Summer

Aahhh. We love summer in our household. Bright sunny days. Swimming. Fresh fruit and vegetables. Grilling and eating dinner on the patio. In August we'll go to Hood River for the Gravenstein Apple Festival. Yippee!! The only downside to summer right about now is that it's on the wane. Happily, autumn holds it's own pleasures. I have been informed today of this years Halloween costume picks. Otis would like to be Tron with glow-in-the dark stripes. Sofia will be Nausicaa. She would love a glider to go with the blue knee-high boots and white tights, but we won't be able to fit it in her room. Patrick tells me that the official Tron costumes used reflective tape. That sounds easier than glow in the dark material, but will it disappoint? Hmmm, I'll have to experiment. Since we're on the topic of summer waning, kindergarten is one month away. Deep breath. Deep breath. I could have sworn I was just giving birth to that boy. Now he's picking out his own clothes (hence the camo) and practicing to save the world. Time goes so fast!

We are excitedly preparing for our annual getaway with our family on Patrick's side. We'll be staying at a beautiful vacation home in southwestern oregon right by a state park and about 30 minutes from the ocean. The description sounds so relaxing, the peaceful sounds of the river and the trees, the wildlife all around. And then again, it's 50 yards away from a river. This should be highly relaxing except for our 2 year old dare-devil who leaps into the pool without a blink and moves lightning fast when on a mission. She will be buckled into her lifejacket at all times. I'm searching for a pink vest to help inspire cooperation. There will be six adults and one of her, so the odds are in our favor. This is our fifth annual getaway and they are always fun. The kids come away glowing and we all enjoy the amazing food and good family times. Otis wanted us to keep the house we rented last year, right on the ocean. He thought it was Grandma and Grandpa's new house. This year's house has a sleeping loft with a ladder made from a tree, guaranteed to be a hit. My next entry will have the full report. Summer Vacation!!! Woohooo!!!!

Freedom!!!

July 4th

It's summer time!! Otis is now five years old. He had two fun parties and just reveled in all the attention and celebration. He was so excited on the day of his birthday waiting for his party guests to arrive. He bounced off the walls all morning.

We enjoyed our 4th of July celebration over at Patrick's parents house. Delicious smoked ribs, fireworks, games...fun times. The kids got to stay up very late and both enjoyed it immensely. On the way home Sofia was talking to herself in the back seat and said "I'm so happy."

Patrick and I have decided to train together to walk a half marathon this fall. I want to run a full marathon in October 2009, and this will be a good step towards building up body tone and getting back into exercise. After the half-marathon, next will be training to run a 5K over the winter, maybe the Jingle Bell run in Seattle and then a more competitive run in March. I'm looking forward to getting back into good shape and am recruiting friends and family to run the Nike Women's Marathon with me next fall in San Francisco.

Up this week: Jury Duty call for me, Patrick mixing up some yummy drinks on his new espresso machine, Otis playing with lots of toys, Sofia enjoying Grandma Kitty's swimming pool. A trip to the ocean is in order as well. We're only just over an hour away and the kids love playing in the sand and running through the water.