I'm not officially declaring summer over yet, but it's pretty much done. And it was a great one. Some highlights:
- Met friends to pick berries
- Hosting people for bbqs or fire pit nights
- CC park day every week
- Adding a range hood and some other little fix-ups in our kitchen. And adding outdoor string lights to our deck.
- Three idyllic summer nights with the mother daughter CC group. First was a picnic and nature study walk through woods and meadows, followed by painting flowers that we gathered with watercolors on sketchpads, completed by the older girls carrying the younger girls for piggyback races through the meadow while the sun covered everything in golden light. Second was learning about birdwatching and feathers on a CC family's property which was concluded by the girls chasing chickens to pick them up and picking berries. Third was a potluck where everyone brought copies of the recipe they brought and the girls made keepsake cookbooks, with a grand finale of the girls individually reciting poetry around a bonfire as the sun set. Are you kidding me?! I love our group.
- Camping at Lost Lake by Mount Hood with the Albers for three nights. We just booked next year's trip to the exact same place and we are so excited. It was such a fun trip.

- A Eugene visit for the kids to say, "Play Ball" at an Ems game and for some special Camp Cousin time with Jonathan's parents.
- VBS. Woosh, I feel tired just typing it.
- Some fun be Salem's riverfront with my sister's family and a yurt trip to Beverly Beach for my birthday. Something about adding a year to my age makes me want to be by the ocean.
- Washington County Fair
- A giant reunion bbq for Varsity House/co-op friends
- Hosting the wonderful Ihde family for two nights
- National Night Out Block Party
- A coast trip with Jonathan's family

- Having an electrician fix up our lighting situation (I'm still so pumped about this, thanks hubs!)
- Camping at Battleground Lake with our community group
- A trip to LA, just me, to visit my dear Amber and meet her sweet baby. Such a treat.
- A Eugene trip to swim and play while Jonathan travels for work.
- And tons of other fun I'm sure I'm forgetting. 

And there was sadness too. My Grandpa passed in July. He was a very jolly and thankful man and he always had a way of finding something positive to say to others. He was very encouraging to me and he will be very missed in lots of little sweet ways. For one, he was one of my most dedicated blog followers and always sent me a note after a post to tell me he liked it. Love you, gramps!

This summer was all about reading for Quinn. Wow. So many books! We probably went to the library twice every week. She is very into historical fiction, and also likes Cam Jansen mysteries, Strawberry Shortcake, and the Rainbow Magic Fairies series. She told me a couple days ago that she wants to break her record of reading three books everyday and start reading four. And these are chapter books. I guess our hopes of having children who love to read are becoming reality. 

I feel like the wonder of summer comes alive for three year olds. I remember when Quinn was three in the summer everything felt like magic. This was true for Archer too. Jonathan and I so delighted in his rascally little self running around and playing in water, having sweaty hair and grubby paws, constantly gathering sticks and rocks to bring inside, helping take care of the garden, getting a farmer's tan on his still barely pudgy arms. He's grown up so much this summer.

Swimming starts next week and Awana, and Jonathan gave me three hours of teacher prep time the other day. But I can't declare summer to be over and school to start until after we go to Sunriver. On Friday last week, when many of Quinn's friends started school, I began what I think may become a new tradition. We loaded up our beach gear, got Burgerville to go, and played for hours on the Oswego Creek beach. It was so fun and no one was there. I love having the freedom to start school whenever I want and it was fun to celebrate it. I can't believe Quinn will be starting kindergarten soon though!

Today was such a sweet day and I want to remember it just as it was.

We fell asleep with snow falling and woke up to a couple inches of beautiful snow. I set my alarm early so I could get a Barre 3 online workout in before the kids were up because I figured I would need a mood boost in case we were stuck indoors all day. Jonathan started working from home. The kids woke up sweet and cuddly and were so excited about the snow. We ate a big breakfast and I started prepping a math store with the play food for our school lesson. Quinn and Archer were pretending to bring food to an astronaut named Charlie at his apartment in Seattle. I asked Quinn who this Charlie person was and she said, "I don't know, he's Archer's friend. Archer introduced me." Uh,  what?!

