We headed up to Silver (Creek <-because I'm old enough to remember when that was the real name) Falls today and did a couple of the hikes, along with Poppy and Nonna. The hikes are great, even taking you behind a couple of the falls, and the kids had a great time. Carson was a little tired and ended up spending more time in the backpack than Nolan, who could be coaxed into going anywhere if you just held the bag of Cheerios a few feet in front of him. I love watching the kids experience the great outdoors.... and love it when they're so dirty they need a bath at the end of the day, so this was a really good day!

 
 

When I first met Scott, he had a Superman t-shirt. I probably gave him a funny look when he wore it, but he obviously enjoyed it, so oh well. A year or so ago Carson became fascinated with a Superman PJ set he had... wanted to wear it everywhere. Ended up wearing it out! He's now on his second (maybe third??) Superman PJs. And now, amid these Superman aficinados, Nolan can belt out a recognizable version of the Superman theme song. (If he ever cooperates with me when I try to video it, I'll post the footage - it's hilarious.) So here they are... my Supermen (or Supermans?).

The obvious question might be whether mommy feels left out.
Nope. She's just fine.
Amused at the prevalence of the Y chromosome in her life (see the previous post), in love with her boys and just fine.

Carson picked up a new word this week: disgusting.

Not that it's a bad word (he’s picked up a few of those lately too), but it has opened my eyes to my future… boys. We spent yesterday chasing a crazy little eyeball toy around the yard, throwing it at each other and screaming like it was real. “AAAHHHH, that’s disgusting!”  

 

Driving home Scott asked Carson to name all the things he could think of that are disgusting. The joke was really on me… he knew what was coming, I did not:

 

Carson: “Boogers are disgusting!”

Dad: “Nolan’s diapers are disgusting!”

Mom: “Daddy’s feet are disgusting!”

Carson: “That tree…!”

Mom: “Trees aren’t disgusting…?”

Carson: “…with poop on it!" HAH, Hah, Ha, ha.

Mom: “Oh, well, yes.”

Carson: “That car… with poop on it!”

Mom cringes as she sees a pattern forming…

Carson: “That grass… with poop on it!”

Daddy: Now trying to drive while rolling on the floorboard with laughter and gasping for air. “Welcome to the mind of a three-year-old boy!”

 

Carson spends the rest of the car ride (a good 15 minutes) pointing out EVERYTHING he sees and laughing hysterically at the thought of that object with poop on it.

 

Dad spends the rest of the car ride in a jovial mood apparently remembering his own child-hood days.

 

Nolan spends the rest of the trip laughing because Carson is laughing.

 

Mom spends the rest of the car ride contemplating the absurdity of Oregon’s Open Container law applying to the passenger in a car…

"Mommy, look. I got dressed by myself!"
"Good job Carson!"
"Yep, I built a tower to reach. Come see, Mama. C'mon...."
"Oh my."

The Burke, Green and Harmon families joined forces for a garage sale today - made some money, hung out, let the kids play... not a bad Saturday!

"Argh!" Pirate Carson defends the tire-ship and his crew from would-be attackers...

Ymm... Nolan had his first fried plantains the other day. It was love at first bite!

Everyday Daddy and Carson water and check on the status of Carson's pumpkin seeds now planted happily in the back corner of the yard, along with a watermelon plant we thought had died, but that seems to have experienced a re-birth in our mulch bin. We've also harvested some peas and (very baby) carrots that Carson has been enjoying now and then. Not bad for a the first crops from Acorn Ct!

 

Carson started gym class tonight and loved it! An hour of tumbling, swinging on bars, running and jumping is right up his alley and teacher Alex did a great job of keeping all of the kids engaged. We were a little nervous when we first arrived and saw that the parents were all supposed to watch from the entry area since we assumed Carson would want us close-by, but he ran right in and joined the group like he's been coming for months. We'll be looking forward to our Tuesday night outings from now on...! Here are a few pictures - through the window of the observation area:)

 

We spent the weekend camping with our church group at Dorena Lake in Cottage Grove, OR. We've done the trip for the past few years and it's always been fun although the extremely hot weather we've been having this year made us realize that even really fun things turn miserable when you can't get away from the heat. By Saturday afternoon we had two tired boys who could not settle down in the sweltering trailer so we threw them in the air conditioned truck and drove south for nap time. They were happily sleeping away so we went all the way to the Wildlife Safari in Winston, OR and spent a few hours driving among the lions and tigers and bears (oh my!), as well as the elephants, yaks, elk and a giraffe that was just strolling down the side of the road. (To name just a few of the dozens of animals we saw...) It was a great way to beat the heat of the day and we were back in time to join the group for dinner. Thanks to everyone who joined us for the weekend... here's hoping the weather cools off soon so we can all return to to the things we enjoy! Like life in general.

 

Nolan has now gone three days without a pacifier (and almost two weeks without formula/bottles) so I took some time this afternoon to gather up all of his old friends and put them away... out of sight, out of mind! So long paci's! Mommy is done crawling around desperately on the floor in the middle of the night looking for you, but you did serve us well during those first crucial months.