Tennis practice

On the way home from our beach trip today, we stopped at Dorchester Park in Lincoln City to let Audrey try out her new tennis racket. She'll start tennis lessons tomorrow at Peninsula Park, and we thought maybe we should give her a brief introduction to the sport before the class starts. After hitting some balls around for awhile, Audrey and Kate served as ball girls for Mama and Dada. There were many balls to shag, as Mama and Dada hadn't played tennis in years.

Beach trip

Audrey and Kate enjoyed a four-day stay at what they call "the beach house" in Gleneden Beach. The weather was sunny and fairly warm, a real treat considering what the average Oregon Coast weather is usually like. Unfortunately, Audrey was fighting off a bug on the way to the beach and then Kate and Mama and Dada came down with it during the trip. It made everyone feel a little sluggish. We did still manage to get down to the beach, make a trip to Mo's, and swim in the pool a couple of times. On one day, Audrey went back-to-school shopping with Mama at the outlet mall while Dada and Kate checked out a fun park Aunt Jill and cousin Lily recommended.

A night without Pink(!)

Audrey and Kate are spending the night with GG tonight. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision while we were in Beaverton this afternoon, and as such, the girls did not have any PJs or changes of clothes with them. It also means Audrey doesn't have Pink -- her well-worn, much loved blanket-bear -- with her. Pink has been Audrey's nap and bedtime companion and all-around trusty comfort-giver since Audrey was about nine months old. GG texted to say that Audrey couldn't find an acceptable substitute from among GGs collection of stuffed animals (she couldn't find one that "smells like Pink"), but was going to give bedtime a try anyway. Hopefully she'll still sleep okay. It's been a weekend of milestones for Audrey: she graduated from preschool on Friday, rode a bike all by herself without training wheels for the first time yesterday, and is now going to spend tonight sleeping without Pink.

Lord, hear our prayer

Kate "reading" along with the service at church this morning.

Audrey rides a bike!

Surprising both her parents and herself, Audrey rode her bike with no training wheels all by herself today! We had taken off the training wheels on her bike awhile ago, but put them back on after that first trial run and hadn't made another attempt until this week. Today Mama took her down to the Archbishop Howard School parking lot to practice. After a few assisted rides, Audrey finally took off on her own. She needs help getting started, and hasn't quite figured out how to brake, but once started can keep herself going. (Note: In the first video below there's some background noise from a kid riding a gas-powered go-kart.)

Uppy uppy!

After a visit to the Rebuilding Center today, Audrey and Kate both wanted to be carried.

Audrey's preschool graduation

Today was Audrey's last day at Heartwood Preschool. A graduation celebration was held in the evening at Normandale Park. There was a short program to honor Audrey and the other graduates, after which there was a family potluck picnic. Later on, the kids class presented teachers Amy and Karma with their graduation gift: some garden tools and mosaic stepping stones with the kids' names they had created for the Heartwood plot in the Frazer Park Community Garden.

Big spender

Audrey got to make her first purchase with the allowance she's been earning this evening during a trip with Mama to Target to buy school supplies. She spent $4.14 on a water bottle and a booklet of Hello Kitty stickers.

Staying cool

Audrey and Kate kept cool today with a trip to couple of fountains in the city. They spent lots of time on TriMet vehicles, since Mama needed the car for work. First they rode a bus, MAX, and then the streetcar to get to the fountain at Jamison Square (pictured). They said they liked the Salmon Street Springs fountain they played in after the Bridge Pedal on Sunday better, so after getting lunch near the square they rode the streetcar and MAX to the Salmon Street fountain. After playing there for a bit, they took a couple of buses home. Thankfully, all of the vehicles were air conditioned.

Slip 'n Slide with Brin

Audrey and Kate headed down to Salem today to play with their friend Brin. The beat the heat with a Slip 'n Slide.

Bridge pedal

Audrey and Kate took part in the Providence Bridge Pedal today. They did the 6-bridge route, and were joined by Honey Grandpa. Mama hauled Kate in the bike trailer, and Audrey rode with Dada on her trail-a-bike. Highlights included the great views of the city, lots of free treats, watching some taiko drummers perform on the Fremont Bridge, and cooling off in the Salmon Street Springs fountain at the end of the ride.

Circus circus

Audrey and Kate went to watch the Wanderlust Circus perform at Washington Park last evening as part of the Washington Park Summer Festival. They got there really early to find a good spot to sit, and good thing they did, as apparently it was a record-setting crowd that joined them for the show. They played for a bit in the rose garden while they waited for the performance to start. They enjoyed the show, particularly the aerialists. Kate, in particular, really got into the show, grooving along with the music and copying some of the poses and moves of the performers on stage.

Visit with Lily and Nana

Audrey and Kate headed to Beaverton today to hang out with cousin Lily at GG's house. Later they were joined by Nana.

Sprinkler sprites

After getting home from the Fremont Fest and resting for a bit yesterday, Audrey and Kate got out and set up their caterpillar sprinkler to stay cool in the 100-degree heat.

Fremont Fest 2012

Audrey and Kate decorated their bikes and headed down to Beaumont Village for the annual Fremont Fest yesterday. Unlike past years, they got down to the staging area to be in the bike and pet parade early; usually they're running late and have to jump into the parade from a side street after it starts. Honey and Honey Grandpa joined them there. Kate was able to pedal herself for a bit in the parade. When the parade ended, they parked their bikes and went to explore what was on offer. They got to paint a car and bounce a couple of times in a bounce house. They made a bracelet, checked out the brand new Grand Central Bakery that opened in the neighborhood a few weeks ago, and ate lots of treats. The thermometer hit 102 degrees, making it the hottest day in Portland so far this year. To stay cool, the girls had a snow cone, drank lots of water, and ran through misters some of the vendors had set up.

Bride with baby

Kate tried on Audrey's bride dress-up outfit and accessorized it with a baby doll. We're trying to convince the girls they need to graduate from college first before they get married and have kids. We'll see if it works.