Another busy month for the Pearson family. We had Nana and Bapa still out here with us most of the month until Jada came home from Washington D.C. Bapa spent much of his "down time" cleaning up our backyard (for which we are grateful, but really wasn't necessary). When mommy came home we were all very happy to see her. I think Phoebe missed her the most. She was just overjoyed to see her again. I wasn't able to be home when she arrived, but I heard the good news. Shortly after Jada came back, we went to the grand opening of the Trillium Creek Family Farm at the Zoo. We had donated bricks with the girl's names on them . It was a neat place. They had the petting zoo portion as well as other farm type information. The entire operation is run by the Zoo Teens program, so the teen volunteers run the farm with some assistance from their supervisors. They've done a nice job. They were giving out free chocolate milk on the way out. We let Ellen have her own. She had quite the goatee going. (Got chocolate milk?-this line sponsored by the American dairy association).
The next day, Nana and Bapa left for an Oregon tour down the coast on their own. We let them borrow the Subaru so they'd get the complete Northwest experience and save money on the rental. Then I took a few more days off from work so that we could all meet up down at Crater Lake, Oregon's only National Park. We had terrific weather. The girls survived the 5 hour drive fairly well. There were some issues, and Phoebe didn't nap, but for the most part, they did about as well as could be expected. We stayed in the Mazama Village since you have to book a year in advance to get a room at the lodge, but it was still pretty nice. The first night we just went up to the Rim Village for dinner and to look around before bed time. The next morning, we headed up to the drive the rim. We stopped at many way points to gaze upon the shimmering blue beauty of the NW. And Ellen got to play in the snow. Nana and Bapa got to purchase their tickets for the boat ride in the caldera as we drove around. By the time we completed the drive, and two short hikes with trail heads along the road, it was time for lunch and naps. I had brought my bike, so I started off for my 39 mile run around the rim. It has around 6000 feet in elevation gain around the rim. Don't be fooled, it isn't flat (I met another cyclist up on the rim who was given that impression). I completed the ride in about 2.5 hours, and got back to our room just as nap time was over. The girls hadn't slept at all, and were quite grumpy. Luckily it was time for dinner so we met up with Nana and Bapa up in the Rim Village again. (The Watchman Cafe hosted us both nights. If you get a chance to go, the buffet is quite good.) The next day, we headed back to civilization. It was way too short, but still just about right for the girls. Ellen's favorite part was watching the boats down on the lake and the hikes.
The day after we got home, was the Beaverton Summerfest Parade. Nana and Bapa took off again for Washington state this time to visit an old college friend. We all headed over the farmers market followed by the big parade. It was Phoebe's first that she could participate in. She had such a good time. She danced to the music, sat on the curb next to Ellen, and watched with interest all the interesting people and floats. She even picked up candy and shared with the kids sitting next to us. The parade went right near Grandma's house, so she got to sit and watch the parade too. A good time was had by all. We got way too much candy. A lot of it I brought to work. It was finished off in less then 3 days.
After a few more days, Nana and Bapa finally had to go home. We were all sad that they had to leave after having them there for so long. The girls really missed them. They had such a great time. We certainly appreciated the chance to take the occasional break.
We've tried to start getting out on the Tandem at least once a weekend. We're having the same problems with Phoebe that we had with Ellen at this age. We have to sit her on a towel and she gets annoyed with the helmet. However, she loves to wear it so much, I think it's frustrating to her that it doesn't fit as well as she'd like. We have just been taking short rides out to parks and back home. Nothing more than 9 miles so far.
It was ridiculously hot out here in the Pacific NW in July. It was 101 and 103 on consecutive days, and in the upper 90's for the better part of a week. So since Jada was stuck in our un-air conditioned house, she got out the sprinkler and let the girls run through. They really enjoyed it. Ellen really had fun with it. Phoebe started to get into it the second time we did it. The first time, Ellen got to play in it with her cousin Haylee who came over to visit.
Jada and the girls have spent the last couple of weeks visiting a variety of parks and many friends. The old playgroup has reunited and the girls interact so much. Ellen especially enjoys climbing to the top of slides and hanging from bars. Phoebe can climb well also. Jada and the girls have enjoyed two "garden lunches" with friends from Kinnaman. The Ellen, Phoebe and Keilani spent time watering the flowers and themselves.
Jada and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary this month as well with a swanky dinner with the girls out at ye Ol' Spaghetti Factory. Ellen wants us to do the Willamette River cruise again next year though.
We finished off the month with a trip to Hood River. I did the 100 mile Fire and Ice Summit to Surf ride to benefit diabetes research. It was 9500 feet elevation gain as we rode up from Welches, OR to Timberline on Mt. Hood, and then down to Hood River. It was a great ride, and Jada met me with the girls at the finish line. Of course, we were about an hour behind schedule thanks to the vicious head wind in the gorge. Somehow Jada kept the girls occupied and happy-ish. She's just amazing that way supporting me in all of my crazy endeavors.
Ellen had a very busy month. She began her first solo swim lessons. It was a 2 week class every day of the week. I was told she did very well. She graduated to the next level of the class because she could hold her breath under water for 5 seconds! She even willingly put her ears in the water to "float" on her back. That is incredible progress from her classes that I did with her just last winter. We're so proud. She'll start the next set in a few weeks. I'm hoping to take a morning to go see it this time. She also started a soccer class. It's in the evenings and it's outdoors. I've been able to make most of them so far. Even if I ride my bike to work, I just leave a little early so I can make it in time. It's just a lot of running around outside followed by a "game" where they just run back and forth. Ellen's team isn't much for getting the ball and scoring. They more sort of stand around and run off the field for water breaks. Ellen will dribble for a bit, and then as soon as someone comes along from the other team, she'll stop running and let them take it. I think she just wants it to be fair that everyone gets a turn. I think when I'm there, she just would rather be with me, but hopefully the more she gets used to me being there, the more she'll stay out on the field.
Other things in general she enjoys are stepping on shadows (you have to say "ouch" if she gets yours. Potty training is on going. During the Crater Lake trip we got her up in the middle of the night to pee. The first night she went right back to sleep. The second night, not so much. But she did finally get back to sleep. Jada has tried it a couple times at home, but we haven't done it a lot. We'll see. She goes through phases where she wets the bed, but we work on getting the pees out before she gets in bed, and some times it works better than others. She still has accidents. I just hope she gets to a point where she is totally trained before we start with Phoebe...
Which makes a nice segue, since Phoebe follows Ellen into the bathroom to sit on the potty while Ellen sits on the big potty. She seems to be showing interest in learning. I guess we'll just have to try some night since the last couple times she sat down there, she actually pooped.
She's also learning how to kiss, though she still won't do it every time. She will kiss pictures, her stuffed animals, her hand. She blows kisses too. It's all very sweet. She's become more and more picky in her eating, and her temper has developed. Her tantrums have evolved quite a bit. We're not looking forward to the next couple years as we go through this again. I guess this will all come back around again as they go into their tween years too. She's learned how to climb into her own high chair, and her climbing skills have advanced to where she will climb up in the bath tub...and pretty much anything else she can climb. Finally on our Anniversary Friday, Phoebe waved and said bye bye as I was getting ready to leave. She's just growing up so fast. She's really trying hard to talk. Jada is sure she heard Phoebe say "banana" today. Phoebe can do some of the signs that we're teaching her for "more" and "thank you".
Journal Entry: August 3, 2004