Summer Slips Away

September Swifts

Momma Post: A couple Fridays back, our family took an Elephant's Delicatessen (a once a summer treat) picnic to Chapman Elementary School in Northwest Portland to participate in the annual swift watch. The swifts entertained with their nightly bedtime ritual. The crowd took advantage of the event by drinking wine on the lawn and the children using cardboard to sled down the school yard hill. Ruby attempted to count the birds, although she couldn't quite get past the number ten. Willa was more interested in activities at her level, such as, eating grass, climbing on dad, and escaping the picnic blanket or "momma comfort level boundary". When the activities in the sky couldn't hold Ruby's attention, we traded off escorting her over to the playground. The "frenemies" side to the girls' relationship (see last photo) appeared with both girls squeezing each other too tight or flapping hands at each other. Finally both girls had enough. We as parents were through and so we all made an early exit.

Progress?

Proof of Ruby's emerging intelligence...sort of.

Weddingpalooza!!!

Daddy Post: It's over...finally! 3 weddings in 8 days. It has been a fun & busy summer, but we're feeling good to be home and having things get back to "normal". On Saturday, Aug.30 we attended our friends', Pat & Emily's wedding here in Portland. They had it in the old church followed by a fun and lavish reception at Wilf's. The next day we
attended Ellen and Jace "Over's" wedding and had a great time even though the weather pushed events indoors. Good food, friends, and family. It also turns out that Ruby is quite the little dancer. She refused to leave the dance floor even after 30+ min. Unfortunately, all of the pictures that we took that night didn't turn out well due to a poor exposure. So what we have here is mainly a collection of pictures from our trip to California. The beach was a big hit with the girls and they really enjoyed having such a large sandbox. Ruby, after a botched first effort, gallantly took on her first pony ride. As you can tell, she was very serious about fitting in. She also had a lot of fun with her cousin Addison (see picture). So much fun in fact that Ruby caught her stomach virus which contributed to her throwing up at the airport in the middle of breakfast and then again on the plane. Fortunately, I was able to utilize the barf bag on the plane. This was an upgrade from Cindy using her hands in the car two days earlier on the way to John & Wajma's wedding when Ruby was car sick and vomitted all over the backseat, her bridesmaid dress, and Cindy. Good times despite the smell. I'm sure the lasting stories alone will justify the temporary inconvenience. And yes, Ruby & Willa are both feeling fine in addition to their awesome selves.