Late birthday pics from the beach

We went to Manzanita on the Oregon coast for a long weekend and to celebrate June's birthday. Super good time and a lot of cupcakes!

Daddy Day and Egg hunting

June made a friend at the park this evening and had a grand time running back and forth, sliding and finding lady bugs. She also figured out that she can jump off the end of the slide and other things, going to need to keep an eye on that...

Today we built a blanket fort, went for a walk with Sampson, picked flowers, went shopping (she loves going to TJ's because they have little shopping carts "just her size") and read stories (she got her first issue of Highlights in the mail!).

I'm also including the Easter egg hunt pics. June and Bria had a lot of fun finding eggs and eating candy. We put some in the lawn for June to find and after finding a couple there she was spotting eggs in real hiding places and the game was on. Three egg hunts later... we were ready for some bbq.

Manzanita-Nehalem-Wheeler loop

I went for a ride today and found a fun little trail just up this gravel road. It was mostly rideable and starting from the top and heading down (I was going up) the locals have added some jumps and berms.



I love these little coast towns, especially their little main streets. I wish we had more main streets. People, at least the vacationers, walk in these towns too. Everyone walks everywhere, it's great!
Manzanita to Nehalem bike path is under construction and should be a nice little ride this time next year.

at the beach

Didn't get to go surfing but got a nice little 5 mile trail run in anyway.

Daddy Day - April 8, 2011

Just two pics but we had a full day getting ready for the PDX Bike Show. Got to carry stuff and hang out "behind the scenes" at the convention center! Also got to see Bob of Bob's Red Mill and got our picture taken in front of his beautiful Model A by the president of NCNM. Also, the weather was great.

Daddy Day - April 1, 2011

No fools here, we had a big day and a lot of fun. Check out our slideshow and check back weekly for Daddy Day updates.

une and I had a nice day mostly hanging around the house but we got out for a good walk with Sampson too. Went to the doctor to see about this cough she has but it looks like nothing.

Here's a link to Heather's cute birthday blog for June

http://featheriest.blogspot.com/2009/04/that-little-neighbor-girl.html

SAN DIEGO!

Well it rained cats and dogs but that just gave us more time to catch up and play with June. I, however, forgot my camera... Rick sent some pics and I'll see if my phone pics are any good before posting. 

We did make it out between showers a few times and June had a great time playing dress up, riding the carousel, checking out the botanical garden at Balboa Park and wandering through the farmer's market snacking on all kinds of great treats like coconut pancakes! We also went to the beach and June took her first plane ride.

The trip to San Diego went pretty well. There was an empty row of seats in the back and we set up camp their so Juni could move around. A nice off-duty flight attendant going to SD to visit her family gave June her first pair of wings and kept her entertained. The trip home was sold out so we had to snuggle up to a nice Navy avionics mate who also kept June entertained for part of the trip, she can get anyone making goo goo faces when she wrinkles her nose up. The second part of the trip home from Seattle she slept through which was great timing. 

All in all a great mini-vacation and very refreshing. 

June's First Bike Ride!

Well, last Thursday Samantha rigged up the Bo-Bike child seat that my co-workers bought for us when June was born and today we, Samantha, Sampson, Linda and I took the little Bug out for a spin to Westmoreland Park, about a mile from our house. 

There were lots of ducks and some folks were practicing their fly casting skills in the casting pond, which reminded me that I need to re-new my fishing license and get out there this season... we played on the swings for a minute and then headed for home. June liked watching Sampson run next to Samantha on the bike and chattered most of the way home. 

It was pretty cold out, June's windshield helped to protect her from the wind a little, and we were ready for some hot soup for lunch. 

Enjoy the pics and we'll have more once it warms up a little. 

We also went to the beach yesterday and we're heading to San Diego on Thursday! Busy bees!! We're all looking forward to the warmer weather and hanging out by the pool. 

9 month check up/in

June just had her 9 month check up and here are the stats:

28.5" long = 80%

20 lbs. = 80%

18.5" head = 100%

7 teeth

Loves broccoli, sweet potatoes, mango, banana, O's, carrots, pickles.

House is too small, she's doing laps now. We need spring to come so she can go to the park. June can be found rifling through her books and occasionally she "reads" one too. She is discovering her voice and ha decided that 5:30 a.m. is a good a time to get up as any...ugh. 

Nine months of June, here.

Dosey Do!

