More Hiking

We did it again! We had so much fun Friday that Libby and I took the kids hiking again today. This time we went to Lost Creek Trail in ZigZag, out towards Mt. Hood. This trail was paved and a total .75 mile loop. There were a couple wooden boardwalks and some bridges to look out at the creek. It was a very relaxed hike with three very happy kids.

Cooper was very excited to walk along the creek and get a chance to throw rocks and sticks in the water.

Walking on one of the bridges.

Throwing rocks in the water.

Collecting sticks.

After we walked the paved loop and boardwalks, we meandered to the day use picnic area and walked along the creek another half-mile.

Libby and Emory

View of the creek from the day use area.

Cooper taking a break.

It is so nice to get out and hike. Libby and I have a standing playdate, now on Mondays, and we are going to get out on a hike as long as it's nice outside. We can get all three kids in my car with the two dogs and away we go!
Yay for summer hiking!

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!