August Family Roadtrip

My friend from college, Sara, had a beautiful wedding ceremony in Hood River, OR in August. It gave us an excellent excuse to do a little road trip. We drove south from Seattle to the north-west corner of Mount St. Helens, visiting the Forest Learning Center and the Johnston Ridge Observatory. Kyle and I were trading facts all day of the information we learned. Some cool facts:

-The trees didn't burn because they were encased in ash and the gaseous explosion limited the oxygen content in the air

-There was a zone of silence during the blast. The air was so dense that the sound of it wasn't heard within a 50 mi radius, though the blast itself was heard or felt up to 100+ miles.

Someone missing? He's hiding behind my legs.

Apparently, on the south side, you can walk through "lava caves," where ancient lava flows encased forest growth that later decayed. We're saving that for the future since the caves are dark and 42 degrees in the summer...

The best part of the observatory was jumping on a seismic monitor that showed you the subsequent pressure transducer readings in real time. Sam and Elsa loved it!

The kids enjoyed the fountain more than the view.

That night, we camped at Seaquest State Park. It was Sam's first time since he was 2 and Elsa's first camping ever. The kids did relatively well, and fell asleep before 9, but woke up well before anyone else in the campground. We had to high-tail it for a 6:30am breakfast down the road so as not to wake everyone else up! So much for the full-nature experience...

Pre-dinner activities

Finding the moon.

After our night of "roughing it," we drove further south to Portland, OR and used our AmEx points to stay at the Westin. Following a camping night, the beds were, indeed, heavenly! We started at OMSI (the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry) and got in for free using our Pacific Science Center membership (score!). Elsa particularly enjoyed the paleontology lab where she spent many minutes picking up rocks and looking at fossilized shells.

Sharing mango juice at a Thai food truck.

After checking into the hotel, Elsa had a nap while Sam and I explored a fabulous toy store and had treats at a vegan/gluten free bakery. It was delicious, though I hilariously asked for "regular milk" for Sam after being offered "Soy, Almond, Rice, Hemp, or Coconut." They were like, uh, this is a vegan shop. Right! Okay, soy milk, then. 

Awesome treats. And soy milk, obviously.

After nap-time, we walked to the waterfront, had a good-ol frolic in the fountains, went to a Egyptian Halal food truck for dinner, and hit a Ben and Jerry's for dessert. Yum.

Love all the statues in Portland!

Fountains!

Sam's become camera shy lately.

Imitation of Sam.

Waterfront Selfie.

The next day, we drove east along the Columbia River into Hood River, OR for the wedding festivities. The first thing we did was a river float down the Klickitat River. It was advertised as a beer-drinking float so we took the kids along assuming that Class 1 and 2 rapids would be no big deal. Elsa and I in a two-person raft and Sam and Kyle each on inner-tube like rafts made it through the first rapid, roped together, just fine while nearly escaping some tree bramble. Some of the adults behind us, having just opened their first beers, were not so lucky. Floats were overturned, beers lost, and let's just say, a graceful, inflatable swan, never enjoyed the river waters again... Elsa and I portaged portaged around one other rapid (after I saw a look of trepidation in Kyle's white-water-rafting guide of two summer's eyes), but we otherwise had a successful river float. Kyle and I were excited to observe how much the kids seemed to enjoy it overall. I think we have more river-rafting in a future, though perhaps we'll wait a few more years...

Awesome park!

The following day was the wedding ceremony, on Eric's family's orchard, an expansive piece of land which has been in his family for generations. It was beautiful to watch the kids play in the creek that meanders through the property and to know that Eric used to play in those waters as a child and that their son, Jack, will play there too. Sara planted over 1500 sunflowers and, wow, they were just perfect. The whole experience felt very rooted in family history and alive with the magical energy of nature.

Beautiful ceremony location.

In their "farm formal" best!

Elsa was so proud to cross the creek. We did it several times. She is a true water-baby!

Biking Lake Washington Blvd

Many Sundays during the summer, Seattle's Lake Washington Blvd is closed to traffic for bikes and pedestrians. After Sam had a successful week of "Pedalheads" bike camp, we went out for a spin today.

They were predicting rain, and the world seemed all the more beautiful with the sun. The Obliteride race made things a bit crowded but the racers were nice, encouraging Sam and praising his speed.

With my frequent shouts of "Stay to the right!" and "Shoulder check left," Sam is quickly learning right from left.

Elsa's been on her Strider daily this week and insisted (i.e. cried like only a 2 yr old can) on "Ride my bike!" So, she did. After a short cruise, I then took her out on my bike so Sam and I could ride a little faster.

Afterward, we had lemonade. What a perfect summer day!

Mt. Rainier

Two year old with 200 foot, 1000 year old trees.

Diana and Dad Visit Seattle: April 2015

This is long overdue:

In April, Diana and Dad made the cross-country journey to visit us in Seattle.  We had reasonably good weather (better than New England!) and enjoyed a lot of the Seattle sites.

Diana and I walked Elsa down to the University Village shops where she played on the playground and enjoyed the fountains:

We had dinner at Aqua Verde, a mexican restaurant and kayak rental boat house along Portage Bay. Afterward, we had a walk along the waterfront:

Diana, Dad, and I visited Pike's Market (where the fish are thrown). We enjoyed sampling chowder (smoked salmon and seafood) and had a drink in my favorite Rachel's Ginger Beer storefront. There's nothing like a Moscow Mule in the afternoon!

We walked to one of our local playgrounds at Bryant Elementary school.

Our ferry ride out to Bainbridge Island was clouded by the classic low hazy clouds of the Puget Sound, but after exploring the main town, the clouds cleared and we had a sunny return ride:

On the island, we enjoyed a morning coffee, strolling along the shops, a visit to the local bookstore, and a lunch with a view of the marina.

We spent a lot of quality time together at home, reading books, listening to Dad play the piano, and eating great meals.

It was such a great visit! Looking forward to the next one!

Elsa age 2

At age 2, Elsa is really blossoming into a busy, active, expressive child. 

She is walking, jumping, running, and walking up and down stairs by herself. She dances to music and can do forward rolls. She likes to say, "Elsa do" when she wants to try something herself and I've recently seen her tucking items under her elbow to carry them up the stairs.

She is interested in art and will paint, scribble, and otherwise color anything we place in front of her. yesterday, while painting she said, "May-may kitty." I guess she was painting a picture of our cat...

Her language has really blossomed in the last few months and my favorite phrases are those she copies from Sam like"Oh, maaaan!" and "Watch this!" She used to do roll-call, especially at meals time: "Dadda here? Mamma here?" and now she keeps track of everyone in a new way: "Mamma love me, dadda love me, Teeb love me..." She still can't quite say the "S" sound, so "Sam" remains "Day" in Elsa-speak. I often catch myself nearly referring to Sam as Day when talking with Elsa.

Elsa likes to help, just like (and often mirroring) her big brother. She helps unload the dishwasher by placing the plastic kids tableware into the correct drawer. Lately, she's been helping me sort the cutlery. She is also excellent at putting clothing away. She knows exactly where Sam's clothes belong.

While she sometimes seems like she is quietly studying everything about her, other times she is spunky and full of laughter. It has been a wonderful year watching her blossom into a toddler and I'm excited to learn more about her as she grows!