Scenic valley

Instead of rushing into work on Tuesday morning, Joel and I had a kid-free adventure and went for a short tour of the valley.

From September 2009

From September 2009

Neither of us had ever been in such a small plane before, and we were surprised by how quiet and stable it felt. The take off and landing were very smooth, too. It was a little strange, however, to have to pilot tell us to let him know if we noticed others plane near by ("it never hurts to have more eyes on the sky").

From September 2009

From September 2009

We were only flying at ~1900-2100 ft (above sea level). It was really fun to see our area from that vantage point.

From September 2009

Although there was a little morning haze, we had great views of the mountains. You can see Mary's Peak in the Coast Range in the photo above. Can you make out the Three Sisters in the photo below?

From September 2009

And here's Mt. Hood:

From September 2009

We had a great time, but it was a bit strange to head back to work for a regular Tuesday afternoon after enjoying such an unusual morning.

Joel's birthday

From August 2009

Annikka worked very hard on making her birthday card for Daddy. And she took him to the park to celebrate.

From August 2009

From August 2009

From August 2009

I think a good time was had by all.

Fountain

From July 2009

Once she became brave enough to try it, Annikka realized that she LOVES the downtown fountain.



Downtown is also a great place to run into friends, like Danika from daycare.



Oh, if we could all be two again (or 19-22 months). They sure make it look fun.

Bathtime with baby

From July 2009

Giving Annikka a bath is so much easier now than it was in the beginning. She loves being in the water, although washing her hair isn't her favorite. Recently she took one of her babies into the tub.

From July 2009

She worked hard to make sure that baby got clean.

From July 2009

By the way, for those who haven't seen her in a while, Annikka is starting to get more hair. Sometimes they do pigtails in the afternoon at daycare (all the other kids have a lot more hair), and now Annikka can finally get in on the action.

From July 2009

Train ride

The train passes through town just a block from Annikka's daycare, making it pretty popular with all the kids. It was one of the first sounds Annikka could associate with something--meaning you'd ask what does a train say, and she'd tell you choo-choo.

So when Joel knew someone who built a little train that rides around his yard, it sounded like a fun adventure.

From July 2009

From July 2009

From July 2009

Little friends

July has brought some very warm days, and we've been out enjoying the summer weather with friends. It's really a lot of fun to see Annikka interacting with other kids.

Here's a backyard pizza party with Mika.

From July 2009

From July 2009

Joining Hirut in the downtown fountain--the fountain isn't really Amani's thing though.

From July 2009

From July 2009

Although she took a few minutes to decide she liked it, she was soon happy to be in the middle of it all.

From July 2009

And a fun day with the "science club" (Jessica and Zane).

From July 2009

From July 2009

From July 2009

They are all getting big so fast.

Weekend at the coast

From July 2009

We spent the 4th of July at the coast with Meredith, Pete & Thurston. Although the weather was a little cooler than we had hoped for, we still got out for a little fun on the beach.

From July 2009

From July 2009

From July 2009

From July 2009

From July 2009

Here's Thurston (aka Baby T) with Mommy Meredith. He's a very happy 4 month old.

From July 2009

By the second day, Annikka even started to warm up to the idea of letting Mommy hold a baby, for a minute or two.

From July 2009

And she started having fun with Thurston too.

From July 2009

Too cute!

From July 2009

From July 2009

We also went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium, where Annikka saw sea otters...

From July 2009

sharks...

From July 2009

sea lions...

From July 2009

and the ever popular (at least around our house) octopus!!

From July 2009

Octopus, octopus squiggling in the water...(it's a daycare song)

From July 2009

It was a fun weekend, even though our bedtime comes too early to see fireworks.