Little VanDeGrift: July 2009

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

We're having a heat wave

Yes - it's been hot in OR. I don't think it has ever been this hot since I have lived here. We are so lucky to have a house with a heat pump (which means we have A/C in the summertime). We enjoyed the heat on Sunday at the pool in Silverton. Luke always enjoys the water, so he had a good time getting wet, but he was unusually unsettled while we were in the pool. He kept wanting to walk out of the water (there's a ramp into the kiddie part of the pool). My mom was sitting in a lounge chair on the pool deck and he kept looking over there. We finally figured out what he wanted when he walked out of the pool, grabbed grandma's hand, and walked her into the pool (and she was not wearing a swimsuit).

Luke has been trying to keep cool this week, too. He enjoys the sprinklers and his daycare went to the wading pool park downtown on Tuesday. I'll take him to the spray park at our local park tomorrow morning (it should be about 85 degrees by 9 AM!!). We also have a wonderful treat for Luke tomorrow...Uncle Doug is flying in to see us.

The kiddie pool

Family fun

At the park after the pool

Saturday, July 25, 2009

More Fun in the Sun

We had a busy week! We took the opportunity to enjoy the sun at the Beavers game last Sunday afternoon with some friends and their two daughters. On Thursday, Luke and I spent the morning with Kari/Anna and Judi/Macy. It was unusually cool in the morning, so we did not hit the splash park as intended (but the coffee shop and Judi's back deck was just as fun). We did tiny tots at the library yesterday morning. Today we went to a Hawaiian festival (thanks to Luke's teacher at daycare who told us about it). We went with our friends Jim/Kari/Anna, so it was fun to spend time with the dads for once, too. And we topped off a great day today with an impromptu dinner with our neighbors across the street (Zoe, their daughter, is about 3 weeks older than Luke).

At the baseball game

The Beavers game

A little kiddie pool time

Chasing balls

Swinging at the park with Anna

Macy, Luke, and Anna

Bubbles!!

At Tiny Tots Library Time

Watching the hula dancers

The hula dancers

Monday, July 20, 2009

Grandpa and Grandma Visit

Tom and Nancy came to visit us in Portland for a few days. We picked berries at a local farm, spent a day at the Enchanted Forest (a kid amusement park), had dinner with Eileen, visited a state park, and had dinner with my brother's family. It was a fun time for everyone.

Picking berries with Anna and Kari

Picking blueberries (or, rather, eating blueberries)

At Sauvie Island Farm

At Enchanted Forest

Luke liked the "saloon" (a wobbly floor) at Enchanted Forest

Having fun on the train

Grandmas

The grandparents

Eileen, Tammy, and Luke

With Grandpa at Champoeg State Park

The cousins

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

TX - Luke's second wedding

From MN we flew to Houston to attend Beth's wedding (Tom's cousin). During our short stay in Houston, we managed to get to about 7 innings of the Astros game at Minute Maid park. It is a gorgeous stadium and all the seats are close to the field (lots of vertical decks instead of a bowl of seats). So, that makes *four* major league parks for Luke :). (Safeco Field, Mariners; Petco Park, Padres; Metrodome, Twins; Minute Maid Park, Astros)

It was fun for us to see Tom's extended family (including Uncle Doug, Grandma, and Grandpa). Luke was a trooper and managed to behave during the wedding and at the reception. We just had one loud outburst during the ring exchange :).

We wish Beth and Jared many years of happiness together! You both looked fantastic and so happy to be getting married.