The Great Wheel

On Marty's birthday we took the water taxi to downtown and thanks to a generous gift from Oma we rode on the Great Wheel for the first time.  Both the Water taxi and the Great Wheel were full of new adventures. 

Looking over the dock at the jelly fish

 Always running!!

 Pressing his nose against the window

View back towards West Seattle

Acting Camp

Josie had her first all day camp and it was a bit more emotional for me that I thought it would be.  She went to a great acting camp and when I picked her up the first day I asked her if it felt like she was gone from the house for a long time or just the right amount of time.  Her response was she was gone for the perfect amount of time :)  It was from 9-3 which will be what her kindergarten is next year.  I'm really not sure if I'm ready for that.  She, on the other hand, seems quite ready. 

Below are a from the final day's performance.  It was really well done and Josie had a good time.  I think Marty and I may have built up the "acting" part a bit too much because when I asked her how the acting was she said  "well, there wasn't much acting.  I was only on stage for like 10 minutes!"  That's my girl ;) 

The group was divided into 3 and so this is only 1/3 of the camp.  She is 4th from the left in blue shorts and a pink shirt.  It is kind of hard to tell from the video.

Ziggy and the Zoo

Summer concerts have started for us and they are always FUN!!  Yesterday, before heading to our first of the season at the zoo we had the chance to sit in on one of the Mountain Music Lounges with Marty and Ziggy Marley.  So VERY cool!! Tonight we Ziggy perform a full set at zoo last night's show was Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.

On the ever tempting carousel at the zoo!  The concerts are strategically placed right in front of it so each season they get to go on a time or two.  Benjamin has started saying "Giddy up Partner!"  We have NO idea where he got this. He keeps saying the most hilarious things and LOVES to make people laugh. The other day he jumped off the couch and yelled "Cowabunga!"   And a disclaimer:  I've always tried to keep an equal number of photos/postings/attention per kid. It must come from my "middle child" syndrome growing up but lately Josie will rarely allow a photo or a video to be taken of her.  A phase, I know, but just felt the need to announce it on the blog to take the guilt off. 

Poor Baby!

 A day or two after we returned from Bend, Benjamin tripped over his feet and fell flat on his face onto concrete.  Poor little guy.  He is very tough, though and after the initial cry over the pain he never talked about it again.

It scabbed over in a day or so and didn't look quite as bad.  Here he is enjoying cake at a birthday party of one of Josie's friends.  It was the first time he was really included in one of the her MANY birthday party outings.

I have a feeling that bumps, bruises and scabs will continue to be part of our lives for awhile.  That is fine, I'm just hoping for no broken bones!

SURPRISE!!

 On June 30th, 3 days before Marty's 50th birthday, about 100 of his closest friends gathered to wish him a Happy Birthday.  Marty didn't know a thing about it until we walked into the club and everyone yelled SURPRISE. The look on his face was priceless!  I knew he had a surprise party thrown for him about 20 years ago and he has always told me it was one of the worst experiences of his life. I knew I was treading on thin ice and even contemplated calling it off a time or two.  But with the help of a couple of our friends we planned the entire thing without him knowing and it turned out absolutely perfect.
Jodi (his ex-on air partner) and a few other long time friends did a roast/tribute for him and then a couple of bands played.  Marty, who can always find something to improve on, said it was the best party and one of the best nights of his life.  We had professional photos but still waiting on them.  More photos to come soon.

Happy 50th, Marty!!!

BEND

In addition to the Smith Rock hike, we also had a lot of fun eating out at our favorite Bend eateries, including Flatbread Pizza Co. where the kids make their own pizzas and then watch them bake in a wood fire oven. 

And Mother's for fresh salads, sandwiches and smoothies.  Thanks to MY mother for the gift card for Marty's birthday.  It was a nice break one afternoon from the pool. 

 The pool, as always was a huge hit.  They have a large pool and a kiddie pool.  They were equally used by both kids.

 We spent a lot of time with Grandma and Papa but for some reason I don't have any photos with them!! :(  While Grandma took Josie on a shopping trip, I took Benjamin to visit one of my friends living in Bend who has boys age 4 and 2.  Benjamin fit right in and looks like he could be the middle brother.

After the shopping trip we all met up at the theater to see Madagascar 3.  Benjamin loved making the seat go up and down and swallow him up.  Both kids liked the movie or "Big Video" as Benjamin likes to call it. 

 Josie even stayed overnight at Grandma and Papa's.  Her first time doing that without us.  While she was away Franziska, Marty, Benjamin and I went on a long walk along the river to another one of our favorite places to eat, Cafe Yumm.  Josie doesn't particularly like it so it worked out nicely.

Along with some new cute clothes, Grandma also got Josie a cool coloring kit.  She LOVED it!!  Below: Benjamin enjoying the view of the Deschutes River from the condo. balcony.

Smith Rock

 One of the highlights from our trip to Bend was our hike to the top of Smith Rock.  Actually the trail we took was called Misery Ridge if that gives you a small clue on the difficulty of the hike.  Add to it the fact that Marty carried Benjamin on his shoulders for 7/8 of the trip and Josie did the ENTIRE thing with only a bit of complaining as we were heading up the last hill to get back to our car.  Given all of that you'd think we were would've been crazy to attempt this as our first hike as a family of four.  But I don't think any of us really thought we would do it until we were very close to the top and by that point we figured that we might as well keep going.  In fact, when we arrived Franziska and Josie pointed to the top and said "are we going up there" and both Marty and I said, No!  Of course not.  Are you crazy.  But crazy we were and very happy to have achieved it.
The view at the top was breathtaking!

A look back at Franziska at about 1/3 of the way to the top.

 Smith Rock is world famous for its rock climbing.  It was so fun and really awe-inspiring to see the men and women climbing up different parts of the rock formations.  This particular one is called "Monkey Face" because it looks a bit like the profile of a monkey.  If you look closely you can see people climbing up the side.
 One of the many stops for food or water... or to take off or put on a jacket.

Thankfully Benjamin wanted to walk some of the time giving Marty a break from carrying the 30+ pounder on his shoulders. 

Josie was truly amazing.  She ran/walked the entire 4 mile loop which had an elevation gain of over 1,000 ft.  

 A bit tired but still going... nearing the end of the hike.

 And everyone in the back seat was out within minutes of our return to the car.  It was the first real hike for Benjamin and Franziska.  Josie has been on a couple before but was always carried in a backpack until this one.

Portland

 On our way down to Bend, we stopped over in Portland for the night.  It is a nice way to break up the 6+ hour drive and we always love going to  this waterfall/wading pool park. I was kind of sad that it was only a cool 55 degrees and there was a downpour as we entered Oregon.  Never fear, the kids could have cared less that it wasn't warm and went in fully clothed.  Of course, the pants didn't stay on for long and we all got in after awhile. We also ate at a great little burger joint.  We eat burgers and fries so rarely, it was a treat for everyone!

Before heading to Bend we stopped for breakfast at a little hole in the wall diner for breakfast.  It was incredible how we kept hitting all the sunny spots even though there were plenty of showers too.