The kids had a blast with the math store and then we were invited to sled on a friend's hill half a mile away. Jonathan had a call so he planned to meet us there. I suited up the kids and pulled them to the hill on the sled over the beautiful untouched snow. Quinn kept shouting, "Mush!" and Archer kept purposely throwing himself off of the sled and rolling into the snow while making all of his favorite sound effects. So much giggling. 

We finally made it to the hill and the kids had so much fun sledding with friends, building a giant snowman, and having a snow ball fight. Then we went inside for a cozy lunch. Time flew by and it was time to head home. 

I pulled the kids back home and when we arrive Archer just kept playing in our yard. He kept digging with his mittens saying, "Mom, help me dig for snowflakes!" And then he found a place between rocks where snow had collapsed and kept digging in it. He declared, "I think an animal lives in there. Look! I see an elephant!" I finally convince him to go inside and we all warmed up by the fire. When I looked at the clock it was almost time to wake him up from nap, so I knew nap wasn't happening. The kids were begging to go back out in the snow. We bundled up again and started building a snow fort. Jonathan came out and helped make actual progress. We finished up as the sun was setting, but I'm sure there will be much more snow fort play tomorrow. The neighbors built a giant snow pile and dug three tunnels through it and Archer was scrambling around inside it. Then we were all starving and cold so the kids had a speed bath and we wolfed down some tacos. Then we watched a cartoon with some popcorn and tucked them in early. Now it's movie night for us!

These years are crazy but so full of joy. We are so thankful for our goofy children and the time we get to spend with them. 

 

Another two month update. I need to get back into my blogging groove. I guess I'm a little busy...

Some highlights of the past months:
- gymnastics, ballet, and swimming lessons
- continued Bible study and growth group
- getting involved in our neighborhood and city through neighborhood meetings and attending events
- attending park playdates for the homeschool community we'll be joining in the fall
- sharing meals with different families from growth group and church
- hosted an Easter egg hunt for five families in the little forest by our house with over 100 eggs
- date nights
- playdates with past neighbors
- spent time with the Changs visiting from Amsterdam
- Jonathan went to the church men's retreat
- I went to the coast with my mom and sister, so nice!!
- there's a robin's nest outside our family room window that we've been spying on, there are five chicks and they are getting so big! We are hoping we'll get to see the flying lessons.
- the kids are obsessed with Legos, rocks, and squirrels lately. Quinn requested a way to keep track of all the squirrels in our yard so I made her a Squirrel Journal. Naturally Archer wanted one too and they've been recording their discoveries.
- lots of time outside, the kids wear super hero capes to meet Jonathan when he gets off the bus
- we sold our broken hot tub, reconfigured the 20+ year old deck boards to fill the hole it left behind, got a new picnic table, planted strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries, hauled tons of bricks, pavers, and other weird stuff out of our yard, built a little fire pit patio, and reseeded and planted grass. Our backyard is really close to being just how we want it.
- Jonathan and Dennis pulled down some unnecessary cabinets in our kitchen and there is so much beautiful natural light now! I'm so overdue for a house project post with before and afters, but I will definitely be doing that soon.
- last night Quinn and I went to our church mother daughter pajama party

A "lowlight" of the past month happened during a work trip for Jonathan. I went to Eugene with the kids for a short visit and a haircut. While we were at a trampoline gym, Archer stepped down wrong and hurt his ankle. After an xray he was put in the tiniest walking boot for a fractured fibula and I extended my stay for some extra help. He was such a tough little dude through it all. When we got home he had some follow up appointments. There was concern that a growth plate was involved. Well, it turns out it was just the most xrayed sprained ankle in history. Goodness. We are just glad he's ok. 

