What a Wonderful Weekend

It was an amazing weekend -- a true escape from the work week and a reminder of what it means to be a family.

Saturday morning we kicked things off with breakfast out at a local cafe. Then, we took a family stroll/ride on a favorite nearby trail. Daddy had never been there before. We took Aleaha's bike
and the Bob.






Daddy pushed Miri in the Bob, while Mommy wrangled Aleaha on the bike (using a dog leash to make sure she didn't go too fast, because she hasn't quite learned to break yet).

Later in the day, we filled Aleaha's pool and had a little fun-in-the-sun.

"Hey, Mom, Miri's putting stuff in my pool!"

Miri had fun too, even if Mommy wouldn't let her get in the water. And oh boy, was she unhappy when it was time to leave this wonderful fun environment to go take an afternoon nap. The girl can throw a fit!

But she can also be a cutie.

On Sunday, Mommy & Daddy got a chance to go on a fantastic trail ride. But that deserves a post of its own! :)

Joker's Wild Poker Ride

A few hands of Poker: $40.
Professional Childcare: $100.
Hay bills for a year: a couple thou.
Opportunity to ride with my Sweetie on the best ride of the year: PRICELESS!

In 2007, my friend and farrier took Chloe and me on this amazing Poker Ride, sponsored by the Oregon Equestrian Trails organization, through the T&E Ranch. In 2008, I took Jake. In 2009, I was 9.5 months pregnant and couldn't go, so I daydreamed about it for another year and took on a project to find another horse. The stars aligned and my dream came true! I got to go do my favorite thing with my favorite person. I'm so lucky!



Jake was a very good boy and took great care of Chris.



Got this shot backwards over my shoulder, without looking. Ha!



Nice views!


Jake listens to Daddy with one ear and listens up the trail with the other.


Arby and Mommy, waiting at a card-picking stop along the trail.

Our hands were terrible and we didn't win anything. But we didn't care -- we were there for the ride, not the Poker!

Playin' Around

Aleaha shows off some doodling she did on the car ride to school one day. "I made four legs, Mom, cuz that's really silly". The circle off to the side was going to be another person, but we got to school before it could be finished.


Miss Miri demonstrates how she's taken her moniker, "Noodle," to heart - or rather, head.


We got the play kitchen for Aleaha when she was 18 months old. In the beginning she couldn't reach very well and had to use a stool to get into the microwave and freezer (note: Miri is attempting to use something as a sort of stepstool here, although it doesn't offer much lift). Suddenly, it seems, Aleaha got big and could easily reach it all. Along comes Miri, having fun with it, reminding us of how small Aleaha once was.



Mommy introduced Aleaha to the fine art of fort-building. Of course, most of mommy's fort-building days were outdoors, but there are a few fun things to be done inside with dining chairs, tablecloths, and clothespins.

Father's Day

When Daddy races, we usually plan to get to the track just one of the two days of the event. Fortunately, this weekend we went on Saturday. The car's converter toasted, so there was only one pass to witness that day, and Daddy was home later that night. This meant he got to spend all of Sunday (Father's Day) with us. Not so good for the Chili Pepper (or the owner's wallet!), but a chance for some family time at home, which was nice.

A few pics from the weekend...


Miss Miri is really into pushing buttons and riding on her horsie, her 4-wheeler, and her little car. She can even push the buttons in Clippity-Clops ears to make him talk and make music.



Three years ago, Aleaha wore this little shirt to the track. And now Miri gets a shot to wear it too. It's a great hand-me-down from our friends Henry and Max. Thank you, Felice! (Here's Aleaha wearing it.)


OK, I admit to putting her in a pink jacket and shoes and a little barrette, lest someone think she is a boy.

Got a couple of pics of the girls sitting together.

Little resemblance here?

Aleaha refuses to wear ear protection. We hang back a long way from the loudest areas, but it's still dang loud.

Watching Daddy get ready to move from the lanes into the staging area. This is as close as we can get to the action, because to go any further would mean getting into the restricted area. Hence, we missed the smoke of the burning-up converter. (Maybe there's a reason they call this event "Fire & Thunder!"?) It's probably better than Mommy didn't see that part.

