royalmom

We took a short hike in Forest Park…

Then we played on this sweet playground…

The chain link side gate/corner fence, held together with a bungee cord is no more! We don’t have the RV pictured so the utility trailer is tucked behind he gate now. Jason does good work once again.

A very old “before” pic…

Now…

Jason ripped out a section of chain link gate and fencing we had on one side of the house and is replacing it with wood.

He wants to install an eight foot gate and a four foot gate that will open barn door style to allow for RV parking. We’ll be sticking our utility trailer back there for now, since we sold the RV, but it’s good to have the option;)

An eight foot, wood gate is going to require a BIG post. A big post will require a BIG hole. Jason had to dig through a layer of roots and then a layer of clay but he did it! Simon jumped in the hole a couple times to show the progress of a four foot deep hole.

I was outside with him and the entire time he was digging we discussed the pros and cons of renting some kind of digger. We chatted and chatted about it and then the hole was finished. Ha! He has two more holes to dig but they will be small.

Simon’s crazy face, “help me!” He and Xander are both standing up straight. It’s deep!

Lotus runs off fast but this one started with a scoot and a plotting grin. I love looking at photos again later and finding a few more gems I overlooked the first time.

My Isaac is taking a full week of fencing classes, aka “Fencing camp.” I hope he enjoys it enough for three hours a day;)

Jason is such a rock star. On a whim I decided to see how cheap we could acquire a swing set on craigslist. IN THE SAME DAY Jason bought a play structure, transported it home and reassembled it in our backyard. The kids are going nuts on it and having fun.

A tether ball pole is in the yard!

After a month long hiatus, I finally picked up my knitting and finished this shawl: The Traveling Companion Shawl. It may not be exactly my style but it was fun to knit. Who knows…maybe I’ll make it my style!

I’m thinking another shawl done in a less frilly pattern, with cozy alpaca, would be nice for winter around the house. I’ll need to wade through the many many shawl patterns online. I’ll be asking myself “What would Marilla from Anne of Green Gables wear?” That’s what I want!

Oak Island trail on Sauvie Island:

According to my blog, I took the kids on this trail back in 2008 and it was not a hit. We decided to try it again so Lotus could enjoy the freedom to hike without the dangers of a narrow trail and a sudden drop off the side of a cliff (like most of the Gorge hikes have).

It was flat, hot and long, just like we experienced before. Just like his seven year old self, Isaac once again asked if we could never do this hike again. Ha!

We took these pics with the point and shoot camera we haven’t used in a while. Mostly the kids use this camera so we found some old gems on it, like this view from the back seat during our cross-country road trip last fall. Happy Lotus in her carseat, Jason driving and me trying to get cozy with the neck pillow.

Our favorite hiking spot in the Gorge has been hiked so many times I haven’t bothered to take the camera the last few times. This time some friends came and took pics. Yay! See, we do get out of the house.

The Lake family, minus Dan…

It looks like Xander did get a few shots on his camera when we went last month. I see the date says 2011 but it really was last month. Xander cam:

Obviously he had me take this one of him…

Mom and Lotus, holding up the rear…

The roar of water everywhere…