Arnie's Special Day

Scarlett woke up yesterday morning and declared that it was Arnie's birthday.  I had no idea- what a bad giraffe mama I am.  She was so excited.  We sang happy birthday to him and he sat on the counter watching her eat a smoothie.  When I left for work, I promised to bring Arnie home a birthday present.  "a for reals present" she said. 

Thankfully, Tom found a bouncy ball at the farm and it ended up in the trunk of our car, so I had a gift for Arnie.  I think she lost it after about 15 minutes.  We took Arnie for a birthday walk and showed him all the cars, houses, and strawberry plants.

After dinner, Arnie had pretend birthday cake and Scarlett had for reals sorbet, and we sang more happy birthday.  And when she woke up this morning the first thing she said is, It's still Arnie's birthday!

On the birthday walk...

This might be our Christmas card

We were at the beach, right?  Such nice scenery, really peaceful, the perfect spot for a family photo!

Oh wait, hi Tom.

So yeah, best picture ever.

Hope, age 6

Hope turned six this past weekend and this prompted me to look back at her baby pictures.  Then I found a few of the day she was born- or rather, the day after, since she was born just a few minutes before midnight. Charlie and I look so young, I can only reason that being an Auntie or an Uncle has aged us.  That must be it, right?

Now, Hope is six and as of her birthday, has pierced ears.  Most the time, Scarlett says Hope is her best friend.  Sometimes it's me, or Charlie, or Arnie.  But usually it's Hope.  Having cousins is nice.

Clam Chowder at Cannon Beach

Saturday was Uncle Tom's birthday (and also Bastille Day, Viva La France!) so we went to the beach for some cousintime and to destroy other people's abandoned sandcastles.

It was overcast, but Scarlett managed herself a mild sunburn because in Oregon, overcast is practically the same thing as sunshine.
The focus at first was sandcastle-making.  

And running up to the water, then running away really fast.  Scarlett and I stood together in the low tide and I told her, it feels like we're moving but we're not.  And she said "I don't like moving!  I don't like moving!"  It seemed like she did, though.

The focus later was on eating fruit leathers.  Even one that had been dropped into the salty sand and picked back up and shoved into the mouth.

Esther did baby yoga. 

Afterwards, we had dinner and Scarlett ate her body weight in clam chowder.  Was it the chowder or was she hungry from an afternoon on the beach?  I have no idea, but she ate many bowls and kept asking for more.  As a mother who worries that my child doesn't eat enough dinner, I was very proud and full of chowder.

Cousintime

4th of July, part 3

We spent Friday morning at the little kid splash area at Blue Lake Park.  It is So. Awesome.  Big ups to Lucy, Oscar and crew for introducing us to this place.  I thought the waterworks were the best part but Scarlett had other ideas.  Among the many other attractions, we hit up:

• A worm bin- just dirt and worms.  Scarlett wouldn't stop talking about this thing and running over to it, to open it and peek inside.  She didn't want to touch the worms, she just wanted to LOOK.  Like, for hours.
• A nature walk.  We saw no real beavers, as we were promised, but Scarlett snatched up some pretend badgers and put them in her swimsuit and brought them home.
• Lily pads and a family of ducks. Just like in the books!
• A playground (there are multiple)
• Lots of grass for running, falling, laughing, getting back up, repeat.

Parts 4 and 5 of the five-day weekend involve a barbecue and outside pool splashing with cousins, and a morning picnic at a Pearl District fountain.  Scarlett had the chance to wear a bathing suit like every other day, which makes her very happy, which makes us very happy.

4th of July, extended

Part 2

On Thursday, Scarlett and her cousins dressed up in their finest concert gear, and we went to the Edgefield to see Ben Harper.  I love my family, I love Ben Harper, I love the Edgefield- it was a trifecta of wonderful things.

Proving that brothers-in-law can be good for something after all, Tom got us into the VIP section. This means space, chairs, free food and drinks.  But best of all, it means porta-potties without a line, ones that are clean and nearby, ones that Scarlett used about 15 times.

Ben is as lovely as always, as he was 10 years ago when he used to tour more and I could see him twice a year and he had big huge hair.

Charlie made the shirts, they were a big hit.

"Nice shirt." "Hey, you too!"

Rocking the Ben shirt, and a string cheese. She knows how to party.

For the second night in a row, Scar stayed up until close to 11pm.  And she slept in until 8 the next morning, which is almost unheard of in our world, because Scarlett is like me and rarely sleeps late. 

For DeAnna, who is maybe the only other person that might care, here's a lil' recording of Ben.

4th of July

The best thing about the 4th of July this year is that it marked my first day of a five-day vacation.  We've done a lot already, which has exhausted me so much that I'll have to tell the story in increments.

Part 1.

I realized that we've never talked to Scarlett about July 4th.  We told her about Christmas beforehand, and she had books about Easter so she was prepared for that.  But Wednesday came and we told her a fun outside party, but not really about the holiday part.

The morning of, Erin and I ran an easy peasy 13.1 miles.  You know, just a quick trip around Sauvie Island, on foot, with 1,800 of our closest friends, to celebrate the birth of our country.  We had strawberry shortcake afterwards but Scarlett ate most of mine.

That afternoon, she did as she always does when we have someplace to be after naptime- she napped a loooooonnnnnnnng time.  Three hours and some change.  So, she was cheerful when we finally made it to the aforementioned outside party, at Amber's parents' house.  We had food and wine and good company.  The weather was perfect.  I felt lucky.

And surprisingly, Scarlett wasn't afraid of the fireworks.  She hopped up onto my lap and hid her ears for the high-pitched ones, but mostly she sat on the sidewalk, playing peacefully with Mr. Potatohead.  She really, really loved Mr. Potatohead.

I didn't take pictures but Amber did, so check 'em out on her blog
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Happy belated birthdays to America, and to Carrie. I ate snacks in honor of both of you.