just like grandpa

Amelia took the boys to a spy-science event at the library, and they got secret identities.  I think the mustache must be genetic.

summertime!

We are back in Oregon for the rest of the summer.  The boys welcomed Amelia's return- the best sitter ever.  Owen had a week of Cub Scout Day Camp- where he earned 3 arrow heads for his 36(!) bulls eyes in archery.  He also enjoyed a ropes course, sports, and goofing off with his friends.  (OK Richard is saying he got 16 bulls eyes. But that is also a great number of them!)

The boys are keeping busy this summer.  Owen is taking golf lessons, and swimming laps 3 times a week.   He will do two Lego Robot camps at OSU starting next week.  Ben has moved up to the Junior's class in karate, which is now twice a week, and is in swimming lessons where he was quickly moved up from the beginners class- he was swimming summersaults while the other kids refused to enter the water.  Both boys started tennis classes and are enjoying them.

Its not all classes though- they have been doing a lot of swimming, painting pottery, berry picking, movies and adventures and having a great time each day.

Ben lost his two bottom teeth at the end of the school year, then lost his first front top one in Vermont.  We are working on getting 2 more out, and the replacement teeth are on their way in!   Owen is ridiculously tall- he broke the 5 foot mark this summer!

cousins!!

We spent our second weekend of vacation in Vermont.  Richard's mom and all of his brothers and sisters were able to free up the week. Susan, Bob, Ryan and Robert drove in from Chicago, and Nancy came out from Boston, and Steve, Molly, Liza and Garrett came in from New Hampshire.  

We picked the hottest day for our annual mini-golf and go-cart trip.  A bunch of us took a canoe trip down the Battenkill and all of us lived through it- some of us a little more wet than others at the end.  Richard took good care of his mom and kept her dry.

Thomas and Kathy are working on their house, and Richard spent some time out there helping out.  We all joined them and got to check out the progress on Thomas's birthday- photo credits to Kathy for those great shots!!  We then got to celebrate Roger's birthday at his house with the annual donut-cake (a favorite for Owen and me) and swimming.

We celebrated July 4th with a swim in Lake Shaftsbury- in the rain- which was a nice break from the heat, then moved to a barbecue at Roger and Ivonne's, then fireworks in Manchester.

Owen and Robert bonded over a common love of Minecraft- the boys treated us to rousing versions of some Minecraft fan songs- who knew that was a thing! Owen and Kobe continued to have lots of common interests and had a blast together.  Ben loved playing with all his cousins- he and a very spunky Liza especially enjoyed the playground together.  Garrett grew up and is now walking and communicating and entirely awesome.  Ryan joined all the men (and most of the boys) in morning rounds of golf, and kept us updated on the World Cup status.

What a great week to get to catch up with everyone and for the boys to re-discover each other.

virginia vacation time

We have had good flying karma since I was pregnant with Owen and we spent Christmas Eve-Eve at the O'Hare airport.  That ended on our trip out to Virginia, where flight delays ended up keeping us in Portland for an extra day, and moved our flights to a red-eye.  We spent the extra time cruising on the Max (where 3 of us took some naps), then wandering Saturday Market with a box of Voodoo Donuts. We had dinner at IKEA then back to the airport to wait for our flight.  We were concerned about how the boys would handle sleeping on the plane, and for the most part, they did great.  The flight, though, just isn't long enough to count for a good night's sleep.  By the time Dad got us the next morning we were a tired out crew.

The boys perked up with the opportunity to go swimming and to cruise the bay in Grandpa's boat.  Both tried doing some driving, and Owen cruised us up to a waterside view of Grandpa's house.

We took the boys up for an overnight trip to Washington, D.C. for their first visit there.  My dad got us a great hotel in Crystal City, so we were able to take the metro into D.C. and didn't have to deal with parking.  We spent two long, hot days seeing D.C., but we saw almost everything we set out to see.  We lucked into a Capital tour from the Oregon representative's office, which enabled us to view both the Senate and the House in action.  We did a quick view of the Air and Space Museum and Owen was especially excited to see the Wright Flyer.  Ben's favorite museum was the Natural History Museum because of the stuffed Tuna he saw there, and because of the gift shop.  We also got to see an old NYSC friend of mine, Kirby Lee, for dinner, which was a special treat for me.  The last day there we saw the National Archives, the American History Museum, saw the outside of the White House and the Washington Monument, and saw the WWII, Vietnam, and Lincoln Memorials.  Dad and I also got to be in the middle of a taxi strike- that was quite a sight- hundreds and hundreds of empty, honking, taxies circling the Mall.

Back on the bluff, the boys went out and did some successful fishing (I believe the count was in the 30's!), more swimming, and more relaxing in the sun.  A really nice way to kick off the summer!

end of the school year

We made it to the end of another school year.  Owen bridged in Cub Scouts to Webelo's, earning several more pins and belt loops.  Richard recieved very special award this year from the Cub Scout district- the Trailblazer award for distinguished service.  He has worked very hard with the den and the boys have really been enjoying his efforts.  

Owen's final big push at the end of third grade was for his fourth quarter book report.  He chose a biography of Bill Gates, and had to go into class to give a presentation dressed as Bill Gates.  His hair was at a nice shaggy point, and with Richard's old glasses and sweater, we think he pulled it off pretty well.  Owen had a great year in school- thriving academically and socially.  He had an end of year piano recital and played his two pieces beautifully.

Ben closed out the season of t-ball with pizza and an awards ceremony.  His coach noted his improvement through the season and said he won for "best sense of humor".  At every base and with every at-bat, Ben would be joking with the coaches and totally enjoying himself.  Ben completed pre-K with several of his close friends- notably Sterling and Oliver.  He seemed to enjoy all the lessons he worked on, but has been particularly enjoying drawing.

weekend option #2

While the boys were camping, Susie and I flew Dad away for his birthday weekend.  It was a surprise destination- even more of a surprise for him when we landed at Oakland airport and proceeded to go to the rental cars- he assumed we were headed for Las Vegas.  We drove a Mustang convertible to Napa Valley for a 3 day trip.

On Saturday, Dad's birthday, we had a winery tour via van of 5 different smaller wineries, then snacks and wine at the hotel, and a bit of pool lounging, then birthday dinner at Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen.   Sunday we did some store browsing, then a wonderful brunch at Auberge, overlooking the valley.  Then more cruising in the convertible with the top down checking out a few more wineries and a pre-dinner burger joint.

We had perfect weather, tasted some amazing wines (and sent a few bottles home) and had a wonderful roll-out of a new decade for Dad!

weekend option #1

Owen and Richard went on their annual Champoeg camping trip a week early this year, before school ended.  And they brought along Ben, for another change in the tradition.  What didn't change: biking, ice cream, museums, campfires, and a fun time!

visit from grandpa

My dad came to visit for Memorial Day and stayed through his birthday.  I won't say it, but it's a milestone year.

We enjoyed ourselves around Oregon for the long weekend- first with a trip to Silver Creek Falls for a hike and a picnic, and to the Oregon Gardens to see the spring flowers and have dinner.  We also visited a few Willamette Valley wineries for more picnics, walking and a little wine.

Grandpa got to see one of Ben's games, and we threw him an early birthday party for us all to enjoy together.