End of Season Swim Party

Special thanks to our friends the Keims for inviting us to be a part of their neighborhood end-of-season pool party. It was a beautiful day for a picnic and one last dip (and slip) before Fall officially arrives.


Our crew gave the party - and especially the slip & slide - two very soapy thumbs-up!


In other news... Jake and Emily have decided to join the 5th grade band. Concert dates have not yet been announced... they're going to need a bit of practice first!

Dancing by Night; Biking by Day

Drew & friends put on their dancing shoes last Friday to begin eight weeks of ballroom dancing lessons. Lesson #1 - the fox trot - appears to have been a success; plus we managed to feed them pizza and still get them to class stain-free!

After an evening of box-stepping, it was time for some father-son biking on Saturday as part of the annual Tour-de-Lab, a bike race sponsored by our favorite brewpub, the Lucky Lab.

Time for School

The kids are enjoying their first week of the 2009-10 school year. Here are some photos from their first day.

Also in the album are photos from other recent activities, including our visit to nearby Chapman Elementary earlier this week to watch the Vaux Swifts.


The swifts pass through Portland each September during their migration to Central America, and for whatever reason, they love the chimney at Chapman. In fact, Chapman is home to the largest known roost of migrating swifts in the world! It takes nearly 30 minutes for all of them to get settled in for the night and the spectacle draws quite a crowd.

Fireworks on the Waterfront

Took in a symphony performance at Portland Waterfront Park this week. We may not have been able to see the musicians up close and personal via sailboat, but you couldn't beat our view for the post-performance fireworks show!

Our fireworks motto: You're not close enough unless you can see flames from the deck! Here's a photo album.

There's also a couple of particularly handsome young men in this photo album. Drew starts his ballroom dancing class next week, and in a recent trip to the consignment store in search of dress clothes, Jake also scored a new suit!

Rockin out at the State Fair

Emily got to attend her first rock concert this weekend - Katy Perry performing at the Oregon State Fair - with her friends Izzy and Molly.

It was a great show... here are some photos of Katy, her fans, and the fair.

Timothy Lake

Here is a photo album of our end-of-summer camping weekend at Timothy Lake near Mt. Hood. There was lots of biking, hiking, fishing and fun.



Chef Mark made sure we were all well-fed, cooking up everything from brisket and craw-dads to pancakes and pasta.

There were lots of fun families to hang out with; Emily officially learned to ride a bike; Jake got to swim and climb on rocks; Drew got to use his fly fishing rod and set crab traps... all was right with the world. Okay, except for the fact that we really need to invest in camping mats.




There was the distinct feel of fall in the air... a sure sign that September is here. School starts on the 8th and there are just 59 days left until Halloween. (Just ask Jake... he's counting.)

Tip-of-the-week: Pentago...GREAT game! Try it! Thanks Eliza for showing us how the professionals play!

Willamette Cruise

Here are some photos of a recent evening cruise along the Willamette River. Drew and Jake took turns at the helm.