Number Sixteen

Mama and Daddy celebrated their 16th anniversary by taking a drive up to Stone Brewing's World Bistro and Gardens.  Of course CJ and McKenna joined us.

Swimming and Swinging

CJ's been taking swim lessons at a local pool this summer and she's doing great.  She started in Beginner 2 and worked her way up to Beginner 3 this session.  Afterwards, she loves to go to the park and eat lunch as we watch planes come in for their landing at the airport.

CJ's Summer Projects

The Doggie Daycare.  She started this project at the house, using the styrofoam from the new microwave.  She brought it back to the apartment so Cooper and Twinkle Peanut could enjoy all the rooms and the doggie treat area.  It's only $5/week so we plan on sending B there a lot this year!

The "Candy of the City" store.

This is one of CJ's more extravagant inventions.  She started a candy store on the coffee table.

She drew and cut out all sorts of candy and treats to buy from popcorn to chocolate bars to tootsie rolls.

Then she added credit cards and a machine to swipe it through.  This one keeps growing.

The Sun Adventures.

CJ wrote and illustrated this great book about going to the beach with Mama.

Of course it has an author's note on the back.

One night she made us all crowns.

Mama got the beach lover one.

Daddy got a special drawing, inspired by a Trader Joe's sticker.

And CJ even created a chart to track

How Mane Huming Brids We See

(How Many Hummingbirds We See)

Thank Goodness we brought pens and paper with us!

Out and About

McKenna and her dog, Cooper, joined us for a day out in the City.  We hit the Farmer's Market where we tried to stay cool with refreshments and then ran by the Lego store for an errand on our way home.

And Then There Was Cake

Presents too!

Meet McKenna

The plan was to follow up our shopping trip with swimming in the pool and hot dogs on the grill.  Traffic from LA back south was very heavy and we got back a bit later than planned so we decided to skip the swimming.  Daddy manned the grill and McKenna joined us for the meal.  As the sun went down, it cooled off so we headed back inside for the rest of the celebration.

Hotel Girls

We've started our moving adventure by moving into a hotel in Portland.  Little B is happy as long as she has somewhere to sleep and CJ has a few toys and comforts from home to keep her life as normal as can be.  So far, so good.

She Found Us!

The tooth fairy found us - even at the hotel!

A Filling

CJ had a filling today.  Apparently one of her molars grew in a bit weak, so when they put sealants on the other 3, they went ahead and put a filling in the weak one.  The dentist went really slowly and CJ did great.

Goodie Bag Girl

CJ got this fun Lego set as her goodie bag gift for going to her cousin's birthday party last night.

She couldn't wait to put it together.

Thanks, Aunt A!

Ribbon Dance

Thanks, Easter Bunny

Prince Golden

CJ had a great time visiting with Grandma and her friend. She was excited that they thought of her when shopping and also couldn't wait to show Golden to them.

Meet Golden

Nope. Not ready for a real dog here, but a quick visit to the store and CJ was sold on Golden. So much so that she woke this morning and came into Mama and Daddy's room only for a moment before leaving again. When she came back in, she presented Mama with a wallet - in which she had counted out the money she needed to take to the store to buy Golden. We hope she didn't lose too much sleep over this guy, but he is a pretty cute pup...for a balloon dog, that is.

The Dolls

CJ put together all her Polly Pocket dolls and then asked me to take a picture of her. These dolls keep her busy and it's funny to listen and hear what they are up to and how they talk to each other. She can be pretty creative.

Bilibo

Mama came across a Bilibo today and brought it home. CJ didn't know what to think at first, but once we watched a video on their website, she realized how much crazy fun she could have with it.

Penguin Prize

CJ woke up at 6:30 this morning to remind Mama that she hadn't gotten her prize for completing her penguin swimming lessons in stellar form. A new set of pink pots and pans for her pink kitchen.

Veggie Stew

CJ's been using the new kitchen.  Today she even made some veggie stew for two of her favorite dollies.  She set the table for them with their bowls and spoons and napkins (Mama's old floppy disks - one of her favorite toys!).  Yum.

The Cookery

It's official.  The cooker has a cookery!  Unfortunately it didn't come with a fridge, but CJ is still having lots of fun baking cakes, muffins, soups, cocoa....you name it.  She even asks for a pen to write out her recipes.

Mirror, Mirror

Who is the gaudiest of them all?  CJ just had to have this sparkly princess set, complete with crown, earrings, ring, purse, comb and mirror.  Here she is checking out her reflection before she performs a show on her keyboard.  Her favorite song is still Jingle Bells and when she figured out that the keyboard has this stored on one of the keys, she was ecstatic.

Ice Cream for Breakfast?

Here she is, serving up ice cream for breakfast with the ice cream set she got for her birthday. I took the picture because 1) she really seems to be slimming down to me, regardless of what the doctor says; and 2) because she found these PJ's and tried to convince me that they weren't too small, although she did say "the sleeves keep falling up".