Ah, Summer. Sweet Sweet Summer.

Although they say that a picture speaks a thousand words--and I'm using here the equivalent of many thouands of words--they will never do justice to lazy days on the beach with Aunt Jenny,

 kayaking

 with cousins

 music on the beach

 long, gravel driveways

 glorious beach days

 home sweet home

 the candy store

 trying on G'ma's wedding dress

 pool play

 aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

 time together

time lost in our own creative thoughts

 fairy houses

touring mama's childhood home (now a B&B)

 celebrating 50 incredible years (with beer ordered to the table from Son-In-Law in Chicago!!)

 exploring the wonderful world of books-- in this case, Little House on the Prairie

 blowing bubbles with Gma

 and KooKoo!

 chillin'

the wide open, subtle beauty of the Wisconsin Countryside

 sunshine

 Lake Michigan

 lots of Lake Michigan

more (bigger this time) bubbles

 and the best food you're going to find anywhere on planet earth. 

 To top it all off, we got to see Grammy in LA on our way home! 

Augusts just don't get much better than that! 

Right Coast Left Coast

 Apologies for the silence last week. I was here:

doing this:

With these folks, plus 5 more from our Y... and about 4,000 others.

Philadelphia is a great city. Incredible architecture, history and great food. Were it not for the 98% humidity and 3000 degree heat index, I may have ventured out more with the 8 spare minutes we had outside of the General Assembly. The convention was great... and it was wonderful to get home to the other coast, with these little buggers (picture taken at the movie in the park on Friday... we saw Brave --great flick!)

 Jezebel has a superhuman affection for superheroes. :) 

 We spent today playing in a river about 40 minutes from town--shallow and not fast moving; we'll be back! 

Oh yeah? I can do that, too! 

 she's getting big. ain't no stopping it. 

I am always happy to get my big city fix... and always happy to come home.

Independence

It was a beautiful weekend here--the heat spell broke and we enjoyed gorgeous summer weather, and some lazy, meandering, puttering and fun summer adventures! 

A 4th of July Parade at a small town south of here. Small town Americana, Norman Rockwellian-like stuff, this here parade. 

Although I'm pretty sure no other small town, and fairly certain no Rockwell has a Duck-inspired Fire Truck:

Waiting for fireworks...

And what better way to pass the time than with birthday cake for our dear friend Ruby who shares a birthday with our country. She's just a few years younger.

Made our way to the library to (finally) sign up for summer reading and get our first big load of summer books, some chocolate milk and quality time with this guy:

In the library courtyard...

 Playtime at the park

 ...and we set up the tent in our living room for a cozy, mid-summer sleep....

The Cupcake Dance

Click here to see our Cupcake Dance :) Just thought it was time to update you on the dance moves.

summer solstice

We decided it would be fun to spend the longest day of the year at a lake. We also thought it would be fun to go explore a new little corner of our state. So... this weekend: camping at Detroit Lake! 

 Winnie, Jez and Julie floating on the lake with the snow-capped Mount Jefferson in the distance 

(it looked a lot closer in person--beautiful!). 

 And, the eternal highlight of any camping trip we ever take...(we could probably save ourselves a lot of gas and schlepping by building a bonfire in the backyard and getting some marshmallows). :)

It was a great way to officially welcome summer, even if we did wake up to raindrops on our tent fly this morning... Ah, Oregon. 

FOUR! (Yeah. It means "WATCH OUT! when it you spell it this way, too).

I'm four. I am sassy and incredibly loving. I am deeply sensitive (I will cry, long and hard if I see a dead bug) and I have a belly laugh that will make anyone smile (Winona brings it out most often). I am very giving (I got three packs of gum for my birthday--Winnie got one as a consolation-sorry-it's-not-your-birthday-gift. Winona was fine with this, but I did the math, then gave her one of my packs, saying, "Now we both have two.") When I kiss you, I grab the back of your head, push it hard against mine and hold our lips in a locked position until one of us can no longer breathe. Do not ever underestimate me. I know what you're saying. Always. (Unless it's that thing about cleaning up. What are you TALKING about?)

I can stick out my lower lip, bunch up my fists, punch down my arms and stomp away with Academy Award winning style. I will tell you, in no uncertain terms EXACTLY what's on my mind and although I do not know or use cuss words, my tone alone can give you the very definite impression that I do. (The look on Mom and Dad's faces in these moments is priceless. They still aren't quite sure what to do with me sometimes. I love those times.)  I cry hard and furiously... and then I'm over it. If someone offers an alternative or a solution, I'm all over it. 

I'm determined. Funny. Forgiving. spunky and suprising. I'm bold and boisterous--as my name says I will be. AND! I'm FOUR!!! 

 I am also the luckiest four year old on the planet, because I have the best 7 year old sister. Here's the card she made me for my birthday.

 Bday picnic! Mom's camera ran out of batteries, but we're overlooking one of the most gorgeous stretches on the OR coast. 

 Before leaving town, I got presents-- boy, did I ever: 

 This is a batman movie. (Winona is less thrilled).

 Awesome funky animal building blocks!

Watch out, world. FOUR!!