Bend, Oregon

We had a great vacation to Bend. It was a perfect combination of relaxation, family time and outdoor/pool activities.
Josie enjoyed playing with her cousin Paul.

We went on long walks along the Deschutes River. Josie not only wanted to throw rocks in the river she wanted to go in herself. Here she starts off just looking. Progresses to reaching....

Here she is pretty much saying what she always says these days "I do it myself!" over and over and over.

We loved walking over to use the pool. Josie borrowed cousin Paul's life jacket and was pretty much going from one end of the pool to the other by herself.

My friend, Katie, and her son Cole came by for a visit.

Grandma joined us for Josie first real movie in the movie theater. We all enjoyed UP but Josie was mostly mesmerized by the size of the screen and how loud it was.

Josie descovered the portable DVD player. It was still a very long drive but the hour or so long battery of the player came in handy just at the right time.

On our way home we stopped in Portland for a couple hours to hit our favorite Italian restaurant which is conveniently located next to Josie's favorite park. Obviously all she cares about in this video is her frozen yogurt.

On Friday night Marty hosted a Dads and Daughters section at the Storm basketball game. Josie's good friend Bryn and her dad joined them. Apart from a couple meltdowns from being overwhelmed by the noise and production of it all they had a great time.

Grandparents

Josie is a very lucky girl. She has spent the past several days with Grandma and Papa and on Saturday morning she had all of her grandparents around giving her a lot of love and attention.

Earlier in the week we had a couple 90 degree days. We filled up Josie's little pool so she could cool off.

Camp Long and Yo-Yo

What a nice weekend! The sun was out and we had the perfect combo of outdoor adventures, friends, family and sunshine.

On Saturday we walked to Camp Long. It is a park/camp about 1.5 miles from our house. There were trails, ponds and a climbing rock wall. We all climbed to the very top. Can you see them at the very top of the vertical photo? Josie LOVED it and had NO fear while climbing. I'm sure I made up for it for her.

Oma and Opa found a stray dog near their house. After unsuccessfully trying to find its owners they decided to take him in and name him Yo-Yo. Josie was in heaven.

Portland

Two weekends ago Josie had a pretty bad cold and this is pretty much how she spent an entire day. She propped the pillow under her head and under her feet all by herself. Other than being sick, she looks pretty comfortable.
Last week at preschool, Teacher Sara read The Very Hungry Catepillar to the kids.
Last Thursday morning we took off for Portland on the train. We had a great time.
We ate ice cream cones, went to the zoo, played at the water park and of course took a couple naps.

We weren't on the train more than 5 minutes when Josie conked out. She slept for at least half of the train ride home.

On our daily walks Josie has really been into "snugging" trees, light posts and fire hydrants. She literally can't pass one without running up and "snugging" it. It is quite entertaining but it sure slows us down a lot.

Rain, George and Spanish Songs

Josie and I braved the rainstorm on Tuesday and headed to the Children's Museum. Carrying her new umbrella was almost as fun as seeing the Curious George exhibit at the museum

It has been typical spring-like weather. Earlier in the week it was cold and rainy like October and the last couple of days have actually felt like spring. It is always a good day when the weather is good enough to enjoy the swing set.
Here is Josie singing a cheesy Enrique Iglesias song. I sing it to her somtimes in the bathtub because they lyrics say "rain falls slowly over me." Lately this has been her favorite song to sing.

And here she is singing the itsy bitsy spider in Spanish.

The Beach

It was a beautiful, sunny Friday. We decided to go down to Alki beach and let Josie play in the sand for awhile before going to our favorite pizza place, Pegasus. It was warm but it certainly was not swim suit weather nor did I think she would want to go in the freezing cold water of Elliot Bay. I couldn't have been more wrong. Here is the progression of the afternoon.
Josie in clothing having fun in the sand.


Oops. Her pants get all muddy and wet. Off with the pants.

She plays around in her diaper for awhile until that gets all wet and muddy too. Off with the diaper.
Her she is, running around naked and free. I can't believe she didn't freeze. She had a ball and was covered in wet sand from head to toe within minutes.

Mexico

To celebrate our 40th birthdays my friends and I decided to take our bi-annual girls weekend to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The weather was perfect, the hotel was beautiful and our 4 days were extremely relaxing. Our hotel was right on the beach.

It just wouldn't be Mexico without the token Mariachi band photo.

Everything was extremely relaxing, that is until we heard about the Swine Flu on the way to the airport. The masks were not all that attractive but the incubation period has passed and we all seem healthy. Not a fun, but definitely a memorable way, to end the trip.

While I was relaxing on the beach, Josie was having a ball at Liz's house.

And at the Everett Children's Museum. Thanks, Liz, Ed and Stephanie!!