Monday, June 20, 2011

father's day weekend camping trip

Rather than hang around town with the Henry family in San Diego (including Finn & Kenton) & the Hecht family camping at the coast, I decided to take on camping with Cedar. It may not have been easier than hanging around town, but it was more fun...even with the rain & the constant movement/exploring/running away from the 2 year old. :P

We followed the Ruddicks to the camp site & went for a walk after we set up camp & ate dinner. Memaw & Papa arrived as we were eating, but stayed behind to set up their site.


Running boy!


Friday was a beautiful day & I'm so glad we explored on the dunes that evening!


Lake Cleowox


Uncle Josh kept the kids entertained by pulling them on the sleds.


So much room to run & play!


Ronan & Griffin wore their sweatshirts backwards & put their hoods over their faces to keep the sand out of their eyes. :P


We climbed to the top of the dune! On the way up, Cedar yelled out to Ronan (who was struggling towards the end), "You can do it!" :)


Mama & Cedar


Cedar loved sliding back down the dune.


But he couldn't pass up another ride, along with Griffin.


Tate, Gretchen & Cedar


Later that evening, the Chases arrived & set up their site. Sleeping was a little rough on everyone & then we woke up to misty drizzle that lasted all day Saturday & resulted in big drips constantly falling from the trees. :\ Thankfully, Josh & Gretchen brought two canopies & we had some space to stay dry.




Me & the busy boy. I stayed pretty dry, but Cedar was constantly exploring in the bushes, falling on the ground & putting his hands in the dripping water. He did not stay dry. But it didn't seem to bother him!


The big kids, playing with the camp fire.



Aaron & Becca, playing a game called Blink, I think. :)


Sadie & Cedar with his blankie.


Memaw was brave & brought supplies for tie-dying!


Heavy umbrella!


My cousin Dan & his family came on Saturday afternoon.


Aaron & Tyler playing Carcassonne, while Dan & Papa played music.


Cedar spent a lot of time walking along the curb behind our car. He liked naming the letters he recognized from the back of the car & the license plate. :P


Memaw also brought the tools for making HUGE bubbles!
Kara, Summer & Dan seemed to have a lot of fun! ;)


Cedar did too & managed to soak his clothes again! But, he still did not mind. :P


The bubble master!


Cohen & Griffin were great sports & let Cedar pop SO many bubbles. :)


Huge bubble!


The boys using their tools, while everyone packed up.


Tyler & Aaron played another game of Carcassonne, while Brooke visited. I was happy that I had a chance to teach them on Saturday, while Memaw got Cedar down for a nap! :)


Yet again, Memaw provided supplies for another fun activity! The 2-year-olds loved painting with water colors!


The whole group!
Brooke & Dan were the first to depart, since they had to drive 4 hours to get home to Portland! Thanks so much for coming out, guys! We really enjoyed visiting & playing. :)


Cousins!


Silly faces!


Cedar & Mama

*Special thanks to Jesse & Carolyn for lending me their tent & sleeping pad & lantern & head lamp! :P I wouldn't have made it without your help! ;)

happy *early* father's day

On Wednesday, June 15th, we celebrated Father's day with Kenton. He & Finn had a trip to San Diego over Father's Day weekend, so we wanted to send him off prepared!


Finley made a cool plaque at preschool. He was so excited to tell us which rock represented each family member (the plaque says "My Family Rocks!"). Such a cute idea! :)


Watching Dad open some gifts.


We gave him some snacks for the road trip.


And new swim trunks! Also a few t-shirts & a new movie!

Happy Father's Day Kenton! Cedar & I sure missed you on the actual day & SO much throughout the whole weekend! It's not the same without you & we're ready to have our whole family back together. You are such a great dad, so creative, playful, fun & loving. I love parenting with you & am so thankful to have you by my side!

promotion & graduation

On Tuesday, June 14th, we attended the Grace Community Preschool Graduation & Promotion.


Finley completed his first year of preschool & will be moving up to the prekindergarten class in the fall!


We are so proud of how much Finley learned & grew this year! He is so creative & his new found love of letters, numbers & drawing has been so fun to witness.


He, of course, had his cousin Griffin by his side & they will continue into the next class together, as well! Miss Debby's class did a great job singing & they were all so fun to watch!


After they performed, Miss Debby said a little something about each child. She made an acrostic for each child's name & Finley's was :
F-Funny
I-Imaginative
N-Nutty
L-Laughs
E-Energy
Y-Yawns
:P





Up next was Ethan & Macey's class!


Miss Jenn also spoke about each child & talked about what she loved about each of them. :)


Cohen's class


I love Cohen's expression as Miss Deena talks about him. :)
Cohen graduated from preschool & will be moving on to Kindergarten in the fall!



My big boy!


We sure love Miss Chelsea & Miss Debby!
I know Finley will miss having Miss Debby as a teacher. We're excited to meet his new teacher & are thankful that Miss Chelsea will still come in to his class for snack & story time!


The Novemberists!


Gretchen, Griffin & Josh


Becca & Cohen
(Aaron was around, but in a meeting, I think)


Our family


Finn & Miss Debby!
Thanks for a great year - we've had so much fun!