As I sorted through our summer photos I see a theme to the highlights: Lots of sibling snuggle time, park play time, play dates with friends, and special time as a family. That is the making of a wonderful summer!
June: We enjoyed long daylight hours (and bits of sunshine!) with plenty of outdoor play! Brian celebrated father's day as daddy of two, and Owen was able to both sit in a firetruck (during a hot air balloon festival in our town) and take his first pony ride (during a strawberry festival at a nearby farm)! One of Owen's favorite videos right now is Elmo's "Wild Wild West", which made the pony ride all the more exciting. "
Yee haw!" Owen exclaimed. So precious! Owen is also doing a great job with independent play, often reading to himself (even
out loud - so fun to hear him
narrate a story!) and spending countless hours playing with all his cars/trucks. Ava enjoyed snuggle time
with lots of friends & family, including a special visit from our dear friends Amy, Kyle & baby Ethan Evans as well as a cozy nap with grandpa Keith and love from nanny
Kaity. See photo highlights from the month in the collage below (click to enlarge).
July: Oh my, what a month! Where to begin? First, we had a great 4th of July weekend. Linnea's brother Brian and wife Amy came down from Seattle for a visit and we enjoyed some special play time while they were in town. On the 4th itself we headed to a small nearby town for their annual Rodeo and related festivities. Owen LOVED the parade, especially waiving at all the people/floats and collecting the candy! We had a handful of hot days in July, and Owen enjoyed splashing in the small blow-up pool in our backyard. The simple pleasures of life! We also enjoyed one of those hot days down in Salem with Linnea's parents. Owen spent the morning with grandma at a children's museum, great-grandma joined all of us for lunch, and we spent the late afternoon boating on the river with uncle Brent! Late in the month Linnea had a big annual work event in Seattle which took us all up to Seattle for about 6 days. Brian & kids were able to see some dear friends (while Linnea pulled some long working days) and we had a short but sweet visit with our former Nanny Diana on our way out of town. The month wrapped-up with a trip up to Puyallup to celebrate our precious nephew Landon's 1st Birthday! Owen got Landon his first set of cars (of course!) and we thoroughly enjoyed joining all the family to help Landon celebrate this special occasion! Sweet Ava changed so much during the month as well - now smiling and cooing all the time. She is such a joy! See highlight photos from the month below (click to enlarge).
August
The month kicked-off with the celebration of our 9th Wedding Anniversary!
Brian took the afternoon off work and we rented a Kayak on the
Tualatin River (which runs right
through our town). We packed a picnic, grabbed an iced-coffee, and had a wonderful and relaxing afternoon together!
After kayaking we stopped at home to freshen-up (and check on the kids!) and then headed out to a nice dinner where we enjoyed the warm summer evening at an outdoor table.
A highlight from the month was a special visit from great-grandma Kay, in town from California with her gentleman-friend Wayne. We are so blessed that she would make the huge effort to travel up to see us and meet Ava!
Linnea's family rented a house at the Oregon Coast for the weekend! We enjoyed special family time at a spectacular location.
The boys - enjoying their lunch
Dad's - helping the boys eat. I love the look on Blake & Brian's faces. Pure focus &
determination! At well over 2 years old, Owen is fully capable of eating on his own. However he still has very little
interest in food so just keeping him in a chair is an accomplishment! Here Brian is trying to convince him to eat a grape. Poor kiddo. You'd think we were
punishing him!
View from the kitchen window!
Cozy
pj snuggle time!
The 3 cousins!
Sibling
silliness
This was a precious moment! Owen helped me make banana bread (I wish I had photos of the baking experience!). Once it was in the oven, Owen went off to play. Suddenly deciding the bread
should be done, he returned to the oven ready to eat our yummy treat. I turned on the oven light to show him that the bread was still cooking. He wanted to climb into the highchair, but again I told him that it wasn't ready to eat and we needed to allow it to finish cooking. "Do you want to sit and wait for it?" I asked. Yes - he did. He went and got a few toys and books, and I put him in the highchair to wait. An wait he did. So patiently for more than 20
minutes...which is a lifetime in toddler patience!
Out of the oven, I didn't really even let the bread sit. I quickly cut him a slice and cooled it to eat - wanting to
reward his baking efforts and patience in waiting. He is very excited and proud of his accomplishment. When I asked him if he liked the bread, he gave this "thumbs-up" response. And his thumbs-up is often accompanied by him
saying "cool dude". Such a silly boy! (and if you are wondering what happened to his shirt - we had to remove it after it was covered in flour from helping stir!)
Hooray for vacation!
Ready to hit the pool!
We started each morning with a walk. The weather was cold, crisp & beautiful. The weather warmed as the day went on, getting to be close to 80 in the afternoon!
Owen's first bike riding experience - off to the park!
We enjoyed lots of cozy time together :)
Brian was "trying" to watch the football game - oh how times have changed!
Chillin' with dad!
A perfect treat after pool time!
I love how she's holding Brian's finger :) 
Rise & Shine! Fun & cozy sibling silliness. I love it!
Owen stood up with the guys for the entire ceremony! See him studying his little car (his gift fro Kaity) with great intensity. Also, I think the sun was in his eyes so he really couldn't see the audience. Brayden ended up sitting with his dad, and we expected Owen to do the same. But he hung in there, and we were SO proud of him!
