Sunriver, Oregon

It's almost August?  Where has the summer gone?

After returning from a long weekend of camping today I realized I needed to post our vacation pictures from Sunriver before I have to do a mega post again.  We had such a great time in Sunriver, a resort in the high desert region of Oregon outside of Bend.  It was one of the best family vacations I have ever taken and Nicholas continues to ask when we can go back.  We owe a big thank you to Pop-pop and Mom-mom Ranalli for treating us to such an amazing vacation.  The boys lived like kings that week with a deluxe "cabin" on a lake in an neat little resort.

Daddy loved to fish right out of the back of the house!  Chris reeling one in as Nicholas looks on.

 Nicholas helping Daddy release the trout back into the water.

 Pop-pop and Nicholas enjoying the hot tub.

 Hanging out with Mom-mom

Christian is always the busy boy.  Lots of "work" to be done in the backyard on vacation.

He might be mad at me for this one later in life!

Pony rides!

You couldn't wipe the smile off of Christian's face!

Cowboy!

Feeding the horses!

Viewing the sun at the observatory

Love my fisherman!

And my busy bee!

Our attempts at some family photos in front of Mt. Bachelor,

The boys were not happy to be taking a pause from their bike ride.

Now that Nicholas is riding a bike, family bike rides are so much fun!  Especially in Sunriver, they were such a fun little adventure with miles of serene bike trails.

Our luxe pool complete with a water fall and water slide!

Our hot tub at the pool

And yes, to top it off for the kids, some water guns!

Here is a quick little video of Christian going down the water slide, he loved it!  He wanted to do it again and again.

I'm afraid the pictures didn't quite capture how much fun we all had and what a beautiful place it was!  

Happy Birthday Mom-Mom!

We are so happy to have gotten a chance to have an early birthday celebration with Mom Mom last weekend and an awesome vacation in Sunriver, Oregon with her and Pop Pop (pictures to follow in the next few days!) We wish Mom Mom a very special birthday today. We love you and miss you already!

Mom-Mom and her two helpers blowing out the candles!

4th of July

I wanted to post a few pictures of our 4th of July trip up to Seattle (Kirkland) before we left for our Sun River, Oregon trip tomorrow.  The weather is beautiful here in the Pacific North West and summer has started.  We may have to deal with some crummy weather most of the year, but there is no better place during the summer!

Getting ready to walk in the Children's Parade!

Parade Watching

Nicholas was so excited to spend time swimming, riding bikes and hanging out with his good buddy Roman!

We hope everyone had a happy 4th and are enjoying summer!

Summertime!

Memorial Day hike at the Columbia River Gorge

Summer time is here and the boys are growing up quickly-too quickly!

Nicholas got his first two wheel bike this week and was riding it a few days later, no training wheels!  He started out on a balance bike when he was three, which is a bike with no pedals. The idea behind the balance bike is that pedaling is the easy part, balancing is the difficult part; so why not teach them to balance before they pedal?  It works!   I am so proud of my big guy!  It's a very exciting milestone, on par with walking and first words in my book.

And, in other news, my other big guy, Christian, is singing his ABC's!  He has been on a language explosion lately, and so cute to hear his conversations!  He is also in a screaming stage right now, (can you say terrible two's?) and I hope it passes quickly!  Good thing he is so darn cute!

We had a fun little hike on Memorial Day weekend this year, the Gorge is full of many trails with numerous waterfalls, so there is still so much more for us to explore!

Growing up, my birthday on June 23, was always the kick off to my summer.  Over the years you're not as excited for your birthday but it is fun to see how excited the boys get with any birthday or holiday!

Strawberry Picking!

We went to Sauvie Island to strawberry pick with some friends.  Christian and the other little girl his age ate, and ate, and ate.  Not a single strawberry in his pint.  Nicholas and his friend were actually quite helpful!  Yum, fresh Oregon strawberries are delish!

Nicholas insisted we make strawberry jam virtually the minute we got home, thanks to his Highlights subscription, courtesy of his Ranalli grandparents.  We read it in his magazine that morning.  He cleaned them and mashed them, and boy did he LOVE mashing them!

 Lots of summer reading too, we pick up new books from the library every week.

     

Summer hiking dates!  It's so cute to see how much fun kids have together with nothing but nature!

We have been swimming a bunch!  Christian just moved up to the next level in his swim class, which is without me, it's kind of sad.  He is doing great though!  Both boys love swimming.  We also belong to an outdoor swim pool this summer and Christian cleared out the wading pool with a little poop accident, EMBARRASSING!    I am so thankful he did not do it in the big pool, I would have felt terrible to evacuate that one. Something for his memory book for sure!

 Yes, he has that much energy all of the time!

Fly fisherman in training!  Getting ready to go fish with Dad!

It's almost July, can't wait to see what else this summer has in store for us!  Lot's of trips and visitors coming up!

Best Dad Around!

Seriously, unequivocally, hands down, the best!  We love you Chris!  Happy Father's Day!

Chris and the boys eating lunch during a four wheeling adventure thru Tillamook State Forest earlier this week.

Chris also stayed home to care for the boys this past week, while I said goodbye to a great woman, my grandmother.  She was the proud grandmother of 8 grandchildren and 6 great-grandson's and a nurse for 45 years! We are lucky to have such great memories of GG that will last a life time!  As she use to say to me about Chris, "Boy, he must be smart!  You're lucky to have him!"  I sure am, Gram, and glad we have you to be our angel watching over us!

Thank you to Pop-Pop Ranalli, Grandpop Bob, and Pop for being special and important father's in our life.  May you all have a very special day!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers out there!  I know my children are very fortunate to have two wonderful grandmother's and two great-grandmother's!  Grandmom Ranalli is out here visiting in Portland and was able to spend Mother's Day with us this year. My mom and all of the mother figures in my life, including my mother in-law, grandmother's, aunts and friends certainly have shaped who I am as a person and I know that it will also shape the character of my children.

 

Spending a beautiful Mother's Day in Portland today!

We love you Mom-Mom!

We love you Mimi!

We love you GG (Great-Gram)

We love you Great-Grandmom DD!

As a mother now myself, the greatest gift of all is seeing my two boys love each other!  Being a mom is the greatest thing in the world!