Gearhart

I am SOOO far behind in my blogging!! A couple of weeks ago, we took a day trip to the coast to meet up with Mike, Fawn and Mia who were vacationing there. What a beautiful day!! Elie and Jack were in heaven...sun, ocean, sand.....and ice cream to top it all off!

Rooster Rock

My dear friend Steph and I, and our amazing kiddos : Jack, Ethan (age 2.4), Elie, and Ryland (age 7-8mos) embarked on a crazy adventure a few Fridays ago. We wanted some "beach" time without going all the way to the beach, so we headed up the Gorge to Rooster Rock state park where we heard it was beautiful. We were told it had sandy beaches, some calm river, and a great place for kids. Well, after a random, hot, long hike through tall grass with mosquitoes everywhere (led by a nice man with no bottoms on) we came to our "beach". It was basically a "clothing optional" muddy bank of the Columbia river with nude men everywhere. It was quite hilarious!!!!! Steph and I knew that it was clothing optional, and we did not really care at first, as the kids are too young to notice and we just wanted to a fun place to cool off, dig, and picnic. We spent 45 minutes total on the muddy bank, shoved food and drink down the kids, and prepared for our even hotter hike back to the car. Steph and I did not know whether to laugh or cry at this point. In the end, the kids were the amazing troopers of the trip. THey made the best of it, not knowing how disappointed we were in the dang beach! The boys hiked all the way back to the car with some tears and falls, but we were SO proud of them! This trip was one for the books. One that Steph and I will never forget and can't wait to tell the boys about some day!!

Randoms

Just some cute pics of recent adventures......Meg and I finished the Sauvie Island half-marathon on the morning of the fourth of July. I was so proud of my little sis for finishing her longest race, and run for that matter!! She looked great at the finish! We visited Bonneville Dam and the fish ladder, and then had a picnic at Skamania Lodge. Jack is quite the adventuresome guy now, and always wants to "go on a hike". We LOVE it!!

Happy Independence Day!!

We celebrated most of the "4th" on the 3rd......went to the downtown Hillsboro parade and had a barbeque with my parents. Jack did much better this year at the parade, and Elie took it all in too. Last year, she was only 8 days old! Grammie even bought Jack his first fireworks (some PopIts :)) I never thought I would enjoy returning to my small hometown so much as I do now with our kids. The farm, the small downtown, and all of my childhood memories truly make Hillsboro a special place.

Elie's First Birthday Party