Swim

I am so proud of Jake for starting to learn to swim the crawl/freestyle today!!!

More Christmas Pictures

Outside the lodge there was this decoy coyote. When we first saw it, from a distance, it was the strangest looking thing and we couldn't quite figure out what it was. So we had to go check it out. Jake thought it was cool/fun. That's the frozen lake in the background. It was 21 degrees.
Reading his new Pippi Longstocking book. I loved Pippi when I was a kid so it is quite fun to read her again, from an adult perspective!
Jake and Mama.
Gramma, Jake, and I went on a carriage ride! The horses were named Ted and Kate and took us on a 30 minute ride on the ranch.
After the ride, getting some hot cider.
The three of us playing one of Jake's new games, Zingo.

Before leaving, one last swim on Daddy's back. Jake and I went swimming on Christmas day, in the evening, and then Jake went back with Daddy.

Labor Day Weekend 2009

Jake and I left for Black Butte Ranch on Wednesday night and got a ride with a friend (thanks, John!)
Because we weren't able to bring his bike with us, we rented a big kid bike with training wheels. Yes, it happened to be pink, but nobody cared and Jake had a wonderful time riding it! He rode it so much, that the second day when he got on the bike, he complained his bottom hurt. I had to explain that sometimes your bottom gets sore when you ride a bike after not riding one for a long time.

He also liked the helmet so much he didn't want to take it off, even when relaxing on the deck.

Daddy came over 2 days later and we went into town. At the grocery store, they happened to have a fire truck open for viewing.

Jake was rather serious about it. But he got to keep the hat, which he liked!
There was also some swimming.
All in all, a good time with biking, swimming, going to the playground, playing with legos, and just being with Mama, Daddy, Gramma, and Papa.

He's a Fish!

Jake has been taking swimming lessons this summer. In June he took the "Big Fish" class for the 3rd and last time (for this class, a parent is in the water with him). The instructor told us he was ready for level 1, which is for ages 3 and up. After only 8 level one class sessions, he graduated today to level 2!

He got a little ribbon and a sticker to cover up "level 1" on his certificate :)
To pass level one, you have to be able to do 10 relaxed bubble bobs. Next level has to do with being able to glide on your front and back and hold that for 5 seconds. Pretty cool!

June 2009 BBR

We arrived on a Wednesday. Took a short walk and then shortly after that it POURED. It actually rained each evening for 4 evenings in a row, but the days were clear and partly sunny.
The next day in the morning Mike took Jake to the playground while I worked. Then late in the afternoon we headed to the pool. I didn't swim this time but Mike and Jake had a great time!





The next day we went into Sisters. Stopped by the coffee shop, which we think is the best in Oregon. Walked to the bakery for bread and a marionberry treat, then went to the playground and Jake played for a full hour with all the other kids there. Later that afternoon all 3 of us went back to the pool and we were able to play in the big outdoor pool. Jake has been reluctant to put his head under water, but I discovered that if I sing "Ring around the rosie" while moving in a circle, then both of us going underwater at the "we all fall down," he actually loved it and went underwater so many times!

The next day we rented a bike trailer and went for an hour long ride. (For those who want to know, went from the Glaze Meadow bike shop to Bishops Cap, across Big Meadow, over to Paulina Springs where we played with the water for a bit. Then back home via Hawks Beard, Bishops Cap, Aspen Lake, Steeple Bush.) Jake LOVED it when Daddy rode really fast and especially when bumping down hills.

We had lots of good food. The watermelon was awesome.

Three days while we were there, we raked pine needles around the property. For fire season, pine needles have to be raked 30 feet from the nearest point of the house and picked up.

There was a popsicle break.
Jake thought his dirty popsicle hand was hilarious. (I didn't let him lick it.)
The pine needle pile at the end of the second day. My dad had already started the pile. It was even bigger after the third day!
We went over to the lodge playground for a change of scenery. It is an awesome sand-pit playground! Only in a place where cats don't roam outdoors... (due to coyotes).
There was playing and chasing and spinning on the grass.

Another day we went for a hike to a place called Rebel Creek. It was a long drive away but a really beautiful drive down scenic roads. The hike it self began and ended at a creek that had lots of space to sit on the rocks and enjoy the surroundings, which we did after the 2.2 mile hike. We didn't see a single other person, so nice!

Other than that, lots of relaxing, playing with legos, Jake riding his bike, and generally loving it. We returned on a Wednesday, one relaxed family :)

Cabo Finale

The rest of the trip/pictures...

Paradise...
Three of the days that we were there, Jake fell asleep while we were at the beach club, and either slept in my arms or on the lounge chair. I had the pleasure of an hour of uninterrupted reading time!


Home again, home again... thankfully all of us had full rows on the plane back to Portland. Jake spent the middle part of the trip rotating between the three rows, but mostly wanted to be with Aunt Amy and Tyler!
While we were there on Boxing Day (December 26th), we had a boat take us around to the tip of the island, where they have 2 beautiful beaches on opposite sides of each other. One is called Lover's Beach, and the other is Divorice Beach, we don't know why. We played on the sand on Lover's Beach, and Jake laughed and laughed while playing in the surf. Unfortunately, we forgot to bring a camera, but it was great.

That night, Jake was exhausted, having only had a 5 minute nap in the car ride home from the boat trip. He fell asleep at 5pm and was still very sleepy and groggy at 8pm, when we were just sitting down to dinner. All of our efforts to wake up him and get him to eat were met with "NOoooooo," the evil eye, and a burrowing of his head in my shoulder. Suddenly, we heard fireworks, and ran outside and saw a stunning 1 minute fireworks display. They woke Jake up, and he was enraptured and excited by the display. After that he was totally happy and ate a good dinner. It cracked us all up that it took fireworks to get Jake out of his bad mood nap!