Columbia River Gorge

Here are some photos of a trip Jacob took with the boys to the Columbia River Gorge via the Scenic Highway. The road twist & turns and is a prime example of cliff-face road construction.  One of the points at the top is the Vista House, an art nouveau style visitor center/museum.

Along the Scenic Highway is a series of waterfalls that can be accessed via a short walk from the car. One of the more famous waterfalls is the Multnomah Falls, second-highest year-round waterfalls in the US.

That's pizza all over Leo's face.

Oliver took this photos of Daddy & Leo.

Denver Gem & Fossil Show

Last month I traveled to Denver to stock up on supplies for this coming holiday season. There were 9 large shows in the span of 3 days that I was eager to visit. I needed a lot of gemstones and did get some wonderful new things to inspire me. My mom & dad came down from Wyoming to join me as they had never been to a bead show of this kind. They did their best to keep up with me and I'm so glad I was able to spend a few days with them.

One of the highlights of the weekend was visiting the Gem & Fossil show at the Coliseum. I knew I would be able to see dinosaurs and fossils, something Oliver is very interested in right now. I was hoping I'd be able to bring home something fun for him and I really scored. There was a company there that takes real dinosaur bones and makes replicas. Grandpa was able to get him a T-Rex claw. I had to talk him into that as he was prepared to get him a whole dinosaur skull. This company sells mainly to museums and schools. They have an amazing variety, perfect for my little paleontologist. Here are some great specimens and fossils:

This is a slice from a meteor.

Another meteor, completely different!

Fossils!

Really neat specimen.

Desert roses made of rock.

Me and Triceratops (this was my favorite dinosaur when I was little).

Not sure if this is a tooth or claw.

Dinosaur nest of eggs.

Grandma & Grandpa survive the marathon bead show weekend!

Swim Lessons

These are photos from Oliver's swim lesson this summer. These are all before the purchase of the "miracle swim goggles" which will make you not afraid of the water, give you the ability to sit on the bottom of the pool and give you the courage to try what the teacher wants you to actually do.

Poolside

Swimming with his eyes closed. Helps to cut down on the wiping of water from his eyes.

He's actually a really good back and front floater.

Closed eyes again.

Some weird swim stroke he made up.

Good baby waiting for big brother.

Getting four kids to sit still for a photo...herding cats...same difference.

FINALLY!

Here's what dinner can look like around our house. On the menu is gaulosh, nice orangey saucey gaulosh.

And then he took is hands and ran them through his hair a few times just for good measure. He must have wanted to smell like a tomato.


Here's Ollie with his new best friend, his goggles. They've made a world of difference in swim lessons and I'll try to post some pictures soon.

And Ollie took our picture just so you don't forget how we look.

Camping Trip

Here are some photos from one of the boys' camping trips from a few weeks ago. Oliver LOVES camping and gets so excited about the trips that he has a hard time sleeping the night before. It's pretty cool!

Our weekend

This weekend we joined our neighbor Kim as she held a yard sale. Kim and her husband Brian are paring down their belongings, including their house, to fund their dream, which is happening next year - Traveling the world! Their goal is to leave in June and you can follow them on their inspiring blog: http://www.so-many-places.com/

This was a perfect time for Oliver to have his first lemonade stand.