We are in such a sweet season of life right now. Both kids make us laugh so much and they are playing so well together. We are healthy and thankful.

 Smores made with a stroopwafel from the Netherlands, thanks Amber! 

 

It feels like summer is coming to a close. The mornings are cooler, I'm feeling ready for routine again, Quinn is working on birthday party invitations. We still have a few more adventures before we settle into an autumn rhythm.

We went camping with Jonathan's family a couple weekends ago. The junior ranger program was impressive with a bike safety parade in the morning and birds of prey show at night. The presenter asked if anyone had any questions after each bird was shown. Quinn raised her hand high in the air after the barn owl and I didn't try to coach her or find out what she was going to say, I was really curious. She was called on and asked in a loud, clear, confident voice, "what do owls eat?" After the great horned owl, she asked, "what is inside the owl's eye?" because their eyes are so yellow. So proud of my girlie!

 The kids were very helpful trying to build the fire and set up the tent. Totally safe.

Quinn is getting pretty quick on her bike and Archer is obsessed with bikes. His feet are able to reach the ground with the strider bike so we just ordered him a helmet. Look out world! 

I had the privilege of going on a silent retreat at the coast last weekend with some other women to celebrate a dear friend. From sunrise Saturday until 5pm we were all silent - reading, praying, journaling, etc. I found a cozy little spot to nest in some beach grass. I got completely lost in the book "Walking in the Dust of Rabbi Jesus" which is so beautiful. This retreat was so refreshing!! I definitely need more periods of silence in my life. The rest of the time was full of socializing and encouragement. Bonus: I got to sleep in which has not happened in a very long time. 

Archer turned 17 months old yesterday. Jonathan and I adore this stage for him. He does so many hilarious things and just wanders around with his plump cheeks, big belly, and pudgy little legs. He tries to tackle us, hug us, dance, and makes so many strange noises. He loves being outdoors and seems very interested in basketball and climbing. He's a pretty fun little fellow.

A little update after a long break. Archer turned 16 months old last week. In the span of 24 hours he learned four new words: bubble, ball, truck, and bug. He also figured out how to get Quinn to dance with him and to play their favorite new game, Spin and Plop (they spin in circle with their yaps wide open saying "ahhh" and then fall down on purpose). Now that he's mastered walking (and practically running) he's back to trying out words apparently. For a while now, he has been drawn like a magnet if he sees someone playing basketball at the park. He'll hold a ball with both hands and do a dribbling motion. While visiting my parents, he spotted someone and started wandering over as though hypnotized. They were kind enough to share a ball with him and my Dad helped him practice.

He also had his first opportunity to shoot a bow at an archery event with Jonathan's parents. He seemed to enjoy it. I have never seen our children as filthy as they were after this event. We had a lot of fun.

Quinn is in her second session of gymnastics and loving it. She's still really into practicing writing, and is constantly singing songs she makes up. 

Some friends just moved back to the PNW from Texas and we had them over for dinner. It was wonderful to reconnect with them. I got out for a girls' night with a dear friend. Jonathan has two short notice work trips back-to-back so I spent one of the weeks in Eugene to see both families. While there, I was able to celebrate my birthday with my parents and sister's family which was a real treat. My sister and I had pedicures and treats and it was great to catch up. I also had a lot of quality time with my darling nephew. 

Last weekend we went to Jonathan's work picnic and my cousin's wedding reception. This weekend we've both managed to go for a run, hung out with our neighbors until quiet time and are about to hang out with our neighbors again in ten minutes. Tomorrow is the final Sundae Sunday of the summer. It's a pretty special time of life!

Today was the end of an era. Archer Man gave up nursing. Surprisingly, it all unfolded almost exactly the same way weaning went with Quinn. It came down to giving up the final morning one at just shy of 16 months and replacing it with a mug of cow's milk. I'm a little sad my nursing days are done, but most of all I'm so grateful to God that my body was able to feed two healthy babies for almost 32 months! Before I had children, I had no idea how everything would work out in this part of my mothering journey. What a gift!

