smith rock: astounding beauty.

smith rock, instagram addition:

dinner at the farmer's market

Yep, it's pretty much certain that we will be having this exact dinner every single Wednesday of the summer.  I see absolutely no reason to mess with perfection.  Sticky fingers and faces, but not a dirty dish in sight.    

snapshot of an entertainer

@ Fritz' preschool song and dance show with Ms. Kristy.

brothers

snapshot of pride

@Wombat Stew class production with Ms. Dana.  

snapshot of work

@their office.

spring at the river trail

Pine cones to throw.  Tall grass and weeds to pull up.  Wild roses.  A labrador who decides it is her prerogative to swim without permission.  And wild iris, which reminds my heart of Gramma Dorothy in the pasture pond.  Oh goodness, I wish she knew these boys of mine.

mountain town life is the life for me

The orientation of our rental house is such that each night we watch an incredible spectacle as the sun sets behind us and lights up all of the mountains to the north and east.  Also of note, Bend is the land of rainbows.  My friends and neighbors here are under the impression that the weather today was terrible... they are clearly all long term locals or transplants from Southern California and not Portland.  It rained a bit, yes.  There were clouds, yes.  But intermittently it clears, the boys play outside, the rainbows bid their promises, and the mountain view returns.  For most of my life in Portland, terrible weather entailed (unscientific estimation here!) three weeks to three months without seeing the horizon.
PS. Lest you think I've lost all love for Portland, I'm already mapping out our summer calendar to include several berry picking trips (the rain is very good in many ways, including blueberry and raspberry bounty) and all of the insane new Portland restaurants we simply must sample.  Not to mention we adore our cousin Ryan and need some serious play time!

sleeping lovies

Just look at these cutest of cuties.  

They didn't even blink while I snapped these shots.  Tired Daddy.  

 My Tana girl sleeps wrapped up like this all night, every night.  

Love them.  

celebration

Daddy comes from a very foodie upbringing.  He claims to have never had or even heard of "funfetti" cake prior to this birthday!  The boys picked out and made the cake for his celebration.  (We did make home-made chocolate cream cheese frosting.  There was also insanely good and expensive Copper River Salmon, grilled asparagus, french cheese and homemade bread.)  Happy Birthday, Daddy!  We love you so.  

day trip: fort rock