Portland

We headed down to Portland this past weekend with Goggy, to explore the city and see a concert.  Amelia and Soren got a huge kick out of staying at the Kennedy School, with the blackboards in our room, all of the interesting art on the walls, the movie theater, and especially the mosaic covered pool!  We had some great food at Pok Pok and the food-cart pod across the street, and spent a lot of time playing at (and in) several of Portland's cool fountains and splash parks.  We also met up with a couple of Mommy's friends from college - Sam and Carlotta - and their kids for a fun brunch.

 

Zoe's Visit & Rehearsal

Auntie Zoe took a short break from wedding planning and visited us for a few days.  We had a great time showing her Seattle in the summer, and the weather definitely cooperated.  The kids showed off some of their latest gymnastics moves, and we held several rehearsals for Zoe's upcoming wedding.  Her flower girl and ringbearer are definitely ready for their jobs!

 

Fun on the Swings

Amelia and Soren have been spending lots of time on the swing sets at the neighborhood parks this summer.  Soren has graduated to the big-kid swings, while Amelia has mastered the art of pumping her legs, though she still demands an "underdog" push every now and then.

Card Sharks

Soren and Amelia have become experts at the matching game, and have been getting everyone to play it with their new Sesame Street cards.

Fun with Utah Cousins

Amelia and Soren got to meet some of their cousins from Utah earlier this week - Zina and Elsie.  We had a fun dinner at Grandpa and Grandma Becky's house, and the kids had a blast playing together.  Even better, the kids all even got together later in the week to go swimming!

Whidbey Island

We just got back from an awesome long weekend on nearby Whidbey Island.  After taking the ferry over on Friday morning, we dived into our explorations of the island.  Some highlights included walking out on the Coupeville Wharf, lunch with pie at the Knead and Feed, an amazing castle playground in Langley, several meals of local Penn Cove mussels, shopping at the Goose, a fun playground and wading pool in Oak Harbor, the Loganberry Festival at Greenbank Farm, watching movies in the evenings in our room at the waterfront Boatyard Inn in Langley, and lots of chocolate, candy and fresh fruit!  We then capped off the weekend with a whale watching boat trip in the San Juan Islands, where saw five or six orcas, including a couple of very close breaches!  We can't wait to head back to Whidbey sometime soon!

Thomas

This weekend, Thomas the Train came to town (actually to nearby Snoqualmie), so the five of us headed on out to meet him (Amelia, Soren, Mommy, Daddy, and Soren's stuffed Thomas the Train).  The kids had a fun time getting Thomas tattoos and watching the model trains, but the highlight was definitely taking a ride out to Snoqualmie Falls on Thomas himself.  Topham Hatt, on the other hand, was not a big hit, and I can't really blame Soren for his skepticism!