Sliiiiip, Slip and Slide.

When Ben received a Slip N Slide for his birthday (thanks, Brent, Patti and Nick!), the 80's Wham-O commercial was stuck in my head for days.  We finally had a chance to bust it out in the 90 degree heat we've been having here in Oregon.  Eli didn't want to try, but Ben got the hang of it after a while.  They mostly liked stomping on the water tube on the side, and splashing the other sibling in the face with the water spray.

 

 

 

 

Oh, and here is a Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly hanging out on a bush in the backyard.

 

 

 

Get outta town.

I felt the need to get out of town this weekend, so after attending a birthday party in Portland, the whole family headed out to the end of the Columbia River Gorge for a hike.  It was a bit too hot and exposed for the kids, so we basically did a little mini-hike until the sun seemed like it was too much for the kiddos (even lathered in sunscreen). It still was a nice drive - Andy said it even felt like we were on vacation, because the scenery was so different than what we are used to where we live.

 We found a nice picnic spot to ourselves right along the Columbia River.

Here are the very cute, but very annoying deer that come through our yard several times a day and stay for long periods of time.  One doe has 2 fawns and the other has just one.

Father's Day!

Father's Day 2013!  The cousins having fun in the shark pool!

Picking strawberries!

We picked strawberries today at a BBQ/ Berry festival nearby.  The boys needed some time away from the house as we have spent the last 5 weekends working on the garden/ irrigation/ fence around garden/ making paths in the garden, etc.

First, pictures from the berry festival...

A big giant slide:

 

 

 Picking (er, mostly eating) strawberries:

 Eli was pretty excited to show me the strawberry he was chowing on!

 Waiting for the tractor to pick us back up...

The festival had a pig train (about 7 little pig cars driven by a riding lawn mower).  We asked the boys if they wanted to ride it. 
Eli: "Yeah, yeah!"
Ben: scowl and a "I don't wanna."
Eli hops right in and takes a big lap around the grounds all by himself.  When he returns, Ben says: "OK, I'll try it, too!"  So, he gets a turn.  Then they both want to do it all over again together... Hmmm.

 

And the garden with seedlings, seeds and drip sprayers!  Tomatoes, corn, carrots, peas, beans, pumpkins, cucumbers, squash, cauli, broccoli, peppers, onions, lettuces, spinach, basil, cilantro, strawberries.  We were a bit late getting stuff in, but summer is nearly here, so maybe we can catch up quickly!