LONDON!

 What a beautiful, full, crazy whirlwind the past few weeks have been! The kids started school a few days ago.

 In a quiet moment, John lay down on the bed with his eyes closed. 

"Why am I so tired?" John asked me, truly perplexed and frustrated. 

I was amused that he asked such a question in earnest puzzlement. 

 We had an incredible-albeit exhausting-summer with the kids being home; John worked two full time jobs; in the past two weeks we ran Hood to Coast; flew to London the following day, all while making sure everything was ready to go to school after we returned home. 

We finished our 3rd Hood to Coast race. 

Our summer started off big with going to Chicago; it ended with an adventure in London. 

London was a trip that was imagined and planned within a few weeks. 

John wanted to give our family an adventure, a trip different from the amusement park type trips that we usually take. We mulled over it for weeks and weeks on where to go. 

I had suggested National Parks; John didn't seem satisfied with those ideas. He had something else in mind. Finally, I just handed it over to him and declared: "I will go wherever you decide you want to go." He planned London. 

London turned out to be the perfect place to go.  It was the perfect mix of adventure, history and fun. When I close my eyes now and think back to this trip, several moments come to mind that I will remember forever. They are the ones when we are just together as a family, enjoying a new place. 

One of these moments was picnicking in St. James park. Our kids were fascinated by pigeons -of all things-and excitedly rallied around them like obnoxious Americans. John was annoyed; I relished the moment and the absurdity of it. 

 

I can feel that moment, sitting against that tree, my tired, jet lagged mind resting as I had to do nothing except watch my kids enjoy life. 

Another such moment was a beautiful Sunday afternoon after a wonderful church service we attended. It was again another gorgeous summer day and we dined al fresco on a quaint, bustling street. It was a beautiful, carefree moment, sitting in central London with my family. 

Traveling with six people in London is not an easy task. Europe is not made for big families it seems. In fact, we hardly saw any other kids the entire time we were there. We were a spectacle of sorts walking down the streets and into restaurants. People marveled at us, unsure of what to do with us. 

 John was an absolute expert at navigating the streets and subways of this magnificent city. He got us all around, never making a wrong turn or losing anyone! It was such a different experience commuting on public transportation with people from all over the world. 

London is a remarkable city, largely because its roots go back to medieval times. It has a beautiful balance of modern cosmopolitan living and deep rooted historical story. I could walk those streets all day. I hoped my kids would see the charm and recognize the privilege of being in the presence of things so old.

I savored every moment of our family time together in this wonderful city. 

The kids did great with the audio tours of churches and tours of the castles. A few times (ok, more than a few times) we got frustrated with James because he was fixated on finding dropped English coins on the streets. A few times John had to tell him to get up from under church pews as he hastily reached for dropped change.

 I think they did appreciate the fact  they were in the presence of things so old and ancient; being in Europe always makes American history seem contemporary. 1800s vs. 1000.....It really gave them-gave us all- perspective.

Warwick Castle, 1066

 

Windsor Castle 1070

The British Museum had a whole bunch of ancient artifacts

Preserved man, 3500 B.C

Part of the Greek Acropolis, 5th century B.C

The Gates of Nineveh, Biblical times 

James and the Rosetta Stone

  

We saw the city from above on the Eye of London.

Evelyn really loved it all.

Kings Crossing, Platform 9 3/4.
The kids have started to get into the Harry Potter books, so they really appreciated all the fun Harry Potter related tourist sites. 

We saw a show on the West End, The Lion King. 

Afterwards, we got Indian food at 11:00 at night. We were the only ones with kids in tow. 

But they did great. 

Another concern I had was the food. Evelyn is a really good eater, but the boys usually order cheeseburgers, fries and pizza. London is filled with diverse cuisines; it is truly a thriving food scene. Although they did order their fair share of burgers and fries, they also had middle eastern food, and even enjoyed some great Indian curry. 

They all liked Indian curry!

James day dreams on the train as the English countryside passes us by....

Stonehenge was definitely a highlight

 

Midway through the week I found myself at Central Wash....

this is a usual part of our vacations for me...

The kids had to pose in front of all the good ol' fashioned phone booths around town.....

Buckingham Palace

Westminster Abbey

James was thrilled to see Big Ben in real life!

The Tower of London told many gruesome tales...

Ice cream in any city is a treat,...but made with clotted cream in Bath made it taste extra delicious. 

I could wander around the cutest little streets all day long.

And even in London, Caleb perfects his magic tricks. 

Our final night we played shuffle board and watched premier soccer at a local pub

You could say the kids were tried when we returned home. 
Time for school. 

Summer Memories!

I've attempted to write this blog entry all summer, and now it's the second half of August and I'm just going to do a big summer photo dump so that I can remember summer 2024 thus far.... 

4th of July is always one of my favorite days of the year.
Parades and fun neighborhood gatherings fill the day and night!

