Bike Rides!

by Sophia

Yesterday afternoon we rode our bikes on a bike path across a bridge.The river was very very pretty!  The bike path led us down the sidewalk, down a big hill, and then to the bridge. We went very fast! We looked
at the river for a while, and then we got hungry and we rode back and went home and had cream strawberry pie!

Mama's Fresh Cream Strawberry Pie

by Sophia


Yesterday we went to Oaks Park for the Scandinavian Midsummer Festival, but it looked a little too much like the Farmer's Market so we decided to go on four of the rides instead. 

The rides were very very fun! We all had cherry flavored snow cones and they were delicious! We stayed for 3 hours! 

When we got back, Mama made fresh cream strawberry pie for us and it was delicious!

Here is the recipe:

Strawberry and Whipped Cream Pie (makes one 10-inch pie)

Crust:

1-1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

6 Tablespoons melted butter

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.  Mix everything together by hand, and press firmly into a 10-inch springform pan.  The crust should also go up the sides of the pan about three inches.  Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes, until it has firmed up a bit.  Let it cool while you prepare the filling.

Filling:

5 cups strawberries, washed and stems removed.

1/4 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon gelatin powder, soaked in 1/4 cup cold water

Roughly chop one cup of the strawberries and place in a small saucepan with the sugar.  Cook until reduced to a puree.  Remove from the heat, then stir in the soaked gelatin.  Mix with the remaining strawberries, then immediately pour into the cooled crust.  Spread the out so the top is level, then prepare the whipped cream topping.

Topping:

1-1/2 cups heavy cream

1 Tablespoon powdered sugar

1 teaspoon gelatin powder

2 tablespoons milk

Whip the cream and sugar to stiff peaks.  Soak the gelatin in the milk for two minutes, then heat gently until dissolved.  Gradually fold the whipped cream into the gelatin, then spread on top of the strawberries.  Chill for several hours before removing from the pan and slicing.

We Went Walking

For my birthday.
And it was lovely.
I could stand to have a little of this every day.

Our Summer

Where, oh where did the summer go? If you based that question on the weather you might ask did it ever arrive, but I'm wondering, of course, where the time ran off to.

I vowed to enjoy every moment of the summer, and I did more or less (more on the fun, less on the sleep deficiency) but somehow the whole summer just slipped by anyway.

We did so many fun things, it's a shame I wasn't able to update the blog periodically with our adventures, but since I was so busy having fun (in a sleep-deprived, bleary-eyed sort of way), I never got around to it.

Luckily, Sophia has agreed to do a recap. This then, is "Our Summer, 2010:"

This  summer  was  really  great!
We  started with  going  to  Lopez Island,and  that  was  fun,but the only sad part was when  we left.
And  another  fun  thing was the downtown Jamison  Square !
In August  we picked blackberries and we got ice cream , snow cones ,and  new special drawers!
In July we picked  blueberries  and
 In June I  started  summer  break.

Well, that about sums it up!

We had a great time, as always, in the San Juans, and like Sophia wrote, it was hard to leave. The only other bummer about the trip was that Sophia was sick most of the time. I think she had a sinus infection. In any case as soon as we got home her fever disappeared and she was back to her joyful, energetic self. Oh well.

We also went to the beach with friends (Maya, Herb, Chloe, and Justin) where we played in the sand, kicked back, and even visited Neskowin Valley School for Gnome camp (I know!).

We got a kitten in June, little Posy, who isn't as little anymore, but still cute.

We found a new trail on Mt. Tabor (I never would have guessed there were any we didn't know about!) which is our new favorite.

We spent a lot of time playing with "library" friends, had several visits from grandparents, and spent most of August at the pool (despite the cool temperatures a lot of the month).

And then of course the big focus for us this summer has been baby Norah. Mmmm she's sweet. I knew I wanted another baby, but for some reason I've been taken off guard—yet again (you'd think I'd expect it by the time I'd gotten to the third baby)—by how much I adore  this child.

But of course I'm not the only one. There's some serious love happening in our house these days. Can I just tell you how happy we are? I mean seriously. Concerns about the future aside, it's just pure bliss around here.

You might think I'm kidding, but I'm not.

The only thing that could make life even sweeter would be finding "our place." We're anxious to know where we're going to finally settle—and to do just that. Be in the house we'll stay in. Plant our apple, cherry, and hazelnut trees. Put down roots.

Maybe I'll have an update in the next post. Anything is possible, right?

A Soaking Party

Sophia and I were invited to a birthday party at the Kennedy School soaking tub this past weekend.

And lucky me, the water temperature is low enough for pregnant women. (Yay!) Which is probably why it's so kid-friendly too. It was about the temperature of a hot bath - but outside, so better.

 

It was lots of fun.

And afterward, Sophia and I had a lunch date at the hotel's restaurant.

(And after that we bought Sophia some new shoes.)

Can a Saturday date get any better?

Hood River Apples

We went out to Hood River this past weekend to collect apples. Not pick them, unfortunately (I couldn't find an organic U-Pick farm), but just to pick them up from the orchard.

Still, the view alone was worth the trip.

And the apples are good too.

Trip to Cincy

It was off to Grandma's house this past week. We had lots of fun with all the aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. But as always, the trip was far too short.

Seeing My Future

And it looks a lot like my past.

As nearly any of my childhood friends (and certainly my parents) would attest to, I spent a lot of time at the baseball field as a kid.
No, not playing, it wasn't my thing. But it was my brothers' thing. (I'm pretty sure they both started playing at age 2 and kept it up everyday until...well, who knows, maybe they still play.) And my dad's. (Nearly as obsessed as my brothers, Dad watched, coached, talked, and dreamed baseball.) And my mom's. (Not wanting to be left out of all the excitement - or perhaps because we were all there so much anyway, my Mom not only watched every practice and every game but also volunteered in the snack bar.)

And now...it's definitely Oliver's thing. (The pool turned up like that makes a great backstop.)
You can stop laughing now Mom, I know, I should have seen this coming...

Lopez Island

We are very fortunate to have friends who not only live in the San Juan Islands, but also have a studio with a guest room.

When you visit an island, you generally have to get there by boat. In our case we took a ferry.



A lovely way to travel.

We kept with the water theme the whole time we were on island. Visiting a few ponds...

...for swimming and boating...
...and more swimming...
And a little gazing out at the bay.

We all cried a little when we had to come home.

Where we've been...

...for two straight weeks now.
We take swim lessons seriously around here. And while Sophia is a little fish (getting her out of the water is the challenge), Oliver feels about like this when it comes to swimming:
Oh well, maybe next year he'll grow gills like his sister.