Since I last wrote, we had the wonderful Littaus visit from the bay area. They just make us feel so loved and I'm so glad our kids can get to know them. 

We celebrated our ninth anniversary by walking to a favorite restaurant for a lovely meal. I love you hubs!!

The kids and I met up with some friends at a creek for some swimming and there were ducklings swimming there too.

We went to our friends' annual Fourth of July bbq. Quinn held about a dozen sparklers and Archer laughed at all the popping sounds from fireworks. 

We had another Sundae Sunday party with roasted strawberry and goat cheese ice cream.

We grew a strange conjoined twin zucchini.

We went camping with a couple neighbor families near Lincoln City. It was our first time in a yurt and it was pretty fun. Archer was mostly into practicing on the stairs, testing out bikes, and climbing into kayaks. Quinn spent most of her time playing ponies with the neighbor girls and picking flowers. 

Today we went to Oaks Park with the neighbors. Quinn went on a ton of rides and had so much fun! I was amazed how brave she was. Archer went on the hot air balloon, carousel, and train rides and seemed to like them.

We had a great time camping at Cape Lookout last weekend with some friends. The weather was perfect, the kids slept decently well, and they all played well together. We celebrated Father's Day there, went for a hike, played in the sand, and hung around the campfire.

There was also lots of smashing faces on mesh, sitting in camp chairs, drawing and pretending, and tackling sissy in her sleeping bag.

Also this week, Archer turned 15 months old! He's still 90th percentile for height and 70th for weight. He's getting pretty confident and quick with walking. He takes Mr. Fox with him all over the place. He still loves dancing and water and is starting to like kicking a ball and playing with cars. Something I hope I don't forget is after he is done eating (tons of) food at a meal, he'll do the sign for all done. If I say, "Are you all done?" he'll do what we call Super All Done and flap his arms like he's trying to fly away. He's got some rad surfer dude hair that's curly when he wakes up. I think I'll leave it long for the summer for the sun protection, but he's already had three mini-haircuts.  He's still just sweet and happy and we love him so much!

Two weekends ago we had our first Sundae Sunday party of the summer. We made a delicious vegan chocolate coconut ice cream with just cocoa powder, maple syrup, coconut milk, and arrowroot starch. The kids ran all over the backyard in the overgrown grass and picked cherries off the tree in the golden sunlight while the parents chatted. So nice.

We went to a splash pad, a pool, and spent many hours in the kiddie pool. I'm so glad both of my kids love the water. We also went to Cottonwood Beach on the Columbia River with neighbors and the kids loved it. We went strawberry picking with the neighbors too and Quinn did really well. All in the bucket, none in the mouth and she was very selective about which ones to pick. She spotted bird poop on a berry at the start, so I think that contributed to the caution. Our garden is past the strawberry and raspberry season and half way through blueberries. I think the berries have only actually made it into the house twice. My little harvesters pick some every single day. We've been enjoying many carrots from the garden as Quinn likes to pretend to be a bunny. We made it through our out-of-control spinach harvest and kale is almost done. 

We finished up a special version of the game Risk with the Johnsons. It took almost a whole year of playing, but there were many laughs, desserts, and surprise victories. 

Quinn started gymnastics this week and loved it. Huge grin the whole time. We, of course, had to get gymnastics books from the library and now everything in sight is something to climb or jump off. 

I think it's safe to say Archer is officially walking now. He's been taking a handful of steps in a row for a while, and will walk forever holding a hand, but still wasn't taking the risk to really walk. At library yesterday during the bubble time he started walking all over the room because he was so excited about bubbles it distracted him. Since then he's been walking all over the house and even walked on bark chips last night. Here we go! He's down to just nursing in the morning, so it seems he's getting close to leaving the baby stage behind. Today he was playing with the shoes (his favorite) and covered his face with dirt. As his own idea, he took a break and came across the room to give me a huge hug and kiss and then went back to playing. So even though he's growing up way too fast, I think he's still going to be a cuddly love. For a while anyway.

