We spent a big part of August away from home, and we're finally getting settled back into our routine. Fran and I had 10 days of vacation earlier this month-- we spent several days in Denver at the wedding of our friend Lucy and then headed out to Portland.
Denver was a lot of fun. This is Kendall, our good friend Jules' baby girl. Erin got a big kick out of her, and did a nice job sharing mom and dad's lap.
We joined Fran's sister Jan and her husband Nick on a hut-to-hut mountain bike trip around Mount Hood. Well, my trip was simply a "hut" because I got sick and bailed after the first night. How disappointing! Fran, Jan, and Nick made it all 4 nights for the second year in a row. The weather was beautiful and the scenery even better. There were some very long and steep climbs (that we don't have in Minnesota!) and though I haven't said it to her face, I think Fran looks pretty tough on a mountain bike (see pic #2 below).
OK, I made a couple photos before my early exit... this one is looking over the Columbia River on the first morning.
Next, we made a couple quick trips up north the following week as my grandpa passed away. He was 89 years old and we'll sure miss him. Erin loves to talk about the "cabino" and "great grandpa Bumpa" which still goes a long way to cheer us up. Here she is playing on the beach with Laura.
On the homefront, Erin was happy to get back to her friends at daycare. Fran and I had a weekend off work together yesterday and today, which was nice. Erin's getting more imaginative in her games at home. Lately, she likes to go on "trips" (to the porch). She'll walk thru the kitchen, wave to us, and say "bye bye, I'm going to Chicago" and shut the porch door behind her and giggle. This has evolved into her packing a bag, dressing up (sometimes in a pair of Fran's high heels), and substituting other destinations into the mix (Portland, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Germany- where Grandpa Dean just got back from). I'd love to see her mental map of exactly where these places are located!
Simple activities are OK too. Here we are coloring on a poster under Duncan's watchful eye. The summer has really flown by. We're looking forward to Erin's first trip to the state fair sometime this week.
