When It Rains...

...set up a teepee in your living room, complete with tunnels to take you to the piano and ottoman undetected!

Gorgeous!

I came home from a workshop today to find 4 of my favorite children -- my three and Natalie! She is just so gorgeous. Look at those big brown eyes! And she's so sure on her feet, and naming everything she sees.

I think she liked Rogue a bit more than her cousin's this trip. The Burke kiddos were all a bit wild. Grace because she didn't get a nap and the boys...because they are the wild boys of Oregon. What can I say?

Grace seemed thrilled that Natalie is big enough to play with now. She wasn't so sure about sharing, but lucky for her, Natalie hasn't reached the mine-mine-mine phase yet.

The boys even helped the girls sift through the dress up box. Bayley seemed to be into it more than usual.

Natalie even got into it, probably so Bayley wouldn't feel awkward.

Soccer

And so it begins...soccer practice twice a week, and the weekend games. I love what it does for Hayden, hate what it does for our schedules. Today, Jeff had to take Grace to a game while I was at a workshop -- and he couldn't watch the game because he was so busy chasing Grace around. Maybe next year she will have mastered the ability to watch a game without trying to escape.


Hayden's on a new team this year -- with all his friends! He was thrilled when he found out every practice would be like going to a birthday party!

Jeff & I are both thrilled with how well Hayden is doing. He's taking it much more seriously this year. He is a little timid, but says it is because as the bigger kid, he's more likely to get fouled. Wow. He really though through it!

JETBOAT!

The weather this summer has been both a blessing and a disappointment. We were lucky the temperatures were so mild, but since it never reached 90, our hot-weather activities were missing. I tell the kiddos that if it hits 90, we can put the pool in the yard. If we see triple digits, to the coast we go!

This year, 90 didn't show up until AFTER school started. The boys were bummed (even though they went coastal twice). But today, as I sat under the Fremont Bridge wating in the heat for a photography class to be over, I saw a jetboat fly by.

Lucky for us, they'd had a cancellation. I raced home to snag the familia, and then back downtown to catch our boat. Bayley & Hayden debated over which seats would get the most wet. Finally, they settled on the middle. Fine by me since I remembered which seats were underwater by the time the trip ended!

We loaded up with Hayden on the outside, Bayley on the inside, and Grace in the middle between Jeff & I. The boys started with their requests to get soaked before we'd even had out life jacket demonstration!

I like the historical tidbits on these tours, while the boys are all about the hard stops and 360s. Grace liked the waterfalls, sea lions, and the eagle.

We were relieved that Grace liked the water play. She was very comfortable on the boat, except for the wind whipping her hair. I pulled it back, but her bangs still bugged her. So, she snuggled into Daddy for the trip down to Willamette Falls.

After Bayley realized Hayden was considerably wetter than he was, he snuck over to the side to share the water love. They both claim next time they'll be sitting on the outside of row two. Um, maybe with Daddy! I got plenty wet in row 6, thanks!

Without even knowing it, the kids learned about the history of the bridges, Ross Island (which is now a lagoon), Willamette Falls, the locks, the fish ladder, Native American hunting patterns, sea lions, eagles, herons & lamprey eels. We even had a great seat for the dragon boat races! 

Less Jenna, more coconut

Since we joined the nice gym, I've been working hard at finally getting back to my normal size. Cutting out starches has really helped, and honestly, I don't miss bread, pasta, or cake the way I thought I would. I miss baking more than I miss eating baked goods. Crazy.

One way to keep gluten out of your diet is to substitute with other grains...but since I'm off starch (save the occasional potato), gummy rice flour isn't much help. Today I learned coconut flour can make a nice pancake!

It's mostly fiber, so they can be on the dry side, but I served mine with organic blueberries I'd simmered into a sauce and cultured butter. Delish. Grace preferred hers with whipped cream. 

I had two extra, so I decided to make a sandwich! Without bread, sandwiches have been missing from my life for a while. I did a Monte Cristo with turkey ham, havarti and the blueberries. So good! 

I'll definitely be making them again :)

COCONUT PANCAKES

3T coconut oil, melted (or butter)

3T coconut flour

3 eggs

3T buttermilk, coconut milk

1/2 t baking powder

vanilla extract, smidge

salt, pinch 

Back To School

Apparently, we have a 3rd grader and a 5th grader. Not sure when that happened!


Bayley is excited that he got the teacher he wanted, for hot lunch, recess, and PE. Hayden is a little bummed his best friend is in a different classroom, but hopeful that they'll play together at recess and that he'll find more friends in his own class.

Mahoney Girls' Birthday Party

I miss the days when I could have a shared birthday party at the park for my boys. Thank goodness Ashling & Tara know what a good time it is for everyone, and have picked up the tradition. It's total family fun time.
And since it is for our resident princesses, it's always fabulous. This year, the stars were the very special cupakes.

The kids see this as an opportunity to play, eat pizza and cake, and basically go wild. It's become an end of summer tradition in our little group.

This year, the sprinklers turned on. It was like the kids were at a waterpark. And the weather was so warm, they were completely dry when it came time to load them in the cars.

Happy birthday, Ashling & Tara!

VooDoo Doughnuts

While staying downtown, Jeff & I made sure to hit VooDoo Doughnuts, the Portland doughnut mecca. We went on a Monday morning, so the line was minimal, giving us just enough time to get in a Keep Portland Weird frame of mind. (They've painted the brick facade with sparkles, got to love it.)

Once inside, we opted to pick our own doughnuts. It takes a bit longer, but there were some we had to have -- like the bacon maple bar for Hayden, the Cocoa Puff doughnut for Grace and a buttermilk bar for me. Yes, a plain, old buttermilk. They're not always about the flash, some of their doughnuts are simplistic perfection.

Jeff had never been in the store, only having seen them from the 'good things come in pink boxes' in the breakrooms and conference tables at work. I think he had a hard time limiting it to just 12.

The kids were thrilled when we came home with doughnuts -- and that was after having feasted on the leftovers from the day before's Krispy Kreme trip with Pop Pop!

She's Blurry. So What?

Whenever I flip through photos I realize I have very few good ones of Grace. She's just not pose-able. She doesn't say cheese or look at the camera or even slow down. 

Today, I wanted a picture of her in her new favorite outfit - her Cinderella costume. I tried everything to get a cute smile. She had no interest.

So, I gave up and the boys started chasing her, and chasing each other. And she's screaching and laughing and having a great time like usual.

I decided to take a picture of that, even though she's blurry. I think maybe if I set up a tripod and used a crazy fast shutter speed, maybe she's be in focus. But even when I push it to the limit of hand-held, my kid is faster than the camera shutter. 

My kid is blurry and happy.

Ridin' The Riverboat

I'm not sure what I expected from a dinner cruise aboard the Columbia Gorge sternwheeler. I think of river boats and my mind either goes to the swanky casino boats on the Travel Channel, or Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn.

This was definitely a middle ground - a much used space with two dining levels and an observation top deck. Most of the passengers were outside of our demographic, but there was one family celebrating a 50th anniversary that had a few people I might find at a PTA meeting.

The dinner cruise was a great way to see the gorge and learn a little about the area. The Seattle harbor cruise we did during Spring Broke was much more informative, as was the drive through the gorge during our snowshoe adventure.

Dinner was okay, you can't really expect much from a galley kitchen. I did think the cheesecake shouldn't be frozen, but what can you do?

 

I had fun taking pictures and watching the sternwheel spin. Things didn't really line up for the sunset shot I'd hoped for, but that didn't stop me from taking pictures until the memory card filled up!