Getting back on track with pictures… here are some from back in September.
The weather was still great. Lots of time outside.
Jonah learned to pump the swings all by himself.
Grandma and Grandpa just came to spend some time with us this past week. We were all really happy to see them and have a chance for them to see all the fun things their grandkids are up to these days. As a bonus, the weather was pretty much perfect every day, so there was a lot of time spent enjoying fun things outside. Like Phillies baseball. (what a surprise… ;) )
Oh no! Here comes Grandpa with the ball!
Phew. Jonah just squeaked by. Safe!
When Nora wasn’t joining in on the game, she was working in the sandbox, alternating between construction work and making ice cream for everyone.
And the swings, too.
And riding bikes.
On Monday, we headed to a rhododendron garden at a local park where there were tons of flowers in bloom, and we all enjoyed a nice walk (well, except for Jonah, who was at school). Lots of spots for good photos.
I thought it would be nice to get a photo of me and Nora together, so I told her to do a nice smile for the picture. Her response? “How about I will just lick you on the head?” Um. Yeah. She comes up with some real ‘special’ ideas. Crazy kid! :)
Nora enjoyed being a little chef and cooking lots of funny meals for people. Jonah took some turns with this, too, and made Grandpa all kinds of unusual soups and smoothies.
Making each other laugh…
Getting the ‘bugs’ out of Grandpa’s beard. :)
A bunch of Phillies.
We all sure enjoyed the visit and wish that it were easier to see each other more often!!
About a week ago, we had some shockingly hot days here (the 90s, gasp!), so by Saturday, Sean had had enough and declared that we should head to the coast. We packed up a lunch and some toys and headed about an hour west to Florence where we found some beautiful… and cold… and windy… beaches. The first place we stopped, we just walked around for a bit and then we headed a little farther north where we found a much less windy place to eat our lunch.
And play baseball, of course!
The kids dug in the sand for a little while.
And I’m pretty sure this shovelful was the one that got dumped on Jonah’s head.
Then Nora was ready to explore the shoreline and check out the water.
So while the boys continued their ball game, Nora and I played in the (freezing!!) water. I try to be a good sport for the children, but my feet kind of wanted to die.
Then the wind kicked up quite a bit, so Sean got out the kite. The kids liked that! (It was also around this time that I accepted the reality that I should never expect to spend time on an Oregon beach without a jacket, hat, and earmuffs. It’s just the way it is.)
Nora was happily yelling at the kite to come down!
And we kept testing out our ‘deep’ hole by putting Nora in it.
After we were sufficiently chilled and windblown, we left and drove a little farther north where we got some ice cream and went for another walk along a beach trail. After heading back down to Florence for dinner, we ran into a classic car show in the old downtown there and enjoyed watching all the fancy old cars cruise by after we ate. It was a really fun way to spend the last hot day of summer!
It was a beautiful fall morning here, so after Nora’s short morning nap, we took off for a little hike through one of our great town parks. We quickly found a large hiking stick for Jonah, and he was pretty pleased to be hiking just like he’s seen some characters do in his books.
As soon as I suggested a hike this morning, Jonah ran to get his backpack and said he’d carry our snacks. We enjoyed some pretzels and apples at a picnic table while Nora crawled around and practiced her standing.
Then she was intrigued by an ant crawling on the bench.
And Jonah was so happy to be snacking that he didn’t care if Nora grabbed his shirt and patted his back. She was so happy that he wasn’t running away from her.
A few silly self photos
We discovered that, for some reason, these leaves would stick to Jonah’s shirt by themselves. He loved pretending that it was dirt on his baseball uniform from sliding and that some of the other leaves on the ground were bases. (EVERYthing is baseball here these days…)
And I even convinced him to sit near Nora for a rare sibling photo.
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