A month or so ago: hiking Silver Falls

 First order of business:  lunch.

This was a lot of fun.  Looking forward to exploring more trails this summer.

Salmon River Trail, Memorial Day weekend

An old-growth forest trail near Mt. Hood.  Everything was engorged with life.   It had the bushiest moss, pillowing around tree limbs that we have ever seen.  Besides the decent mushroom specimen, the boys found a very large salamander.  I encouraged the kids to drink from the springs ("Sure! Go ahead.  Cleanest water on earth!") and throw rocks in the freezing cold river.   They spent some time trying to catch fish with a Nalgene bottle.  I loved watching Talmage and his friend tramping through the water, getting their feet freezing wet.

What, pray tell, holdeth their devoted attention?

Sydney and Clara spent three days on the counter, watching a box of My Little Ponies up on top of the fridge.

Ding Dong, I've got the rhythm...

A photo finish.

You'd think it was choreographed.

Saddle Up!

It has been my heart's desire to take the YW on an extended backpacking trip -- on the Olympic Peninsula, to be precise.  But pregnancies/nursing (read: as YW leaders, we tag-team the Pregnancy Baton) and calendaring have conspired against this end.  Desperate for SOME sort of hiking adventure before graduation, we ended up, through twists and turns ... with Saddle Mountain.  Car camping (Miles came).  But it was a great hike -- even (or possibly because) we weren't carrying tents.


 

Peer Pressure:  I made it through my teenage years without ever smoking, drinking, and all that ... but when those Laurels suggested I lick the banana slug, how could I resist?  For the memories!  My only regret is that I couldn't fake a look of sheer enjoyment.  Now, come on ... give me a kiss, baby.

Two Cool YW -- about to be blown off a precipice.

A very cool Miles.  But not as cool as he would have been without Cole's human sleeping bag outfit. Which we still haven't laundered yet, because doing so requires two new tennis balls and special down detergent ... which I'm fresh out of at the moment.

What Miles sees.

How sharper than a serpent's tooth ...

Briton got up early and made Talmage's school lunch, not knowing Talmage was planning on making his own.

Disappointed to find his lunch already packed, he opened it up to examine the contents.  Enter complaining/whining voice: "Awww. Dad always gives me chips."

Rough life.

But TODAY ... hot off the press ... Syd learned to ride a bike

... and pulled out her tooth.

Speaking of .... where is that tooth????  Does the Tooth Fairy know where to find it?

Back to the bike.  This is the little "Circus Bike" (as Syd calls it), that Briton snatched off the top of a pile of trash at the dump.  It's definitely earned it's keep.  Talmage took the training wheels off this afternoon and then, before I knew what was happening, Syd was pedaling away.  She got it in a couple of minutes.  Start with little Circus Bikes, is what I say.


Once without the helmet:


Once with:



(For some reason, the most recent download isn't appearing in the iPhoto screen.  I'll insert the videos when I find them.)

Anyway,  it was one of those things I didn't expect to happen during the course of the day.  It just happened.  She's pretty happy about both the tooth and the bike.

Clara turned THREE awhile back.

Clara's cake is supposed to be Rocket.  From the video you can see she isn't too sure about the whole Happy Birthday thing.  She warmed up when it came to present time.  Talmage made her birthday crown.

Clara.  I feel to expound on the delights and challenges of Clara at this age.  Clara has zest.  She chatters unceasingly.  She is outgoing and friendly.  She'll ask strangers, "What's your name?" -- tho' she clams up when they ask her the same question in return.  She is super stubborn and if she decides she's disinclined toward a given parental demand, no amount of threatenings will ensure compliance.  In fact, she'll do just the opposite.  For example, in response to "Clara, don't touch that!", she will slowly shuffle toward the off-limit object and reach out her hand, shrewdly watching your blood vessels rapidly engorge and pop out of your skull, as she deliberately disobeys.  She will melt in your arms if you promise to scratch her back, but it must be on her bare skin.  She likes things "just so" -- her rain coat must be snapped up, all the way to her chin, with her hood on, even if it's not raining.  I know whenever I put any jacket on her, it must be all the way zipped or buttoned up, from the get go or I hear all manner of objections and complaining until it's set right.  When she's super happy, she walks with a wide-spaced gait and gallop.  She's really proud about being able to dress herself (when she feels like it) but if she doesn't feel like being independent or helping to clean up, a common excuse is, "It's too heavy for my hands."   She likes to ride her big wheel, push dolls in a stroller, squeeze the living daylight out of Miles, and play with her playgroup friends.  They dance and play hide-n'-seek.  She loves helping out in the kitchen.  Above all, she adores peanut butter and honey sandwiches, cut into triangles, and eats them 9/10 times for breakfast and often for lunch as well.  But make sure you plate the triangles "just so".    One could compose an entire post on Clara's methodology of eating a PB&H sandwich.

We love you so much, Clara.  Happy Number Three.

Sydney turned FIVE awhile back.

Merriment and good exercise at Pump It Up.

Sydney wanted sugar cookies instead of a cake.  She decorated cookie butterflies for the friends.

T

The awkward after-party -- the PIU place puts the birthday kid over to the side on a throne, apart from the friends.  Then they deliver their gifts to the the throne, like good little loyal subjects.

Grandma and Grandpa Barker remembered Syd's birthday, clear from England.  Thanks, grandma and grandpa.

Birthday Dinner at Five Guys for a Five Year Old.

My, how you've grown!

Love you, Sydney.