The 31st

As per tradition, we went to Baskin-Robbins for ice cream on the 31st of the month (cheap scoops), while also celebrating getting through the first day of school. Adam came along, too.

First Day of School

Here's the first day of school pictures taken early this morning. Jillian (high school freshman) and Bridget (middle school 6th grade) headed out at 7:30 am with Adam and Auntie Greta. They had a good report about their day - Jillian liked her AP Biology and ASL classes, and Bridget liked Science and Band (she wants to play the drums!)

Tor (elementary 4th grade) headed to school at 8:15 am with Mom. He said this would be a pretty good year with his class.

Here's a couple more pics of the girls with Adam:

And Tor with his friend Gram (who sadly will not be in class with him).

Freshman

Our little Sweetie Pie just keeps growing up. Here's the photo of Jillian on her high school freshman ASB.

Watching Cookie

Grannie and Papa went shopping and dropped off Cookie at our house so Tor could do some dog-watching. She is very playful! It was a miracle getting her to sit long enough for a photo.

Cookie left a small bomb in the grass (Tor said it was "huge!"), so Tor had to pick it up with a baggie ... he was pretty grossed out.

Lindsey's Bridal Shower

Jillian, Bridget and Mom went to cousin Lindsey's bridal Shower today. Mom was in charge of organizing the shower, and it turned out great, including tons of delicious food, a dessert auction, and a Family Feud game.

This is a photo of the bridal party (Jillian is a junior bridesmaid, and Bridget is a flower girl):

This is a photo of the Peterson family with Lindsey:

Karlie's B-day Party

Tor, Bridget and Mommy made a road trip to Seattle for cousin Karlie's birthday with a few of her friends.

Prepping for Soccer

Soccer is starting up for Bridget and Tor, so they went outside and scrimmaged on Jillian's pop-up net (barefoot with a volleyball).

Varsity!!!

Jillian found out tonight that she is going to be on the Varsity Volleyball Team for RA Long High School as a freshman! Exciting times for her and her fans! She will be a setter, and we'll know more about the system later.

A New Haircut

Tor went to the hairstylist to get a trim for school, and came out with a whole new look. Mom had looked through some magazines for styles, and Tor liked this one.

Here's what it looked like halfway through:

Kite Festival

We met Papa Ken and Bev at the Cranberry Road approach, and carpooled down the beach to the Long Beach International Kite Festival. The kids were amazed at the variety of kites, and dreamt of which ones they'd like to have.

Kite Flying and Volleyball

Bridget brought Tor's kite to the beach to fly, while everyone else played some beach volleyball.

It was a pretty nice day, cloudy but warm, and the kids eventually transitioned to playing keep-away in a semi-warm tidepool.

Beach Selfie

The water really wasn't too cold, so we spent most of our time there, just wading around. The girls talked about favorite names, while the boys threw a ball around. Here's a selfie of all of us (Bridget is picking up Tor so he can be seen):

Ice Cream at Colleen's

Went out of order, getting ice cream at the old Kopa Wecoma before the beach, but had to beat the 4 pm closing time.

Scavenger Hunt

Tor went on a scavenger hunt at the library, searching for photos that were scattered throughout. He got a little help on the last one from his sister's, and received a sticker for his success .

Bridget decided to do it, too, and got a frog sticker.

Misty Bike Ride

It was cloudy but warm today, so we went on our usual bike trip to the library. It was misting so much that we were soaked when we arrived.

Comics by the Fire

While Dad was starting the fire pit, the kids found an old Sunday funnies comic strip, and crowded around to read it.

Our dinner was hot dogs, corn on the cob, and s'mores. Afterwards, we played pepper with the volleyball ... Jillian wants lots of practice to get ready for high school tryouts on Monday.

Keep-away

It was so nice and warm out, we headed for the beach after unpacking. The water was a bit cold, but the kids still ended up getting wet as they played an intense game of keep-away (if the person in the middle got the ball, they threw it far into the waves for the others to retrieve it).

Working for Dinner

We towed the trailer to the beach this afternoon, full of firewood, pellet bags and the new futon. The kids helped unload the wood, and will get dinner as a reward.

Cookie

Tor has decided that his new puppy's name will be "Cookie", because she looks like one. Cookie has been a very sweet and well behaved puppy, snuggling up and licking noses when cuddled, and going potty outside exclusively (so far). She and Sophie seem to get along, though Anna gave her a swat.

And a few more pictures of Cookie:

A New Puppy

Grannie and Papa stopped by to bring Tor his new puppy! She's a shihpoo ... a shih tzu / poodle mix. Tor was so excited, and was packed up and ready to spend the next couple nights in Castle Rock with her.

Yard Sale

It was time for the annual Castle Rock Yard Sale. The kids helped set up on Friday, then stayed the night at Grannie and Papa's to wake up early. Bridget had baked cookies (snicker doodles and peanut butter) to sell at her stand for 50 cents - she sold them all.

Tor came up with idea to have a putt-putt challenge, with a tip jar accepting donations and awarding candy for a hole-in-one.

Uncle Richard's B-day Party

We celebrated Uncle Richard's birthday with a backyard barbeque, grilling up hamburgers and salmon, with conga bars for dessert. It was also our first time using the new patio dining set.

Bertie Bott's Beans

We bought a box of Bertie Bott's Beans (Harry Potter) from the candy store in Long Beach, and finally got around to doing a blind taste test. Jillian's most disliked flavor was "vomit", Bridget's most disliked was "black pepper", and Tor's most disliked was "earwax".

Clark County Fair

Bridget had a very successful first show with Gracie at the Clark County Fair.

She earned 8 blue ribbons and 1 third place ribbon. It was an impressive performance in front of her very large cheering section (including Auntie Sheryl, Andy & Karlie, Uncle Richard, Grannie & Papa, the Uhlenkotts, the Johnsons -- and the Harrisons).

Here she is with her team Aunt Dany & Lindsey:

And posing by the stall with Gracie and her collection of ribbons.

Show Prep

Bridget spent the last couple days up at the Paul Farm, getting ready for the Clark County Fair.

We came up to visit Bridget, ride horses, and help out with the prep. Bridget gave instructions on what to do:

Lots of time was devoted to polishing up the saddles:

Then giving Gracie a bath:

Sunset

Despite the cloud cover, the kids wanted to hike down to the beach in the evening to watch the sunset. They found some dead fish washed up and a bouquet of roses:

We wrapped up the night by finishing the Iron Man movie.

Drop Anchor

We treated ourselves to dinner at Drop Anchor. Jillian branched out, trying the fettuccine Alfredo, while Tor continued eating fish & chips.

Browsing Long Beach

In the little time we had until dinner, we browsed the Long Beach shops. Mommy picked up a professional photograph print of 3 little owls (representing her 3 little Olympic Owls). The kids posed with Lewis and Clark:

Calm Beach

Slow start to the morning, but we eventually left for the beach at 11 am, packing all the kids in the back of the Ford (a beach tradition):

We weren't sure about the weather, but it was very calm and decently warm. The kids played a bit of volleyball in the dry sand to begin with:

Then, we headed for the water. With so little wind, it was hard to find any big waves, but Tor and Jillian tried surfing: