousins who live three hours south of us, joined us as well.  There was a lot of fun and adventure between the nine of us!

Ready to hit the road -- more or less.

After an 8 hour journey, Stella couldn't wait to get out and puddle jump.

Heading out to explore the high desert.

Wandering among pinecones.

Preparing for our Lava River Cave explorations.

Getting the hang of the USFS lantern.

Reaching the "end" of the 1-mile-long cave marked with a cautionary sign.

Back to the 90 degree temperatures at the surface -- the depths of the cave are a cool 42 degrees.

Strolling near the Nature Center with the kiddos and an abundance of mosquitoes.

Heading out to whitewater raft on the Deschutes River.

Chillin' on the bus ride down to the river.

Rockin' and rollin' on the Big Eddy!

Quiet time on the front porch.

The Boys vs. The Girls Scavenger Hunt.

The Boys...

and The Girls show off their finds.

Reading new books in Sunriver.

Crusing along Bend's River Walk in our family-sized Surrey bike.

Iver and Stella in their prime front seating.

A quick stop in Maupin.

And Hood River.

Our drive home.