Champoeg Park

Today Erin and I took the kids to Champoeg Park for a bike ride. I have heard great things about this bike trail and was excited to check it out. We had a nice ride but some of the areas of the park were still closed for winter. Cooper brought his big boy bike for this ride and he did pretty well. He is getting more confident on his bike, he was doing the hills pretty well too.

I didn't take too many pictures during our ride. I had Larkin in the Burley trailer and then had her walk with us for some of the way back. Cooper and Teo traded bikes for a quite awhile. Teo did great on the big boy bike, he was a pro.

Erin, Teo and Cooper riding

I wasn't impressed with the park staff; one guy in particular was rude to us. The bike path was nice, paved and flat.  Next time I will go toward the campground since we didn't venture that way today. Overall the length of our ride was perfect, I had two tired kiddos with red cheeks for the rest of the afternoon.

Big Boy Bike

Cooper is getting more comfortable on his big boy bike. Yesterday, we all went to the "big church" (it's actually the middle school near our house) so Cooper could show Mama how he can ride his bike. He is doing really well, learning how to coast, stop, skid, turn around, steer. He rode for a bit and then Mama and Cooper played scary monster chase.

More chase pictures

We found some sidewalk chalk and Mama drew this picture of us.

Then Cooper drew his own picture and said it was Susan.

Wahclella Falls Hike

I took the kids and Riley on a new hike today to Wahclella Falls near Bonneville Dam. Lots of people had the same idea, tons of people on the trail, some with kids. Cooper and Larkin did awesome, there were some drop-offs and they handled it well. The hike was 2 miles round trip and at the falls there were lots of rocks to throw into the water.
We took a lot of breaks, let people pass by and generally just enjoyed being out in nature. On the way back to the car we took another break at the water to throw rocks. The scenery was beautiful, the falls were awesome. Definitely a trail to hike again.

A cool rest between two trees on the trail.

Hiking up the steps.

Many pit stops along the way.

There were lots of bridges to cross.

The rapids and falls.

Throwing rocks and snacking.

The last bridge on the way back to the car, it had a cool waterfall down the rock.

Cooper wanted to take a picture of me and one of Larkin.

Bike Ride

Erin and I took the kids on a bike ride last Thursday. We went to Smith and Bybee Wetlands, a place I have wanted to check out in North Portland. Teo and Cooper rode their Skuuts while Erin and I rode our bikes with Larkin and Ciaran in tow. It was a nice ride with some great scenery. It was another hot day and there wasn't a lot of shade which made for a tired Cooper.

The cool part for the kids was riding along the railroad tracks. On the way back to the car a train came by and the engineer rang the train bells and then honked the horn. Cooper loved it!

Erin and Ciaran

Once back at the cars the boys wanted to play with their toy cars and diggers in the shade and gravel.

Great first bike ride of the season. I am looking forward to some more adventures with the Erin clan.

Marine Drive Skuut and Walk

Erin and I took the kids to Marine Drive for an afternoon walk last week. The boys rode their Skuut bikes and Larkin, Erin and I walked. It was a beautiful day except the hay-ish grass was being mowed which upset Erin's allergies immensely. The kids liked the hay-ish grass and collected quite a bit of it.

Lots of rests on this walk and tired kids. I have found out that Cooper doesn't do as well on very sunny walk/hikes, even with his bike. He can go a lot longer in shade and prefers to sit in shade. It was a nice addition to our afternoon.

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.