Music with Grandma

One morning in Idaho my sister and I went for a morning jog and when we came home grandma and Ethan were in a music lesson. Take a look! I have a few videos, but in this one Ethan's dancing just kills me. It was a little choppy for me, I hope its better for you.

Idaho

It had been over 7 years since I had been home for the Preston Rodeo Days and not that much less since I had been home altogether for an extended period of time. But the boys and I made a trip this year and the kids loved it. I forgot how slow paced and care-free life can be in the summer of small isolated town. The boys loved the endless amount of grass to run on, and just plain old fun in the dirt in the country. We went swimming, ate at the Main Street Grill which is closing due to contract issues :(, played at the park went to the parade, carnival, rode bikes, met up with friends, planted flowers and went jogging which wasn't as hard with the elevation, but I couldn't get much over 3 miles or so.  Here are pictures of the highlights.

Isn't he so darned cute? :)

Ethan loving french fries on the way to grandma and grandpa's house. I drove the 13 hours by myself with the boys. They did really good!!

Liam loves sweets. We went to the fat boy factory and had some ice-cream.

Candy at the Parade. Liam loved throwing it back at the floats. He didn't get that we get to keep it.

One of Ethan's favorite things about being in the country is the tractors on the road. He would shout like there was a fire at the park when he saw one because it was so cool. All the local kids probably thought he was crazy. When we returned to Oregon, he got a free library book, and what did he choose? A book about tractors in honor of seeing so many in Idaho.

Ethan loving the parade and catching candy.

This is the ride I made John go on... the first of many he will have to. He has never been on a thrill ride I found out recently. They don't sit well with my stomach anymore, but I toughed it out for him.

Give a kid lots of land and he will play all day. Yes Ethan is in his pajamas picking crab apples off the neighbor's tree and putting them in his helmet.  He played hard all week. He asks regularly to go back. I've realized I'm raising country kids in the city.

Just some of the flowers, of course the boys couldn't stay out of the dirt.

Meeting up with a dear friend at Ross Park. This is the best picture I have. I didn't take enough photos at all.

4th of July and other Summer Fun times

So our summer was slow to come, by that I mean weather. Portland still hasn't hit 90 degrees, and its August! To find summer I went to Idaho, and that post is coming soon. Despite the weather we are having a lot of fun amongst a lot of work. :) Both kids came down with the stomach flu right before the 4th of July and that coupled with rainy weather meant we canceled our vacation to the San Juan Islands. The 4th of July was actually the first day the kids felt good after puking and fevers. And it was one of the first sunny days! Ethan rode his bike a mile in a children's parade, and Liam  sat in the stroller. Ethan loved the fireworks and Liam cried the entire way through them.

Other things we have enjoyed doing this summer is going on walks or "hikes", swimming, rough housing, playing at parks and riding bikes.

Water, there isn't anything better than playing with water! I love this picture because it shows Liam's personality. He is such a wild fun guy!

Likewise, this is also a glimpse into Ethan's personality. He is such a fun kid.

On one of our day outings with grandma Sue, we rode the Tram. The tram is a controversial ride that connects buildings of the OHSU campus. Anyone can ride it, and my kids love it. Next to it they are building a barge and we will get to come back and watch them launch it in the river.   This is a bad picture, but its the best I have. Ethan hates getting his picture taken these days.

Overlook Park. We discovered this park recently in Portland. The boys love trains and this was heaven for them. There were lots of "Creaky Crankys" and other trains.

Liam loves to tackle, and he really gets into it. He holds his own plus 10! Frequently it's Ethan who has had enough, and Liam could go all day. This is Liam's signature move, where he pretends he is riding a horse.

And yes they love each other very much. Ethan always gets more than he bargained though. :)