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.