Two!

Ole turned two on Sunday and we celebrated with a family cookout. Long after his chant of "Birthday Cake!" has subsided, we'll remember how much he enjoyed his second birthday.

The new bike sneaks in behind the kazoo sheriff.

With just a few days of practice, he's already so steady on his new balance bike that we've been riding a half mile down the road together to pick berries after dinner. And our road is hilly. He just "gets" how to coast a bit and then slow himself. It's mighty impressive for a just-two-year-old.

*****Blackberry break!!!!******

Now bike on home.

Here's the only self-timer shot I attempted. Not so easy with moving targets!

One month to a funner summer

I haven't been posting much lately. We've been really trying to soak up this summer and so my internet time is limited to shopping for flip-flops and watching Jimmy Fallon #Hashtags. It is so hard to summarize the glorious month of July in one post, but I'll do my best.

Boys on the beach

Seriously, kid, stop eating sand.

Canoeing Lacamas Lake on date night

Splashing around in the Washougal River

So much sidewalk chalk--homemade, I might add.

Isn't this dog Alex drew great?

Picking blueberries on Sauvie Island

Snacking in the tent

The blues

Swimming in Hood River with this cool dude

Just hanging in the yard with my sweet boy

Hey, I did some work this month. Check out the organized tools in the barn!

Blackberries. This kid is a pro! He only pick the ripe ones and he eats every one he picks!

Sharing berries with his buddy Karl.

I can't wait for August!

I love a parade

At the coast last weekend we watched a great little 4th of July parade go by. It was Ole's first parade and his first time trying candy--what a happy kid! I'll spare you most of the photos because for some reason I felt a need to photograph every single float and classic car, but here are a few:

I asked if they dress up the dog for other holidays. "No," she said, "just the 4th." "Christmas?" I asked. "Well, yes, Christmas too."

Waiting for the parade with Grandma and Grandpa.

The veterans' float followed by a member of Tokeland's awesome unicycle club.

A sleigh of dogs. I'm not sure what that random shoe is all about.

He watched intently.

The pirate ship

Cool kiddie barrel cart

His Mariners cap literally brimming with booty.

Keeping cool

Summer turned HOT this week, and with no end in sight, we are all about keeping cool outside. That means water! It started with the plastic pool and now we're getting creative: add a slide and a garden hose to make a water slide. He quickly figured out that he can slide much faster in the buff.

Alex showed him the fine art of running through the sprinkler.

And this one should be captioned, "I don't know," a familiar phrase around here these days. It cracks me up as it's always accompanied by a dramatic shoulder shrug.

Flying jewel

I'd heard the distinctive zip of hummingbirds through the yard, so in early May I hung a new feeder near the front porch. I was so pleased when it was discovered that very first day. They've been coming every day since, zooming in and out of the yard. Thinking I'm hidden in the shadows of the porch, I slowly raise the camera to catch a shot. Each time I do, they disappear until the camera is put away (I've taken photos of every flower in the vicinity while patiently waiting for them to return).
Finally, oh finally!, I got one:

It's Calypte anna, Anna's Hummingbird, a permanent resident here in the northwest. I'm amazed seeing their display dive in the yard--the male flies a hundred feet in the air and then zooms straight down at nearly 60mph. They spread their tail feathers at the bottom of the dive to make a distinctive squeak. All to woo the ladies.
I could go on spouting hummingbird facts all day, but I'll get to my point.
Given their camera shyness, I was surprised when one flew right in the house this week. It was befuddled by all the windows in our dining room, trilling and pecking its tiny bill against each pane of glass, before finally giving up and perching on a high curtain rod to assess the situation.

I opened the french doors wide and tried some gentle shooing to no avail. Eventually, I did the thing that made the most sense--I hung a feeder from the chandelier and left it alone. Soon it had zipped away back outside.

So Ole, I said, what do you think of hummingbirds?

Oooooo!

Indeed. We've thoroughly enjoyed our new bird friends.

Woodn't it be nice?

This heaping pile of logs has graced our yard for several months now. We finally tackled it last month with the help of our trusty friends David, Scott, and Portia. With the chainsaw and log splitter roaring, we worked together without speaking, occasionally pointing and nodding.

Hour by hour we whittled the pile down until it was nearly gone. Then misfortune struck. After a quick lunch break, the splitter wouldn't start. Each of us tried to start it in disbelief. We moved on to other projects while the logs just sat there, taunting us.
A couple weeks and one can of starting fluid later, we were back up and running. Starting fluid, by the way, is some sort of magical spray that seems to start any broken engine. Alex and I finished off the pile in a couple of hours on a beautiful warm spring afternoon.

Then we just sat back to admire...

Raked and re-seeded and ready to grow.

We figure that we've got nearly five years of firewood split and neatly stacked. I can't tell you how nice that feels.

Mother's Day

I celebrated Mother's Day this weekend as a mother and a daughter. Ole gave me a little free time to rejuvenate with a solo bike ride while Alex visited his mom. Mom and I enjoyed our long-standing bonding activity--shopping. We browsed a Camas antique store to help furnish their new house. I got to sleep in and breakfast was served to me when I woke. All in all, a great weekend!

I am one lucky mama

Beautiful