This is the very first year John and I didn't march in the neighborhood parade. Our boys sped past on their bikes, lapping the parade route several times. 

It was a hot afternoon to be in a parade. Lucy was less than thrilled to be decorated and made to march. 

My favorite thing by far is spending time outside in the beauty that surrounds us. Cherry picking in Hood River was such a fun experience. Once again we went over board on the picking (and the eating too) We had to quickly figure out what we could bake with cherries. 

While in Hood River, we also did a wonderful hike in Mt. Hood National Forest, Tamawata Falls. It was magnificent. The hike wound its way through a shaded trail, following a bubbling brook. 

The path to the falls was rather treacherous towards the end.  But coming upon the falls was magnificent. 

Caleb and I hiked up and around the falls. However as we attempted to cross the rushing river to finish our loop, I barely made it across as the current was a lot stronger than I anticipated. Stuck on the other side from Caleb, he had to turn around and go back up and around the waterfall by himself to meet me on the other side.

We spent this day with our friends and neighbors the Hampson family. 

The water was really cold, but very refreshing on such a hot day. 

"Do you smell something fishy?"

The aroma of fish and river is so very strong in much of our home. 

Dried worms lay at the bottom of the downstairs refrigerator.

"Wash your fish hands!" is a common phrase commanded throughout the day. 

My boys are obsessed with fishing (especially James) With their new independence this summer, they are able to spend hours by themselves down by the Tualatin river. They are even allowed to ride their bikes to Cabellas near our home to restock their worm and hook supply. 

Fishing strategy occupies their thoughts. 

Dreams of catching "the big one" compels them to run down to the river for one more try. 

    

Another fun thing we did this summer was paddle board down the Clackamas river. The week the boys were at camp, Evelyn and I were invited by a friend on a 5 hour float. It was one of the hottest days in Portland, so the cool water felt very refreshing. 

We stopped along the way to jump into the water for a swim. 

A weekend adventure to Molten Falls right over the Washington boarder allowed me to experience a bit of paradise. The water was crystal clear. I love sitting in the rapids and letting the water rush over me. Even Lucy got in and paddled around for a bit. 

 

Evelyn helped at VBS this summer. She has attended this VBS since she was 4 years old. Now she was a leader to the 4 year olds. After the first morning she came home exhausted. She told me the stories of clingy preschoolers and emptied her pockets of all the trash they gave to her throughout the day. She also caught a nasty cold. 

Welcome to the world of  caring for children. 

All of our kids have been busy making money this summer. Evelyn is constantly booked with cat sitting jobs, plant watering, dog watching and some babysitting. 

Levi has been making homemade ice cream sandwiches with John and selling them around the neighborhood. They are delicious. 

James has been helping John clean out our big van we've been renting out to people this summer. 

And Caleb has been building quite a positive reputation in the neighborhood doing odd jobs such as watering plants and scrubbing moss off bricks. He comes home dirty and sweaty, but he often times gets tips. He even secured a job for the entire summer: $20.00 for watering a tree 20 times. 

One time he confessed to me that while he was pulling a weed out of the earth, he heard it squeak. Tenderhearted, he quietly tucked the plant in his pocket with the intention of replanting it later. 

When he told me he planted it by the side of our house, I finally had an answer to the strange plant that suddenly appeared and seemed to grow like a beanstalk! It was a plant mystery that was finally solved.

Caleb is a natural at talking to people. He can find common ground with just about anyone. This summer he finally got to do something he's been waiting a long time to do: go to Chicago to spend a week with Grandma and Grandpa alone. John had a business trip there in mid-July, and he was next on the rotation to visit Grandma and Grandpa solo. 

Except for the threat of tornados, Caleb had a wonderful week being the center of attention, fishing and watching baseball with Grandpa. 

During that week, I hosted the neighborhood summer gathering, Wine Wednesday. When we had originally signed up for the date, this trip was unplanned. Despite doing it solo without John, the night was a great success. The hardest part was figuring out to do with Lucy. 

She seemed pretty content being tied up outside. 

Many of our days are spent at the river. I bought two mini "sit upon" kayaks this summer which we have used several times on the Tualatin River and other little spots. The week Evelyn was at camp, the boys did a day camp that focused on river fishing and boating. 

All ready for another adventure on the river

Evelyn and I have had some special times paddling the river together 

    

The kids also took a week of tennis lessons this summer at the local park. Except for the sibling competition, they seemed to enjoy the game. 

In the past, I had to plan the summer everyday. This summer  I have to plan to plan a day out with the kids. 

Some of the places I've taken them were: 

Oaks Park Amusement park. 

 

Tillamook Forest and Forestry Center

 

Tillamook Cheese factory

 

    

Tunnel Beach in Oceanside City

 

And the Canby Rodeo! 

Alls well that ends well. 

The summer is not over yet. 

And this year I'm actually wanting it to last longer.