Cocoon

Oh, she's so tired right now. Can hardly manage to leave the house before asking to return.
Snuggly.
Huggy.
Lovey.

Growing right before my eyes.

Oregon Coast. Secret Hideaway.

A weekend at the coast is always amazing.

This, however, was beyond spectacular.

Summertime Jungle

Now seriously, wouldn't you rather stalk your way through a grass jungle than walk through grumbling about overgrown weeds?

 

That's the beauty of kids, so many regular things are transformed into magic adventures.

 

Three

She's three.

And she's growing so fast.

And I'm just sad and excited all at the same time.

Scavenger Hunt

Nothing like an impromptu scavenger hunt in the city!  Lots of pictures here from all of the hearts we discovered around town. Part of the Peace Health "The Beat Goes On" Art Walk.  Good, free summer fun!

Random Wooden Frog

Two Girls

Two girls on a Sunday afternoon. Despite the squabbles they're such good friends

 

Ape Canyon Trail. Mt St Helens

I went on the most spectacular hike.

River of Rock from Mt St. Helen's.

The 1980 Blast blew out the other side.

What Christmas trees look like in old age.

Noble Fir (front) and Douglas Fir (back)

Ape Canyon Trail - up the east side of Mt. Saint Helen's.

The sky was clear, the breeze was cool, four mountains were out for the viewing.

Mt Rainier

Mt Hood, hiding in the haze from wildfires

Mt St Helen's

Mt Adams. It's rare to get a view like this.

I got to spend a day with my Mom and Dad.

Aging is Fun

Man we're at a fun age. 5 and 2, almost 6 and 3. They are completely adorable, smart, and amazing. They're also infuriating, annoying, and ridiculous. But they are so fun! We've arrived at the age where we can spend a whole day out of the house, skip a nap (just for the one day!), and enjoy being together.

Enjoyment out of her sisters' excitement

We did just that at the fair this weekend. Got in free with the early morning crowd and joined the line for the pancake breakfast, throwing our gluten free diet out of the window for the day.

This girl ate the rest of us under the table.

We visited each and every animal, we perused the crafts, we rode the rides.

Her dream come true.

Two rides each.
 

She's unhappy about the line, not the ride.

 The Princess spent her special grandma money on cotton candy,

We watched the 4-H kids compete in the goat competition. The Princess and I are goat experts - we picked the Grandest of Grand Prize winner right from the start.

 
We finished with the best display on site - rows and rows of snakes, monitor lizards and tarantula spiders to peruse and enjoy.

We spent seven hours in the crowds. Amazing. We're giddy on the sense of freedom. (And I'm mostly not mourning the fact that my babies aren't babies anymore because I love that stage too.)