A Camping We Will Go

Though our plans for a "real" camping trip were foiling with cold nights we decided to go "day camping" with the kids at Wildwood State Park outside of Sandy. It was a really pretty area and the kids had a fun time exploring. Dallas enjoyed punching and kicking the smoke (because it kept getting in his eyes) but the smoke always seemed to get the upperhand. The near by Salmon River was home to some very large Spring Chinook Salmon and Trenton was the first to spot them (he'll make a good fisherman some day). There was even a cool part of the river that had a cutaway that let you look INTO the river and see the fish (mostly baby coho salmon). It was a quick and easy trip and I only wish we had done it sooner and more often. We'll definately bring fishing poles next time. --Dave

Who's that Girl

So apparently we haven't been very good at keeping updated photos of our precious Brooklyn so here are a few of the more recent pics.

Human Tetris

Man these make for good study breaks

Japanese Game Shows

Why don't we have gameshows like this, talk about getting good ratings, I'd never miss a show.

The Day of The Race

So, after competing in my triathlon a while back, Dave, my dad and some friends from Dave's school decided it was their turn to give it a shot.
Dave peddles along the hilly course at Hagg Lake.

Papa Brown (my dad Greg) is glad to have all of those hills behind, except that he is about to get off his bike only to turn around and run up and down them for three more miles.

Ahhhh . . .the home stretch to the finish line!

Here they are. The happy finshers of the Scoggins Valley Race. Some did the Tri-It Triathlon, others the Sprint Triathlon relay. The good news is they all finished (some even placed), no one drown during the swim and DAVE DIDN'T even have to use a snorkle. He did however break records for the quickest elementary backstroke. Way to make me proud honey!

Last One There Wears a Thong

So, Dave and his buddies signed up for a sprint triathlon and decided to put a little wager of sorts on it. The bet went like this: whoever finishes last must sunbathe in their buddy's backyard. What makes this interesting? 1. The backyard is directly under the tramline that runs between OHSU on the hill and the waterfront. (so all fellow classmates can witness this event) 2. To avoid unsightly tanlines, the sunbathing must be done wearing nothing but a thong.

Cole hurried in long before the others. Dave managed to pass Nick in the last 1/2 mile of the race.

Meet Nik. He came in third. Stay tuned for exact date and time of his upcoming modeling.


They pose for a post-race photo. Nik is still smiling as he is currently still allowed to stay fully clothed.

A new boxing tactic resulting from road trip rage

We've always claimed Trenton to be the intelligent one . . . have we mentioned he's also got a little temper that when paired with aggression leads to instances like the one pictured above? So, after being in the car for 6 or 7 hours on our way back from Utah, we decide it's time to stop for dinner and let the kids play or at least let out somepent-up energy (and anger in this instance). Our destination: McDonalds of course. Trenton has an eye for the golden arches and begs to stop at "Old McDonalds" quite frequently. On a long road trip we actually give in and do it since they have the whole play structure thing. We had just crossed the Oregon border so of course it starts raining (even though it's the middle of August) . . .just so we feel at home I guess. The play structure is outside, but we let the kids inhale their chicken nugget happy meal and go outside to play anyway. A few minutes later I hear Trenton yell out in frustration followed by Dallas wailing in pain. I look through the litte plexi-glass window of one of the tunnels to see Trenton just wailing on Dallas . .full out punching him while he is on the ground. I quickly make my way to tne entrance of the tunnel and climb on in (because that is what a mom likes to do for fun). I pull Trenton off of Dallas and out into the open just in time to turn him over to daddy for a nice lecture on not hitting. While in the process of talking to Trenton, Dave notices Dallas has a big patch of hair that is hanging down toward his shoulder rather than stopping at his ear. Dave automatically puts two and two together and really lets loose on Trenton. I take the opportunity to gather a nice chunk of the hair and put it in my pocket for a future scrapbooking page. Trenton ended up in the car alone while we finished eating and still has flashbacks and tears up when I even mention the word "daddy" in a situation where he knows he has done something wrong. So the new tactic, a step down from biting off your opponets ear, is ferociously ripping a quarter size chunk of hair out of the other guys head and leaving a nice bald spot to remember it all. Thanks for the tip Trenton.

