Fall Swimming Lessons

Addison began her Fall session of swimming lessons today.  She was so excited to go swimming and meet her teacher that she kept asking if our next stop was swimming lessons.  It was so cute!  Addison was in the "Advanced Seals" class as she is already comfortable with the water and is just in need of learning how to propel her body through the water.  This was the first time Addison took swimming lessons at North Clackamas Aquatic Park, in fact, this was the first time she had ever been to that pool and she was intrigued by the "big slides"!  Today they spent the majority of class floating with assistance from the teacher, jumping, putting their heads under the water and practicing kicking.  Addison did a very good job, she was very attentive and did everything she was asked.  Be sure to check back to see how Addison is progressing in her lessons :)

We will continue classes for the next month going Tuesday and Thursday evenings.  I am not sure if we will continue with the next session yet, as it will be right around the Holidays and with Mr. Jack coming shortly after, it might be better to wait until his arrival.  Oh and no, we didn't forget about Miss Kennedy....unfortunately, she has to be 3 years old in order to take classes without a parent and although I am more than happy to jump in the water with her, the parent/child classes are only offered during work hours :(

Puget Sound Getaway

This weekend we had the opportunity to go stay at one of our surgeon's beach house at Puget Sound.  We drove down Friday night after I got off work and got settled in.  We woke up Saturday morning, Brian and the girls jumped in the hot tub and I was bummed that I didn't get to go in since I am pregnant and all.  Addison and Kennedy just love hot tubs!  We then relaxed a bit in the house and got ready to stroll the beach.  The beach here was rocky and covered with barnacles as opposed to the Oregon Coast which is sandy beaches.  It was a change for us, but very neat none the less.  The girls had fun looking at the GIANT star fish that covered the rocks and finding numerous whole sand dollars of all sizes among all of the other shells.  We had an opportunity to take out some double kayaks, but decided against it since the girls were tired after searching for shells and the tide was very low so it would mean dragging the kayaks pretty far, which meant lots of work for Brian ;)  We had the opportunity to stay until Sunday, but decided to head home Saturday night for a few reasons....well, Brian really wanted to watch Sunday football and although I was enjoying all of the relaxing, I was struggling with allergies pretty bad (I am not sure I have sneezed so much in my life!).  All in all, it was an amazing time and I can't wait to do it again...with allergy medicine on board that is!

All Clear!

Today Kennedy had another follow up appointment with the ENT doctor.  Back in July, Kennedy went back to see Dr. Brock and he removed her ear tubes that were put in last Fall.  Well, during that appointment, he said she had some stagnant fluid in her left ear that appeared to be causing a bit of hearing problems and to follow up in a few weeks to see if it cleared up on it's own.  At today's appointment Dr. Brock said there was no fluid and she is hearing just fine.  Which means,  Kennedy doesn't need to get ear tubes placed again!  Oh and I forgot to mention, Kennedy does such an amazing job letting Dr. Brock poke at her ears, she just sits there and smiles the whole time :)

Sisters!

Today I took the girls to Picture People to have their pictures taken together.  I had actually intended to have pictures of them taken together as well as individually.  However, during the pictures I decided to just do "sisters" shots and would go back to get their individual pictures taken.  I found that this will not only be  cheaper, but  also, maybe I will get their pictures taken NOT in matching outfits ;)

The girls had so much fun posing together in their frilly dresses and then again in their Beavers cheerleader outfits.  I can't wait to have pictures of all 3 kiddos soon!

Hood River Fruit Loop Adventure

Brian and I have really been enjoying going up to the Hood River Fruit Loop this year.  In the past we have made scenic drives out there and dropped by a few places, but nothing too adventurous.  Well, this year we have made 3 trips thus far and each time has been more fruitful (literally!) than the last.  This time we went to Kiyokawa Farms and picked ginger gold apples and Oregon strawberries, then to Draper Girls Farm and picked peaches, then to Packer Orchards & Bakery for cookies and ice cream and a picnic lunch.  Brian's mom, Cheryl, joined us for a fun filled day as well!  Since arriving home with our good, we have made peach cobbler, canned peaches, red hot applesauce, and strawberry fruit leather.  Now, we just need to can some regular applesauce, sliced peaches, and dehydrate some apples for yummy apple chips!  I can't wait for your next trip for pears and more apples....not to mention pumpkins!

Lincoln City Kite Festival

This was my first year going to the Lincoln City Kite Festival, however, Brian and Addison were able to enjoy the festivities 2 years ago.  This was a fun family event (Mama Cheryl & Mama Vicki joined us), the weather was perfect, it wasn't overly crowded, and the girls had fun playing in the sand and well getting a bit wet too!  I hope that we are able to make it an annual trip. We were able to enjoy the evening overnight in Lincoln City, which only added to our enjoyment.

A Day at Laurelhurst Park

Sorry for this post being out of order, but I completely forgot and had some great pictures to share from our day at Laurelhurst Park.  We had so much fun walking around the park and found the play structures to play on.  The girls loved, loved, loved the swings!  It was such a fun park and there were even teeter totters, which along with merry-go-rounds are hard to find these days it seems.  I can't wait to take the girls there again!