Hiking

Libby and I took the kids hiking on a gorgeous day last Friday. We went to Falls Creek Falls in Washington. It turned out that this was the trail I took Cooper on with Holly for his first hike. It also turned out that this was not the greatest hike for three 3 year-olds. The trail was a bit steep in places, lots of uphill and lots of dangerous edges. The dogs running back and forth added another layer of danger by knocking the kids over. We ended up persevering amidst some whining and made it to the waterfall. Once there we snapped some photos, snacked more and then headed back. I traded off carrying Larkin and Cooper until my knee started hurting. We all had a great day and the kids were really proud of themselves.

Cooper and Emory at the beginning of the trail.

Crossing the first bridge.

Stopping for a snack and looking at bugs.

Libby

Crossing the second bridge.

Falls Creek Falls

Yay Larkin!

And now for the comparison photos. Here is Cooper on his very first hike on this trail.

June 2008                                                                                         June 2011

Cooper somewhat cooperating for a picture.

Go-karts

We did a ton of front yard work on Sunday. We talked with almost all our neighbors too. Cooper was helpful with the yard work and helped Mama by finding big worms when she was digging.
After the day of work we though it would be fun to take Cooper on the Go-karts at Oaks Park. We had about an hour before it closed. Here is the pictures waiting our turn.






Once they got in the kart Cooper informed us he needed to go potty. Here is that unhappy picture.



We were able to get out and go potty before it started. Cooper and Mama rode together and Mommy rode solo. Cooper kept his ears covered the whole time and they lapped Mommy. It was another fun time at the fair!

Today we had an incredibly lazy morning. Once we all got up we went to get pastries at our favorite breakfast place. We enjoyed the pastries out on our deck in the sun and then did a little yard work in the backyard. I fimished tilling up the garden and laying out compost while Sharon and Cooper tackled a big stump we need to remove.

We ended the night with a great BBQ at Holly and Angie's house.

Great weekend!

Day at the Fair

We went to the Multnomah County Fair Saturday. Cooper loves the rides on the Midway so we took the train first.
Cooper played in some corn for awhile. He loved flopping around in the corn and scooping it up.



We fed some animals and watched the pig races. Cooper loves bunnies and pretended to be a bunny, hopping around as we walked.






Then we hit the rides.










Cooper even rode the ferris wheel with Mama. He's been talking about the ferris wheel for weeks and he loved it!



Now he wants to go back and ride the go karts.

Funny Shots

Cooper played with my phone this morning and decided to take some pictures of me. This is me getting cream for my coffee.


















Then Cooper asked me to take some pictures of him.

























All blurry because he was on the move.

Friends

Cooper loves the new play structure and playing on it with his friends.

Cooper and Larkin












Cooper and Teo

Walking Riley

He took a break from Skuuting to walk Riley to the park.

New (to us) Play Structure

Helper

Cooper is a big helper with gardening. He loves to find worms, he says, "oh look at this little wormy. He's so cuuuute." It is very sweet.
He was helping me dig a hole last week.









The last picture is him and a wormy. He likes to keep them all together as a family!

Amusement Fun

We took a trip to Walmart a couple weekends ago and there was an amusement center set up. Cooper rode the car and the boat. He didn't want to ride anything else. I used up our tickets on the Octopus, whew that thing spins.
















I am excited about Oaks Park this summer.

Biking

Cooper pedaled his three-wheel
bike before we picked up Mama from the airport on Friday.












I snapped this picture that he wanted to send to Mama before her flight.






Mama brought him a gift and this time she asked what he wanted.







Kitty-chan!!

Weekend Prep for Camping Trip

This weekend we started preparations for our upcoming camp trip to Nehalem Bay for my birthday on Thursday. We began the morning with the plan for all of us to get haircuts, until Cooper threw up. Then we decided that he may have a bug so he stayed home all day. He only threw up once but did say that his legs hurt and he felt weak. It was good to keep him home and he did play outside for most of the day. He was a big helper today with Mama, he helped get the trailer out of the driveway, washed the cars and trailer, dug up worms, played with his diggers in the dirt, and helped pull up some grass.

As a mom what I found out about myself is when Cooper is ill, I get anxious with worry. I get to the point of feeling nauseous. I don't know what this is about for me and I don't like it. I know that kids get sick and I know he will be better. I think I worry that he won't be better for a planned outing or activity and the other part is figuring out how to help him. He is so resilient, he threw up and then ran into his room to play with his toys. I internalize what I think he is feeling and get all worked up about it and he is totally fine. He is my teacher and constantly teaches me to let go, I just need to do that.

Photos of the Day

Cooper sent Mama some silly photos this morning (she is in Idaho).









Riley decided to get under shelter before a rain storm this morning.



Erin, Teo and Ciaran came over and the boys played in the sandbox for a bit.



Erin, Lindsay and I played some Scrabble this afternoon too. Grandma Lindsay brought lunch and dinner fixings over and watched Cooper so I could go to a doctor appointment. We made a yummy fry bread shredded beef taco for dinner. Cooper helped Grandma with the dough and table setting. He was so happy to have some one-on-one time with Grandma.

Morning at the Park

We took advantage of a dry day and met Alayna, Tali and baby Rosa Jane at a park this morning. We had some sun breaks while we were there too.
It was pretty wet and muddy getting to the park but dry in the bark chips. There were lots of sand toys that kept Cooper busy and Larkin enjoyed the slides.
They loved the seesaw too.

Easter Weekend

We gad a great weekend. Saturday I had a band festival in Silverton and Sharon and Cooper came with. I played in the late morning so we had the afternoon to play! We brought our bikes and found a great park in the downtown area. Cooper wanted to play at the park for awhile, then we all biked for about 10 minutes, then we played at the park more. It was so nice outside and great to play with Mama.

Sunday we did the egg hunt and Easter basket at our house in the morning. Sharon had a coffee date and then did more bathroom work. I was happy the library was open and I picked up two plants from a local garden store that I requested last season. We had Easter dinner with the usual clan at Grandma Lindsay's. There was another egg hunt with more gifts for Cooper. Dinner was awesome: hamburgers and German spicy brats!