This instance was followed up just an hour later by Dallas' additional contribution to our fun ride home (his previous contribution was a constant whine for about 8 hours straight). We're going through a mountain pass where there isn't a shoulder to pull over on when Dallas announces "I go poop". He isn't potty trained as of yet , so we're thinking cool , pull over quickly and we'll get out of changing a disgusting diaper. Well, miles later when there is finally a place to pull over, we do it only to discover that we're too late . .way too late. The kid has poop all up his back. BLOWOUT! We end up stripping his clothes off of him and deposting them along with the dirty diaper and half a pack of wipes in a little outhouse that is part of some construction site. Sorry to whoever worked there, but no way we were taking that with us and it felt a little better to put it there rather than litter on the groud. He got to wear Daddy's shirt after that and daddy got to wear his special undershirt. And, we're all anxiously awaiting our next 12 hour car ride together as a family.

The Reception

Oma and Opa came down for Jenna's reception and then took the boys home with them early.

The roommates back from the Liberty Square days (plus kristin from across the hall and minus Tracy who was about to give birth)

Briana and the Bride. Congrats Jenna!

The Ring Bearers

My good friend Jenna from college who is pretty much like an Aunt to my kids got married on August 18th to Drew. The boys helped with a ring ceremony for them that evening in Orem, UT. During the ceremony they were standing at the back waiting for their cue and fighting over who got to hold the pillow. I was sure they were going to start duking it out halfway down the aisle, but they came through and did a great job (other than Trenton staking out his spot between Jenna and Drew after delivering the rings and remaining there through their kiss and all).

Wedding Number One

Our main purpose (aside from seeing family) in going to Utah was to be a part of a couple of weddings. My cousin Kira (pictured above) got married on Saturday August 18th in Logan, UT. For those of you who know her, doesn't she just look beautiful??!! We lived just around the corner from each other in high school and she served her mission here in Portland recently, so we have remained good friends even as we live far apart. I'm so happy for her and Scott. We were able to give them our congratulations at their wedding luncheon that day.

The Mom Mobile at 25

So, back in July after going through a couple of months of cramming the three kids either in the backseat of our Rodeo, or better yet, our volvo s40 (which would fall in the category of compact sedan) we decided it was time to make the big (dreaded) leap to a minivan. We sold both of our cars and bought a Honda Odyssey for the family and a little Zuma scooter for Dave to commute to school on. We took our first family roadtrip in the van (no more flying for us for a while) to Utah. We left midday, expecting the kids to fall asleep around their seven o'clock bedtime, but this is a picture taken about 9 pm (notice it's pitch black outside). Both kids were bright eyed as they stared mindlessly at "The Never Ending Story" for the second or third time since we left. We opted to turn the dvd player off at this point and both boys quickly fell asleep. The trip wasn't pretty, but also wasn't nearly as bad as we anticipated (until the way back that is. . .which you'll hear all about in a future post). And if you are wondering, yes, I love my minivan! I'm way beyond "cool" at this point in my life . .I think of myself as more of a spectacle anytime I go out in puclic as people can't stop staring at the apparent fourteen year old toting 3 kids (with at least one generally making a scene in some manner). I'm all for anything that will make my life easier in the littlest way and no doubt the minivan does that well.

The Race Is On

We took an overnight trip to Park City/Midway with Dave's parents while in Utah during the middle of August. Opa volunteered for kid duty and watched Brooklyn and Dallas while Oma, Trenton, Dave and I took a ride down the Alpine Slides. I was proud to place first in my heat of 1. Oma was also victorious as she slid down just head of Dave and Trenton.