Camping!

(Note to readers: this is the fourth new post I've put up tonight, so scroll down for more!)

On September 17, Oliver turned 25 months old!

And on September 19, we went on our first camping trip!

After we set up our tent, we joined friends at Bowdish Reservoir for a swim.

Then we all reconvened at the campsite to eat.

After dinner, the kiddos hunted in the woods for marshmallow-roasting sticks ...

... then used them.

The kiddos loved their s'mores.

The kiddos slept surprisingly well in the tent and woke up refreshed.

Other kiddos woke up and, after a walk to run off some of their excess energy, they took to playing together.

And they kept playing together ...

... and kept playing ...

... as we broke down camp.

As the site cleared, Mark cut avocado slices for the kiddos.

Then, before we took off, we lined up all seven camping kiddos for a group photo!

Then it was back to business as usual -- reading books ...

... and drawing pictures.  Madeline drew a family portrait ...

... a picture of her dentist visit (the cuts are supposed to be "a new type of musical instrument") ...

... and a picture of "bad guys in jail."

And that, finally, catches us up to today!

Back to Rhode Island, back to school, to the dentist, and more

After Lost Lake, our Oregon trip began to wind down.

Toward the end, we squeezed in another playground visit.

Madeline set up an ice cream shop.  She sold me ice cream for one dollar, Summer ice cream for two dollars, and Oliver ice cream for twenty-two dollars.

And then we found ourselves at the airport.

After a surprisingly busy but poorly documented weekend, featuring a fun Labor Day party and an epic basement-cleaning session, it was time for the school year to begin.  Madeline was excited!

Oliver wanted to join in the fun, too, so he had a special sign about going back to a daycare that had been transformed while we were in Oregon -- new floors, new furniture, new teacher, new Cozy Corner.  He was excited!

Both kids had a great time at school.  And on Friday, Madeline had her first session of after-school soccer.  She loved it!  She said, "We had to run to the fence and I didn't win.  Another, bigger kid did.  But I was great at kicking the ball.  I scored a goal!"

Also, she wears number 8 -- not as good as number 4, she says, but still pretty good.

That weekend, we went out for ice cream at Gray's.

Then we went to Cory's Lane to look for fossils.

We didn't find any ...

... but we did break up some nice sedimentary rocks looking for them.

On Sunday, the kiddos were happy.

To prepare for a camping trip, we practiced setting up our tent.  Madeline thought it was very cool.

Then she played with dinosaurs ...

... and then Oliver played with dinosaurs.

During the week, we took the kiddos to the dentist.  They played in the office before their appointments ...

... and grinned with their nice clean teeth and fancy balloons afterward.

6. Lost Lake

Back in Beaverton, the kids paid some more playground visits.

And Summer and I snuck off one afternoon for a date -- a movie (The End of the Tour) and a late lunch at a food cart that served Georgian (the country, not the state) cuisine.  A highlight was this tarragon soda:

The kiddos had some more down time with the family.

But we also squeezed in one more big excursion: a trip to Lost Lake in the Mount Hood National Forest.

It was a lovely day for a three-mile hike.

You could just see Mount Hood poking out amidst the dramatic clouds.

After visiting the lakeshore a bit ...

... we got to hiking in earnest.  Oliver spent a significant amount of time riding on his family's shoulders ...

... but Madeline impressively relied on her own two feet to carry her for the vast majority of the three miles we walked.

Oliver did some walking too.

And he loved pausing to throw rocks in the water.

Then we all paused and had a snack.

We did not follow the Huckleberry Mountain trail ...

... but instead hugged the lake shore, which mostly stayed nice and level.

At the end of the hike, the kiddos hugged Uncle Matt.

And then it was back on the road, through the Columbia gorge, to Beaverton.