My Mom came for a nice visit and my Dad was up twice for continuing education. Quinn is still really into practicing writing and she worked with my Dad on creating Em's baseball tickets for each family member for at least an hour. She was so focused. I'm so glad my kids know my parents well. And with Father's Day ahead, we are extra grateful for lots of time with Boppa this week. You are an outstanding, impressive person, Dad! We are all so immensely blessed by you.

And speaking of great dads, Happy Father's Day Jonathan! Quinn decorated a card for him with a questionnaire inside (thanks, Martha Stewart) and I feel like her answers are so telling of how much she can tell Jonathan delights in her. We all feel delighted in by you, Jonathan!! You are a caring, thoughtful father and we are all better because of you.

Kiddie pool season has officially begun at our house. We busted it out last week and the kids loved it.

We cooked on the grill for dinner last night and ate outside, it was so nice! It feels funny to be typing that while it's raining outside though. We try to take advantage of the sun whenever we can. 

We went to our neighbor boy's first birthday and our neighbor girl's fourth birthday. My mom came for a visit. I'm almost at the one year mark for running regularly. It feels longer than that! I think my favorite months to run were October through January which I was actually a little nervous that I would quit during those months. The kids had a little cold bug last week so we all took it easy to recover. 

Archer (finally) got his sixth tooth, so no more goofy asymmetrical grin. He has a sweet new dance move that looks like flapping his wings and then shaking his hair upside down. He's attempting some animal sounds - I've heard dog, cat, duck, and cow. Not accurate, but consistent. He regularly requests "Barnyard Dance" and other animal stories to be read to him.

Quinn loves to stand up tall and say, "I'm this tall today!" She asked me to measure her yesterday and she's almost two inches taller than she was on her third birthday! Yikes! She is still in constant narration mode and does multiple voices for her stuffed animals and alter-egos. She frequently talks about wanting to be a nurse, pediatrician, and veterinarian when she grows up.

Quinn requested her first drastic hair cut last week. She woke up Tuesday morning and said, "Mama, I want a cute little bob." After verifying fifty times throughout the day, I cut her hair that night and she's loving it! It totally suits her chatterbox, peppy personality. It makes her look a little older than Jonathan and I were ready for though, (sniffle). Here's the before and after:

Quinn just had her final dance class for the quarter last night. She loved it! She definitely wants to take more ballet soon. She requested many ballet books from the library leading up to the class and practiced all her poses. Each class she would get excited about choosing a different leotard and tutu combination and ask me to take photos of her different poses. During class she was totally in her element and very focused. Watching a bunch of goofy tiny dancers each week was heart-melting. 

Last weekend, Jonathan and I went on a date to a concert at church that was very uplifting. We went on a family hike with another family from church and had the Johnsons over for dessert and board games. Jonathan was in Wisconsin this week for work which always makes for an adventure around the house. Luckily, my mom and Jonathan's mom came to give me a hand.

Quinn and I got our first round of seeds into the garden today. Our current crops include five blueberry bushes, one golden raspberry bush, ten strawberry plants, a cherry tree, a rhubarb plant, a Jonathan apple tree we just bought as Archer's birthday gift, and hopefully some carrots, spinach, and kale. Archer tries to help in the garden too, but he mostly likes eating dirt and army crawling all over the grass.

We went to the coast last week with Jonathan's family. It was beautiful weather and we were able to play at the beach four different times. Playing in the sand was Quinn's top priority. Archer got his toes in the sand and ocean for the first time. He's been to the coast twice prior, but was asleep in the Ergo both times. He seemed to like it a lot too. It was also nice to get some quality hang out time with everyone. Thanks, Jerry and Nancy for treating us to a nice getaway!

(bottom three photos by Jerry Gowins, http://www.jerrygowins.com)