Dancing Queen (can't you tell I just watched "Mamma Mia"?)

Lena has been taking dance classes through parks & recs department for the last couple of years and has really been enjoying them. Well, this summer we decided to give ballet a shot. We found a new ballet school that has just opened. Even though we've only had four classes, Lena absolutely loves the instructor. Benjamin likes playing in the play area and watching the dancers. "Silly girls!" he says. Well, check out how cute she looks (in a black leotard).

Another Outing

Today we were scheduled to pick up our Portraits at JC Penney studio in Salem. Instead of running an errand, Jess and I decided to make it into another summer adventure. We took two cars (yes, we do know the gas prices, what can we do? We have four children and NO minivans!) and went to A.C. Gilbert's Discovery Village (check out link below)
http://acgilbert.org/index.html

Basically, the village consists of three historic homes that were converted into a childrens' museums, with exhibits varying from bubble making room, shadow room, dinosaur caves to pretend grocery store, theater stage with dress up clothes, anatomy lab, toy workshop. I don't know about the children, but Jessie and I enjoyed ourselves. In the court yard there was an enormous structure with long bridges, climbing nets, tunnels and slides. It took museum worker's escort to get us out of that place...



Yes, these are smoothies... yes, again...

Play Production

Little Children, Big Chair

Benj and his Bubble

Lena and Benj inside a tree

Summer Madness

I LOVE SUMMER! What's not to love? Juicy watermelons, fresh berries, long days, bright sun (an endangered specie in Oregon). It is close to impossible to be in a bad mood during the summer (I manage, of course). So, my friend Jessie and I have been trying to see exactly how many activities we can fit into these long days with our four children. Our weekly agenda includes a couple of episodes of berry picking (we have just finished strawberries and have recently moved on to raspberries and blueberries) a trip to the wading pool. Two weeks ago we took the kids there to get some professional pictures taken. All of you with little children out there know exactly how much work it is to get at least one decent picture out of a long session with your child. Well, since we like the challenge, we decided to go for two photo shoots at two different studios at the Salem Center. Needless to say, we got quite a workout pushing our double strollers up and down the mall, running between the studios, waiting in line, making silly faces at the children trying to make them smile, running back to the first location to pick up the pictures, then returning to the second one... Well that experience is not for those with health concerns, attempt at your own risk!

(Jessie, Jonas, Ella, Benjamin, and Elena taking a break between photo shoots)

Well, children had a time of their lives and got rewarded for their stellar behavior during the shoots with some smoothies and a trip to the neighborhood park.

Jonas is quite a smoothie boy

Lena & Benjamin at the park in Salem

Blowing bubbles with brother

Daddy's little helper

Happy Birthday!

I can't beleive we have a FIVE year old! Can we possible be that old? Well, on June 3rd, our Munch turned 5. She wanted to celebrate by going to the water park. However, Oregon weather was not cooperating, it was raining (what a shock!) and the decision was made to postpone the official party until later in June. Meanwhile, we celebrating by having milkshakes with the Meyers, followed the next day by our biweekly pizza party. Lena received a Princess Bike from mom and dad and Princess helmet from brother Benjamin... She also got a beautiful dress from aunt Manya and uncle Dave. Deda gave her an awesome scooter that she is learning to ride...

Home Sweet Home

Why hasn't anyone mentioned before we became homeowners, that home projects simply do not end?!? Well, we have lived in our home for six years now and during that period have managed to repaint (and in some instances to wallpaper) all rooms, tile the kitchen and bathrooms, and put in PERGO floors in the living room and hallways... So, since we just can't be bored, this summer we decided to start another never ending project - landscaping the yard.

The original plan seemed simple enough - we were going to take out old lawn, build a retaining wall and reseed the new lawn... Well, slowly it became a lot more involved - we decided to expand the patio in the back yard, and put in a brick border around our lawn. After talking to our friend and "sprinkler" advisor Jared, decision was made to put in the sprinkler system.

Luckily, our friends and neighbors Jessie and Jared were also very excited about beautifying their yard, so at least we are able to split some of the equipment cost and learn from each other's mistakes (and there is plenty of both!)

Anyway, up to date, we have:

1. Riped up our old lawn (thanks to sod ripper and daddy's muscles)

2. Build a retaining wall in the front yard (our backs are still hurting from carrying the bricks)

3. Expanded a patio in the back yard (thank you Malisa and DeeAnna for all your help)

4.Mostly put in a sprinkler system (thank you Jared and Bob for all your help and ideas)

It has been a very fun project for the entire family with everyone contributing a lot based on their size and abilities...

We ARE hoping to finish our project someday but we'll keep you updated!

END OF YEAR PARTY

Well, it's hard to believe that Lena is five! It has been two years as she started attending preschool. She absolutely loves it and has a hard time staying out of trouble. The teacher gets really upset with her, especially because she can't reprimand her for not listening - Lena has time to do both, pay attention and answer all questions correctly while creating disturbance in the classroom. What can I say - our child is a multitasker like her mom! We are very proud...

So, at the end of the school year there is usually a graduation ceremony, but this year, based on some research that shows that those type of ceremonies hurt child's Psyche, the school decided to have a party instead... Apparently, ice cream sundays in 10 am, are a lot better for children! Needless to say - Lena and Benjamin had a blast...

Say "Ahhhh"

So, I decided it was time to introduce my children to one of my most time consuming and expensive "hobbies" - trips to the dentist. We started by playing "dentist" at home, the game that mainly consisted of me pocking their teeth with a toothpick and asking if that hurts... I figured that if Lena and Benj have any of my genes, chances are they will spend a lot of time in the dentist chair so I wanted to make sure they were prepared for that dramatic event in their young lives...

Well, the anticipated day finally arrived and we went to the new children's dental office in the North part of town. Everything started out ok - with a huge play structure in the waiting room and everything... However, when it came time to take Xrays (the least traumatic of all dental procedures), Benjamin refused to follow his sister into the chair. No amount of begging and promises of treats would help. So, after ten minutes of trying, the dental assistant gave up on him and suggested we move on to "exam" room. Lena was amazing, she opened up wide and let dentist examine her teeth and even clean them. Benjamin, however, was very suspicious of the whole process and would only let the dentist examine him from several feet away... Big sister came to the rescue by sharing the chair with him just so we can let the doctor pick into Benj's mouth...