Da Vinci Days!

Da Vinci Days (a local celebration of art, science and technology with music, food, a parade, kinetic sculpture races and all kinds of things to do for kids) was last weekend, and, as usual, we had a blast. Ryan's parents, niece (age 12) and her friend (age 13) arrived Wednesday and stayed until Sunday morning. Jess and the girls arrived Friday afternoon and stayed until after dinner Sunday. We had a super-busy, action-packed time and a really fun visit with everyone. We weren't ready for anyone to leave when the time came!

The 5-year-olds watching the electric car race. Aidan and Hannah are so adorable together--they've been best buddies since they were 1 1/2. They sometimes have a brother-sister type of relationship (good and bad) but they seem to get along better every time we get together. We'll be heading to southern Oregon to visit them next month.

For Aidan, da Vinci Days equals ice cream days. He had a waffle cone all three days of the event.

Little angel Lauren. She wasn't feeling well the first night, but made a quick recovery.

Lauren and Daddy doing their crazy acrobatics in the park.
Kinetic sculpture parade on Saturday. This one is the Calistoga dragon--and it breathed fire!
Our beautiful niece Elise and Lauren at the Frisbee dog competition on Saturday. Elise has three younger brothers and is great with kids! She is really sweet and we enjoyed her company very much.
Aidan in the medical helicopter that landed in the field on Saturday.

Aidan and Lauren playing soccer in the children's village.

Aidan checks out a race car.

Aidan attempting to learn some Irish dancing moves. He was actually really good at it!

Cuties in their PJs

My Jazzercise audition is less than three weeks away now, and I've been practicing quite a bit. When uploading pictures recently, I found several that Ryan had taken one evening before bed, while I was at class. Enjoy the cuteness!

Two-year-old girlie!

Lauren turned 2 two weeks ago! She got to eat ice cream in the nude--I don't think it gets much better than that for her (the girl LOVES to be "nakey," as she calls it). We didn't have a party but had a couple of friends over for fresh cherry pie, ice cream and cupcakes. Our 2-year-old is as cute, smart and fiesty as can be, and impresses us every day with her amazing vocabulary. She is so much fun! My mom got her one of those tricycles with no wheels, and she has gotten so fast on it...she just zips along behind Aidan on the sidewalk. They have been playing together pretty nicely, still with at least one major squabble daily. I guess that will probably last for a while. :-)

By the way, the baby she's feeding ice cream to in the picture below had never had ice cream or cupcakes before--first time for everything, right?

Fun at the Beach

Getting behind on blogging again...we went to the beach a few weeks ago to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday. Although we only live about an hour away, we don't get to the beach very often. We had a wonderful time--the Oregon coast is beautiful, the weather was nice, and the kids had a great time running around in the water, making sandcastles, flying a kite, etc. Plus, Aidan just loves staying at hotels. Our dear family friends from Arizona joined us, en route home from a cruise in Alaska. We did not want to leave!

June Cuties

Just a few pictures for now...will post more from our trip to the beach soon.

Preschool Graduation

Aidan had his preschool graduation a couple of weeks ago...way too cute. He will still be going there for the summer before starting half-day kindergarten this fall. At the graduation, all the kids sang songs and recited poems together and individually. Aidan even stood up and named all the continents and some of the oceans! We were impressed that the teacher could keep ten 4- and 5-year-olds under control for more than an hour--Aidan was definitley getting antsy but did great. Afterward, all the graduates and parents went out for lunch. It was a fun day!

The Big 5!

Our sweet little Aidan turned 5 on Sunday! Enjoy some pictures from his party out at Bethie's house. Despite the intermittent rain, a great time was had by all.

New race track! He had fun playing with it while we got ready for the party.

We rented a big inflatable slide. The kids had a blast. We had to unplug it a few times due to rain, but then we'd start it back up again when the rain stopped. We, um, tried really, really hard to abide by the long list of rules given to us by the rental company.

Aidan finishes off the pinata! Look at Lauren peeking her head through the window of the play structure.

Lauren found a Cars sticker! Mostly the kids threw the toys (punching balloons, glow sticks, squirter rings, etc.) off to the side and loaded up on the candy.
The kids each decorated their own lantern with foam stickers.

Aidan chose an ice cream cake with four kinds of chocolate!
Our friend Chase stays close to the cake while we get ready to sing to Aidan...
Chase and Lauren enjoyed their cake together. He is really sweet with her.
Our bestest friends Jessica, Hannah (5) and Sarah (2) from southern Oregon stayed after the party and had a sleepover, then stayed Monday to help me celebrate my birthday, too! We brought our bean bin out front and Sarah and Lauren checked it out together.
Jess just got a new minivan, which is Aidan's absolute favorite type of vehicle ever. He spent most of their visit playing in it or asking to play in it.
Here's a nice picture of our house that Jessica took. I got the flags for my birthday...they are fun and festive.

Bad Blogger

Hi friends and family! Where has the time gone? We have been busy and are looking at a few busy weeks ahead, too. I thought I'd make lists of what everyone is up to.

Ryan:

1) Has been playing ultimate Frisbee again! (He used to play in college.) He joined a city league through Parks and Rec. He is really enjoying it.
2) Is working very hard but not as much at night, which is nice for me.
3) Is planning to go to New York City this summer to see a Mets game with his cousin Matt, who lives in L.A.

Amy:

1) I just submitted my application to become a Jazzercise instructor. Totally not something I ever thought I would do but I am very excited. I've actually been doing Jazzercise off and on since I was a sophomore in high school! My audition and test are August 8-10 in Portland.
2) As a result of this new endeavor, I dance around like I am in Footloose and whenever a song from Jazzercise comes on in a store or on the radio, I feel the need to do the routine.
3) I am about to turn 32!
4) I am going to Colorado for work in early June.

Aidan:

1) Turns 5 on June 1st!
2) Is TOTALLY, COMPLETELY into playing with his cars from the Disney/Pixar movie Cars. That is basically all he plays with right now. He is getting several new diecast cars for his birthday that have been missing from the collection (Darrell Cartrip, Charlie Checker, and some other more obscure characters for those in the Cars know).
3) Is starting to ask a lot how to spell words and what letter some words start with. It's a lot of fun.
4) Is enjoying having sleepovers at his grandma's house about once a week.

Lauren:

1) Is getting close to 2 (July 2nd)!
2) Is talking up an absolute storm. The latest thing that impressed me was: "Here you go. Sippy. All done."
3) Is quite the fiesty little character. She and Aidan both do this thing when they're mad where they make a hitting motion and say "uh, uh, uh." Aidan knows it's not OK to do but Lauren doesn't. She does it to us when we're having the nerve to try and put her in the carseat, etc.
4) Is my little partner in fruit eating and can eat more dried mangos than you could believe.


Lauren put on Aidan's shirt, bike helmet and underpants (both legs through one leg hole) by herself. She puts his shoes on a lot, too.

Aidan is almost 5!


Lauren wearing her baby in her sling made by Jessica; Aidan with the pigeon from "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" (an excellent book).
Lauren with our neighbor and special buddy Maryella. They are the cutest together. Lauren calls Maryella "Ella" and her sunglasses "eyes."