Busy Girls

My husband turned 30 last month. He was bothered about the whole thing, worrying that he would no longer be cool once his 20's had passed him by. So I did the only thing I could think of to cheer him up, and planned a surprise birthday party. As soon as Kyle walked through the door, he held me and kissed me and said,

 "You must've worked so hard! You probably ran around like a crazy person all day! Thank you!" Clearly, this guy is secretly taking a "Perfect Things to Say to your Wife so She'll Feel Loved and Appreciated" online course. Isn't that strange, how doing something for someone else feels so good that it's actually like doing something for yourself?

The following weekend, we drove to Portland to visit Kyle's mom and step-dad. On our first day, we took the metro to the waterfront, where the delectable aroma of weed and hippies blends with the fragrance of hundreds of dogs. We walked along the water, pushing our giggling girls in their strollers, until our feet were sore. July 4th, I was looking forward to a huge fireworks show in the hills outside the city... Unfortunately, it didn't start until 10 pm, two hours past the girls' bedtime. I weighed my options. It was easy enough to keep London awake, but did I really want to wake up sleeping Elle, who might even be scared of the fireworks? Ultimately, I decided to go. When the show began, and our little family gazed up at the sky in wonder, I knew I'd made the right choice!

The waterfront.

Meanwhile, Elle FINALLY got two teeth. She does this.

And this.


All day long.

Our house is baby-proof once more.

Taryn and her boyfriend came to visit us! We took a scenic drive into the mountains to pick raspberries at a quaint little farm, introduced them both to Settlers of Catan, and the boys played the new FIFA soccer game.

 I recorded this gem on the drive home:

And to top off an already eventful month, Nani and Papa spent a day with us. We woke up early to walk the path along the nature reserve by my house--- and I brought a single piece of pita bread to feed the ducks at the lake. Papa warned that feeding them wasn't a good idea, but we didn't see any signs warning otherwise, and London was enjoying herself!

Thirty seconds after this picture was taken, the grounds-keeper came out on his John Deere and politely asked us to stop. Papa nearly wet his pants laughing at us, and befriended the grounds-keeper in the process. Then we walked to the playground on the other side of the lake, where Nani slid down the slides and Papa went on the swings. The rest of the day included sushi and shopping.

Summer is treating us well, so far. Between family visits, the park, the lake, the pool, and the library, I am pleasantly surprised by how busy our family is here.