Rocky

Bridget got to meet the new riding horse Rocky at the Paul farm last night, riding him for several hours in the ring.

Aunt Dany was right there helping her with cantering (Bridget said this is when her head was bobbing like crazy). Bridget said trotting was toughest because she had trouble with steering. But, she said all that riding was a lot of fun.

Jillian even helped out with Handsome while Bridget was riding.

Mark Morris Swim Lessons

It's been nearly 3 years since the kids had swim lessons, and since Briarcliff Pool is shutdown, we are going to Mark Morris High School for swim lessons this summer. Bridget is at level 6 (and the only person in her group), while Tor is at level 3.

Gaither Pool Open Swim

The kids are getting their swimming fix this summer by going to the open swim in Kelso.

Hottest Day So Far

The temperature reached 100 F, according to the car readout, so we headed to Willow Grove to cool off. The kids dipped into the water a bit, but not too far, because it was really cold.

Lutheran Confirmation

Jillian and Bridget went through the Lutheran Church Rite of Confirmation this Sunday. Pastor Hagen returned from retirement to perform the ceremony. They were accompanied by John Hall as representative of the church, and who also made them a Lutheran cross as a keepsake.

Lots of family and friends attended, including Papa Ken, Grannie & Papa Bob, Grandma Cindy and Hal, Uncle Richard and cousin Adam.

Jillian's godparents Auntie Greta and Uncle Kevin & Aunt Julie were there:

Bridget's godparents Uncle Jason & Aunt Dany were also there:

There was pizza for lunch, and cake and ice cream for dessert. The girls received a Lutheran Study Bible from the church, along with many cards and gifts.

Water Blob

The kids found a water blob online and immediately wanted it, especially with the temperatures going up. It's a lot like a water bed when filled up, with small sprays.

The water was freezing, of course, so the kids couldn't quite fully commit to getting soaked (well, except Tor).

Most Outstanding Mustang

Monticello Middle had their awards ceremony today for departing 8th graders, and Jillian was honored many times, winning the Most Outstanding Mustang award, along with the Mike Fitch plaque for "dedication to athletics and academics during their 7th and 8th grade years" (so we'll see this in the trophy case).

She also received the Academic Excellence Award in English Language Arts, and a certificate recognizing her winning Student of the Month for "Respect".

President's Award

Olympic Elementary held their awards assembly today, and Bridget received the highest honor: the President's Award for Academic Excellence.

She was also given the M & M award (for being magnificent and marvelous), as well as a toy hamster (since her teacher always says that she has multiple hamster wheels going in her head).

Josie Jean's B-day Party

Josie Jean turned 2, and we celebrated at Laurie & Dave's with family and friends. The kids played "pin the tail on Bluey" and had a tissue box race, followed by cupcakes and ice cream.

Bridget had crafted a gift for Josie Jean - a heart-shaped color-coded peg board puzzle - that Josie Jean really liked to play with.

Multicultural Night

Bridget and Tor had been working on studying countries and cultures the past couple months, culminating in the Olympic Multicultural Night. Bridget's country was Scotland:

... and the associated golf courses built for it were very popular with Tor:

Tor's focus was on the Chuuk, which is in Micronesia. You can see his teacher Ms. Queener is photobombing him:

Jillian joined with Bridget in an agility activity for the China exhibit:

Longhouse

Tor worked on a Native American unit the past couple weeks, including a slideshow presentation and a model longhouse, that he made (with Dad's help). Mom and the girls got to view it at a school open house. The roof is off in the picture to show the interior:

Kelso Football Camp

Tor is going to the Kelso Football Camp for a couple weeks. There are about 8 stations of different skills that age groups rotate to in the hour of play. Tor especially loves the tackling stations - here he is about to clobber a foam donut:

Summer League Basketball

Jillian is not only going to open gyms for the RA Long basketball team every week, but she is also playing in the summer league. They play 3 games against local teams. Since these are varsity teams, they are big and physical. Many of Jillian's teammates from her tournament team are playing, and they are holding their own pretty well.

Here's Jillian driving to the hoop:

Moving Up

Jillian got to play with the RA Long volleyball 1st team (varsity) last night at summer league. She spent the bulk of her time in the 5-1 setter position, often for a full rotation. It was an exciting experience for her playing against Kelso, Centralia and Mark Morris High School! Here she is jump-serving:

Robotics Club

Tor had been in an after-school Robotics Club for the past couple months, led by his 3rd grade teacher. Their final project yesterday was to program a Sphero robot to go through a maze (Tor's almost made it). Here he is (front row) with the club:

NASCAR Xfinity Series @ PIR

Tor went with Papa Ken and Dad to the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Portland International Raceway, and got to see a fun race with plenty of action (crashes). Here's a model car we checked out beforehand:

It was loud, so Tor wore ear muffs almost the whole time.

We watched at the chicane, a tight corner after the long home stretch, so most of the crashes happened there. This was our view of it:

It rained off and on throughout, so we got wet, and it made the racing pretty challenging with lots of caution flags. But, it was close and exciting the whole way.

Olympic Carnival

Our family always attends the Olympic Carnival, but this year, Mommy was running the show as the PTO President. So, Jillian and Bridget helped out at all the game stations (Tor still played games). Here's the girls at the fishing station:

... and Bridget doing the face painting:

... and Jillian helping at spin art:

Tor was busy playing all the games for prizes. He was one of few kids that made a hole-in-one at the putting station:

... and he practiced his front flips in the bouncy house:

Bridget was the winner in our family for the raffle, coming home with a baking basket.

It was hard to keep up with Mommy, as she rushed here and there, helping the carnival run smoothly.