Timothy Lake

We were supposed to go camping this past weekend at the Oak Fork campground on Timothy Lake, near Mt. Hood, with some friends. Cuong was running a 50-mile race and the rest of us were moral support. But then the weather forecast was awful - cold and raining throughout Friday, Saturday, and Sunday - and we decided not to go. I was pretty bummed out about it and so was Liesl, and so we decided to make a (very long) day trip instead.

We got the car ready on Friday night - woke up at 6 on Saturday, ate oatmeal and got dressed, and drove up to the mountain. It turned out to be a gloriously beautiful day - we hung out with Anne and Camille (and their neighbor friend Emma, whose dad was running in the race with Cuong), walked along some lovely trails around the lake, and cheered on Cuong as he crossed the finish line.

 Fields of wildflowers along the Pacific Crest Trail.

Cuong coming across the finish line - 50 miles! He ran it in 7hrs, 48mins, coming in 11th out of the field of 150 runners.

We spent the late afternoon around the campsite. The girls played in the forest and inside the tent, we built a fire and roasted marshmallows to make s'mores, and drank hot chocolate. Liesl was satisfied. After dinner, we packed up for the long drive home - tired, but happy to have had a forest adventure and spent the day with our friends.

happy 4th of July!

We had a quiet day, full of stereotypical all-American pleasures: baseball, bike rides, four-square, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, corn on the cob, ripe cherries, and a berry-studded flag cake.

We spent the morning playing sports at the field - we set up a baseball diamond and took turns hitting, pitching, and playing the field - which seemed very July 4th-ish to me except for the fact that it was 8 am, very chilly, and we were on a turf soccer field. But we had fun - Liesl loves to bat and run the bases and we all scored multiple home runs. Then we started to play soccer and some school friends arrived - Seb's friend Jack and his younger brother Ryan, who Liesl really enjoys. The older two played soccer, soccer, and yet more soccer. The younger two biked around, compared gymnastics moves, and pretended to be characters from Paw Patrol who solved mysteries.

Liesl and I baked a buckwheat berry flag cake together - we embedded the strawberries and blueberries in the cake before baking it, and then after I disastrously dropped part of the cake on the table while taking it out of the pan, we covered it in whipped cream and a second layer of berries in flag rows. (Ack!!!) 

Liesl cut all of these strawberries into slices by herself, using a kid-safe knife we recently bought, and then placed them on the cake herself (she did it all twice, below the whipped cream and above!). She was very proud.

Why yes, that's a Canada shirt she's wearing, on July 4th. I told her this morning that she should wear red white and blue for the holiday, and this was the tshirt she picked. Far be it from me to dissuade her: I was too tickled!

 (dropped cake. ack.)

 Steve and Liesl for the save!

Sebastian read another 5 books in the afternoon (I exaggerate, but only slightly - the boy is on a summer reading tear) and played tennis/racquetball with Steve while Liesl and I did an 8 mile bike ride along the Rock Creek trail in NW Beaverton. The sun finally came out and it was gorgeous to be rolling along and chatting together. We arrived home and had burgers and corn and tomatoes and spinach-strawberry salad for dinner: it was perfect. And then after dinner, we played on the street with the neighbor children: four-square, hopscotch, frisbee and football throwing, bean bag tossing.

city adventures

On Saturday we had a fun city day - parked at the Birch trailhead of Forest Park and walked along the Wildwood and Balch Creek trails down to NW 23rd Ave. It was about 4 miles, mostly downhill, and although the children were not initially enthusiastic about the idea, they had a grand time playing a pretend game the whole way (Liesl was a dog, I believe).  We ended up having lunch at Boxer Ramen and then enjoying the new-for-July berry flavors at Salt and Straw. Steve and I got a tasting flight - four scoops! - and it was delicious. Then we hopped onto the streetcar and rode it over to PSU - got there just as the farmer's market was closing, in time to buy some cherries but not much else. We took the streetcar back across town and then, as energies were flagging, called for an Uber to take us back up hill to our car. The children were delighted by the streetcar ride and the Uber - Liesl in particular was beyond thrilled to be buckled into the backseat without a carseat or booster seat.

We arrived home and I was beat - also feeling a sugar low, undoubtedly - and sprawled out on the floor. But the kids decided to try and sell some Oz popsicles out on the street corner, which was absolutely hilarious.

Popsicle stand 1 from B. Avery on Vimeo.


Popsicle stand 2 from B. Avery on Vimeo.


Today I met up with four mama friends for an early hike in Forest Park - 8 miles, looping around on the Saltzman Rd, the Maple trail, the Wildwood, and the Leif Erikson. It was good to be out together for a few hours getting some fresh air and female conversation. I was home before noon and then took the children swimming at the community center pool - Liesl has always been enthusiastic about the water, and she is especially eager now to try out her new skills. She does front and back somersaults and cannonballs and does handstands under water and treads water... it's delightful. Sebastian too has been newly enthusiastic about trying out his back float and improving on his underwater front kick. It's fantastic.

After swimming, I took Liesl to see Finding Dory at the theatre. She was very excited to go, and thrilled to be in the big theatre with the comfy big seats, and impressed by the previews... but then she got nervous and scared. It was too loud for her and the parts with narrative tension just made her more and more anxious. So we left, which was fine. We will try again on another day.

Nina's half-birthday party

On Sunday afternoon, Liesl and I went out to Sauvie Island for the half-birthday party of her bestie, Nina. It was hot - not perfect weather for berry picking or riding a smelly, bumpy hay wagon - but Liesl was in heaven to see Nina. I couldn't get her to leave. I didn't have the heart to pull her away.

summer playdates

Sebastian has been missing his school friends, and so on the days I was home this week we invited Nathan to come over and hang out with us. On Wednesday they played at the field for a couple of hours and then came back here to play with Legos and carve sticks they'd found in the forest. I had a moment of wondering if I should let them play with sharp knives, but then decided to see how things went under close supervision. They had a good time - only minor cuts! - and managed to make a dent in some fairly thick branches.

In the afternoon we went to Wilson Pool with Anne and Camille - it was warm and sunny and the children dove and splashed and cannon-balled and pretended to be otters and somersaulted and went down the slide. Sebastian practiced holding his breath (18 seconds!) and swimming as far as he could under water - it is amazing to see him becoming enthusiastic about learning to swim and getting more competent.

Today we were heading into Forest Park for a longish walk, and invited Nathan to join us. The boys had a great time together - running, hiding in the ferns to scare us, running some more, throwing pine cones. Seb was thrilled.

 

We came home to play - Seb taught Nathan the rudiments of chess and then they made a robot car - and eat lunch. After the boys had some field soccer play, we took Nathan home and went to collect on the first of our summer reading prizes at the library. Liesl chose weird silly putty; Sebastian chose a Voodoo doughnut; more books were checked out (bless the MCL - we've got 90+ checked out right now). And then we went to play in the water fountains at Jamison Square, which for some reason did not hold the usual allure today. They got bored and hungry quickly and so we retreated home.

Liesl has been patient with being the odd one out; she has been my little shadow. We baked chocolate cupcakes; we have read many books; she chalked a rainbow and a unicorn on the driveway; today we painted together - a picture of flowers, trees, seagulls, and sky.