One of my co-workers is an old-timey banjo player, as are her housemates. They have a band called the Greasy Chain String Band and this year they have dedicated one Monday night a month to supporting a different Portland non-profit by hosting a square dance. My co-worker, Stephanie also happens to be an aspiring square dance caller! 

So on Monday Samantha got off work a little early and we headed up to the Village Ballroom in N. Portland for the BTA benefit square dance. It was a lot of fun and June seemed to enjoy it for the most part. Samantha put her in the Ergo pack and we swung our partners round and round and even promenaded, June held on for dear life, she's got quite a grip! She kind of reminded me of those nature shows where the baby chimp is hanging on to the mama chimp as they swing through the trees. 

We only stayed for two dances but we plan  to be back in February to support the Portland Fruit Tree Project, a group that gleans fruit from neighborhood and private trees and distributes it to local charities, shelters and food share programs. 

I'll get pictures next time I hope, I forgot the camera this time and friends said it was too dark to get any good pics anyway. 

First Snow!

We had our first, and likely only, snow of the year today and it's a good one. We took June for a walk in it but she didn't seem quite as excited about it as we were. See the photos at my flickr site along with some others of Thanksgiving and "new foods".

PS Don't forget Bikes To Rwanda when you're doing your year end Giving.

cx

Mama gettin' dirty at Barton Park!

Daddy too.

It was muddy and raining and fun.

Happy Halloween

The family all came over for Halloween tricks and treats last night. We had some dinner, Samantha made her Gramma Shaw's macaroni and cheese dinner and also her famous popcorn balls! Allie brought rice crispie treats and Josh got some chicken. After dinner we got dressed and went out trick or treating in the neighborhood. It was nice to see everyone. Maybe this will be our annual family holiday. More pics are at flickr.

Barton Park cx race tomorrow.

Eat it!

So I found the camera bag and download cord. That means you all get to watch June take her first bites. It's kind of a long video but stick with it she gets cuter as it goes. It's pretty neat to watch a baby figure out something new. June of course is a quick learner.

I've also uploaded some fun pics to the flickr site.

Back at it

It's been awhile and so I'm just going to give a quick update and hope that I can be better about this.

We've been sick, all of us. I'm getting better...again. June seems to be better as well. Samantha is on the way out it looks like. We skipped the two Astoria races this weekend, it was Halloween 'Cross too. Bummer. Heard it was fun. I had a great race last weekend though and came in with a pack of guys I never ride with, they're always ahead of me. Samantha was having a good race too but dropped her chain and lost 9 places. She's been doing really great for her first season back.

June had her 6 month check up and here are the stats. 18 lb 14 oz, 26 in., and she's in the 95th and 60th percentiles respectively. Not bad at all, looks like she's starting to grow into some of the adorable baby chub. She is also starting on solid foods. Rice cereal for now but she should be trying some apples, sweet potatoes and squash next week. She's a pretty voracious eater. I have a video but lost my camera case and cord to download pics so that'll have to wait. If you have a mini Cuisinart you aren't using send it our way.

Today I cleaned out the garage a little more and I'm finally getting some open space to use. Getting ready for winter too, cleaning gutters, clearing off the deck, cutting back blackberries...

I've been working on a little side project as well. Just for fun but it might turn into something. Either a grad school project or a real project that I can hand off to someone else and they can give me a job! It's a bike loop in Toppenish so Dad can get to work safely, and other people too.

Still trying to get Samantha started on the special needs in-home pet care business too.

We went camping with June one last time this summer in Hood River for a weekend of 'cross racing. Sarah, Chris and the kids came too. They raced and had a great time. I'll include some pics and you can see more at the flickr site.

PS I also lost 20 lbs over the last couple months. I can fit most of my clothes again. Feels good.

This should be good for a laugh

Good Morning!

June's taken to feeding herself these days. At least on Friday's when daddy's home with her.

Hood River Cross Weekend

If anyone wants to come to Hood River Saturday or Sunday, September 20 or 21 and watch Samantha and I race and hang out with June you can! Just go here for directions and times for the races, etc. I race at 1:00 and Samantha at 1:55. If the kids want to do the kiddie race that's at 12:45. We are planning on camping at Tucker Park about .5 mi. south of Hood River if you want to make a weekend out of it. $20/nt to camp on Hood River, less for non-river camping, and they have showers too. It's a fun kick off to the season and not too far from Yakima, and even closer to Toppenish, hint, hint....
Hope to see you there!