There was a bit of a mishap when Aleaha's knee met the pavement unexpectedly. She hates bandaids, so she had to sit with a paper towel on her knee for a while.

Miri wore the ear protection, but she faught it (and her nap!) pretty hard.

Having a little Pit-Picnic with Daddy.

Even in the pits, there's some noise to endure. Miri was caught a little offguard here.

Back at the house, Aleaha and Mrs. Jones check out the new picnic table. The ice cream seemed to help Aleaha forget about the bum knee.

Mmmmmm - blue ice cream.

On Father's Day, we spent a little time putting in some fencing for the goats and llama. Tuckered out Mommy & Daddy, but Miss M was still rearin' to go.

The best way to celebrate Father's Day.

BIRTHDAY!!

It was a great day, or rather, a great 2 days. On Tuesday night, we went out to a Mexican restaurant for dinner...

Having a nice time with Daddy.


It's been a while since we've gone to this type of place with Miri, and dinner time with an 11-month-old after a long day at school can be tricky, but all was fine, fortunately.

And then, it was time for a little "family adventure", as we called it. To Mommy & Daddy, this meant the reveal of the new big girl bike! We went to a nearby empty parking lot so that her first ride would be easier than doing it at our house on the grass or gravel.


Here she is, realizing it's hers.


Taking it for a spin. She said, "Mom, is this mine for always?" And then it quickly turned to, "Mom, you and Daddy and Miri can drive home in the car, and I can just ride my bike and meet you there!"


The next day, the girls went to school dressed "as twins", according to Aleaha.


For her school party, Aleaha requested chocolate cupcakes with purple frosting and little horses stuck into them.


She had purple frosting everywhere, including up her nostrils. I took a picture, but decided to spare you all that angle.


She had a very good day at school, wearing her special star-birthday necklace,with "wishes" for her from each of her classmates. Very cute idea.


While dinner was cooking (she requested ham, broccoli, and "letters-n-numbers" pasta), the girls played a little game of Roll The Ball.



Later that evening, we had a little get-together with a few friends to celebrate, and scarfed more cake. This time, it was in the shape of a horse. Hard to tell from this angle that's what it was, but it satisfied her request.


It was a good training session for Miri, of course, as she gears up for her birthday in a few weeks. Here she politely offers Daddy a bite.



She had chocolate in many more places than Aleaha managed to get it. She also got sort of chocolate-drunk, as this photo shows.


Aleaha received so many wonderful presents from friends and family. Here she cheezily shows off a very pretty sundress from Jon & Holly.


And a sure-to-be-favorite "bucking horse" sweatshirt from Aunt Kelly.

Misc. and Sundry

Aleaha got a LiteBrite as an early birthday present. She and Daddy wasted no time getting right into it.


Took a Bob-stroll last weekend. Or, call it a Bob-push -- much more work with an extra 35 pounds sitting on the front. Aleaha takes a rest, but Miri kicks her and pulls her hair the whole time, so lately Aleaha's been thinking maybe it's better to walk!


On that stroll, we saw the largest slithering bit of wildlife I have ever seen here in the Valley. Thank heavens Aleaha was riding on the Bob at this point, cuz it was basically a Salma Hayek Snake Moment for her.

Given that A's birthday is on a Wednesday, we had to prep her birthday cake in stages. Sunday: make and freeze cakes. Monday: make frosting. Tuesday: defrost-n-frost cakes. Wednesday: eat!

Miri on the 4-wheeler and Aleaha on the little car.

No caption needed.

Mrs. Jones decided to take a nap in the toy box. Crazy - Miri decided it was fun to play there too.

We got to visit Daddy at the track for "Fire and Thunder." It was, unfortunately, a case of Hurry Up and Wait. We were waiting with him in the staging lane for quite a while.


Miss Miri had fun playing in Gary & Jeanie's travel trailer.

Bath time is a lot of fun. A lot of work, but fun too.