The Family That Bikes Together...

Since Owen kicked the training wheels earlier this summer, we've all had to find a way to keep up with him, which meant bikes all around!  We take a family bike ride around the neighborhood probably 3 times a week or so.  September is perfect for that!

Hadley enjoys the bike trailer, although she'd prefer to be on her (Owen's old) Strider. She is starting to pick up her feet to glide, so maybe by next summer!  Sometimes, Dad and O go on their own, and us girls go for stroll instead. (She got her own backpack, since she was always trying to take Owen's.)

She is putting on her own shoes (wait until sock season!), tries to dress herself, potties when it suits her, and loves to say "I do it!"  Her independence is there, though they are playing together more and more, which I love!  

Thanks for the coordinating PJs, Aunt Jenn!

Big Elk Creek

The weather on Labor Day was perfect, so we ventured to try a hike in the afternoon at Big Elk Creek, about an hour away.  The trail was pretty shady and followed a creek up a canyon, but the recent rains had made some sections very muddy, especially where mini-waterfalls trickled across the trail.  We were also leap-frogging the trail with a horse-riding family, which made for some extra muck to avoid on the trail. To quote Hadley, "Ew! Yuck!"

There were some pretty views and first glimpses of fall hitting the tree leaves.  Brilliant in the late afternoon sunshine!

Our turnaround spot was a little camping area someone had used.  We ate our trail snacks and climbed on the nearby boulders before heading back to the car.

Owen is big into stick swords/guns right now, so the whole way back was him 'clearing the way' of bad guys and imaginary foes.  You could say the way back took longer than the way there...

The highlight for me was seeing the bright red salmon headed up the creek to spawn.  So cool!  Though it did make me a little leery of bears potentially lurking around for the easy dinner, we didn't see any!

Labor Day Visit

We had a visit from the Labor Day fairy.  Nah, even better: it was Uncky Dan and Auntie Jenn!  We had been counting down the days 'til their visit since we saw them in Portland. Ho hum...  The wait was over!

The kids woke up to visitors and donuts!  What a morning!

Love this montage from Uncky Dan.  See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil, you get the idea.  :)

Friday was hot and sunny, so we headed to the splash park to cool off.

For further refreshment afterwards, we went across the street to the frozen custard place for some tasty treats.  Can you tell that sugar was the only thing keeping the kids awake?

On Saturday, we checked out the farmer's market and adjacent city park.  The city has done a nice job incorporating some inspiration from its Japanese sister city into the natural landscape for this island park. We love to come here for the water features, rocks, and river views.

Sunday was a bit slower pace...  (Giddy up, Uncky Dan!)

and Dan and Jenn were brave enough to take the kids to the zoo and bookstore so we could have a quiet dinner out!  Yea and thanks!!  Buh-bye, see soon!