Jamison Square

E and I met Nicole and Peyton at Jamison Square in the Pearl District today to play in the water and take advantage of the last day this week of 90+degree weather.  The boys had a great time splashing and climbing and of course we always have to have a snack...

Making progress

We have been working on the pathway, and after a lengthy time-consuming process to get the angling right, we are now in the straightway going around the garden, then around the corner of the deck and another straightway to the side stairs of the deck.  There will be grass covering up the remaining dirt in the next couple of weeks and I am so excited to have less dirt in my house.

I am looking forward to roasting up marshmallows for smores!  

Yes, you can call us crazy...

but at least his head will be safe, even if it is as big as he is and probably weights about the same.  

The three of us are excited for our first family camping trip in two weeks to Loon Lake for ATV riding along the Oregon Coast.

Grammie & Papa Hadley & Aunt Lori are here visiting...

We have been having lots and lots of fun with Grammie & Papa Hadley & Aunt Lori this past week.  They arrived on Saturday with BoBo the bear for Ethan, he was very excited to see all of them and gave Grammie a very big hug when she got out of the car (we haven't seen them since Christmas but will get to see them all again this coming Christmas).

Aunt Lori helped Daddy make BoBo the bear several years ago.

Sunday morning we left bright and early for a trip to Seattle to see their first MLB game (Mariners vs Kansas City Royals), Pike Street Market and the Space Needle.  It was quite a different experience for us compared to going to a RedSox game but we had a great time and Ethan had all kinds of activities that Aunt Lori brought with her to entertain him as well as snacks.

Grammie, Ethan & Papa.

 Aunt Lori & Ethan...loving the Cracker Jacks!

Visiting the Space Needle.

Monday morning we took a ferry ride from Edmonds, WA, to Kingston, WA, then drove to Port Angeles, WA, parked the car and rode the Victoria Express Ferry to Victoria, B.C.

Victoria B.C.

 We had a wonderful time visiting Canada.  We did A LOT of walking and got a bus pass for some of our traveling but overall it was a great trip!

 Victoria Harbor with the Empress Hotel in the background.

 Dusty Road Ice Cream Sundae and Rootbeer floats and shakes at the Soda Shoppe.

 Craigdarroch Castle

And finally...

These is an awesomely beautiful place to visit.  Jeff and I have been there twice now.  It has so much awe and the dedication and green thumbs of the caretakers is incredible.

We borrowed a camera lens from a friend for our camera and got some really beautiful close ups.

Sunken Garden

E had to show off his belly for us.

Mama Hadley & Jeff

Ethan & Grammie.

Papa & Grammie

You can see the bee looking for pollination.

Ethan & Papa strolling through the roses.

The Japanese Gardens

We made it back home on Wednesday afternoon and with Grammie & Papa's help, while Aunt Lori kept Ethan entertained, we started paving the cobblestone pathway, which will soon wrap around the deck and will also be the home for the fire pit.

Jeff's new ride

After 210,000 miles, Jeff's '95 Honda Civic has been a good commuter car for the last 2.5 years but at 100 miles a day, we are now tired of repairs and decided to move on to something newer. And boy was he excited...This week we purchased a 2004 Honda Accord V6 Coupe with all the bells and whistles so now he will be riding in style.

Jimmyrigged...

It's okay to laugh, Jeff and I surely have, however, our boy loves it so life is good.

Ethan's legs were getting to scrunched up in his bike carrier so we are going to let cousin Avery borrow it and therefore needed to figure out something new for Ethan.  He has gotten really good at his Lightning McQueen bike but would be hard for the three of us to go on a ride so last week I purchased a Trail-a-bike off craigslist.

As Ethan is not quite tall enough so we had to "modify the pedal system and seat." 

Wood blocks, screws, and toe clips strapping his feet in.

New riding gloves that are also too big for him but the smallest they make and we also had to turn the seat around to get it low enough...he had a great time though and that is what counts!!