The new fashion statement

Yesterday, Franny had an unfortunate collision with the sofa.  With the exception of about an hour when this picture was taken, Her small abrasion, as well as most of the rest of her black-eye, is continuously covered with Thomas the Train Band-Aids.  These, of course, must be changed with the utmost regularity.  Hopefully, her eye will be healed quickly, but until then, she is making the most of it in true Franny fashion--the only difference is in the changing of accessories, rather than ensembles!

Whoops

As I was sorting through all the pictures from our week in California, I realized that I had uploaded, but yet had somehow forgotten to post this entry. I've blogged before about Franny's love of roller coasters, so I'll let the video clip speak for itself...

The last hurrah

 

Of course our last evening had to spent on the beach.  Taken that final excursion, these are two of my favorite pictures from the entire trip, as they seem to capture it all.  We had such wonderful, special times and we can't wait until we go back!

Like peas and carrots

Franny missed Thomas as soon as we pulled out the driveway and made our way to the airport. From her comments, I think she thought that Thomas' house was like a Sunriver house and we'd all be going home together. She has talked about him everyday since and I can tell when we look at pictures from our trip that she misses her sweet cousin and their fun adventures together.

Beach girl

Of our three incredible evenings on the beach; two of these were spent at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas.  As would be expected, Franny loved playing in the ocean.  The air was warm, as was the water, and the sunsets beautiful.  Such fun times!

    

Isn't it ironic

I'm not sure how many blog entries I've posted about Franny loving the water--the Oregon Coast, lakes, rivers, fountains, swimming pools--but I do know they have been numerous. Given that we know how much Franny loves water, I am not sure why we would take Franny to a warm Southern California beach for the first time without her swimsuit. Needless to say, rolling her pant legs up wasn't sufficient enough to allow Franny to enjoy her beloved water, and she soon shed her wet clothes and was running through the surf in her underware. While this in itself was definitely not my proudest moment as a parent, my devestation was even more exacerbated by the fact that sometime during her afternoon quiet time she had changed into Thomas' underware. At this point, I've gotten over my embarressment and can see the humor in the whole situation. I will add, however, that we did not make the same mistake twice!

Before


After

Far away, but near in our hearts

We have just returned from a week long vacation in the San Diego area.  This time, our trip was all about reconnecting with family.  We had tremendous fun--we had many adventures, including a tour of the San Diego Zoo; an excursion to La Jolla; breakfast in Oceanside; and trips to Mission Beach, the Sea Life Aquarium, and Legoland!  Still, probably our best memories were those where the main event was just spending time together--cousins, brothers, sisters-in-laws, and every combination therein.  We shared very special times, and it was sad to leave them.  But it was comforting to be reassured that special relationships are not affected by distance or time spent apart.  And although we unquestionably miss them, it makes our reunions very memorable and dear.  MCTM--thank you for a wonderful week--we'll see you soon!

Sweet September

September is an incredible month in Portland:  the weather is warm, the evenings are cool, and the summer slowly transitions into Fall.  But while this month is unquestionably beautiful, there is also a sense of urgency present to maximize every sunny day to the fullest, as we know all too well that the upcoming rainy season is long.  Today, Franny's playgroup met at Magnolia Park in Hillsboro.  It is a brand new park, complete with great structures for toddlers and preschoolers, a large covered picnic area, and a spray park/fountain.  Fortunately, Cole was feeling well enough for us to go, as it was a perfect September day at 75 degrees with a light breeze--ideal for playing and picnicking in the park.  Both Franny and Cole had an incredible time and both are now blissfully napping.  September is sweet, indeed!

Fall Festival

Our neighborhood enjoyed it's Fall Festival in the park this weekend.  It was a beautiful evening and there was plenty of music and fun for the multitudes of residents, families, and kids (lots of kids!) that attended.  All made for a fun a very festive atmosphere.

 

 

Cole is saying "eat" but, in actuality, did not eat any of the yummy German, Italian, Indian, Greek, and American foods we had a sampling of.

 

Franny enjoyed her ice cream cone while Cole hung out with Daddy.

 

Both Franny and Cole enjoyed being amongst the absolute chaos that overcame the play structures in the park.  

 

As we left, Franny told us That was a fun party!  And, we would have to agree.

Portland's new star

Portland has been fortunate to be able to take a needed reprieve from partisan politics and focus it's attention on it's newest arrival, the yet-to-be-named baby Asian elephant.  Born on August 23rd, it is one of more than 25 Asian elephants to be born at the Oregon Zoo since the 1962 birth of Packy.  The sweet little guy has been very gracious in tolerating thousands of curious visitors, of which we joined the ranks today.  Franny was intrigued, but not overwhelmed, as we took our turn and spent a few minutes viewing the new  calf.  Of course, she doesn't understand the significance of such an event, but it was still very special and fun to take part.  We signed his guest book and Franny drew a little picture for him.  Hopefully, he will have a name sometime soon!

Franny always finds the water...

During a recent playgroup trip to the zoo, Stellar Cove was a tremendous hit with Franny and the other the kids. After several rounds of this, Franny was soaked! Fortunately, it was a beautiful day and we were headed home, anyway.

Who has the silliest daddy?

Thomas Town

When we decided to spend the day at Discovery Kingdom, I knew that both Franny and Cole would love it, but nothing could have prepared me for the absolute joy Franny found when she came to Thomas Town.  With the exception of the plane ride down, it was by far, my favorite part of our entire trip to California.  Ever since she started reading the different Thomas books, when Franny sees train tracks, she often says she wants to see Thomas; I always tell her that Thomas lives on the Island of Sodor, and that is why we never see him.  But this day, Franny not only could finally see Thomas chugging down the track, but ride him, as well!

 Franny catching view of the giant Thomas up ahead

Face to face with Thomas the Train   

Checking out the Shed with Percy, James, and Gordon

And it's Thomas!

Checking out the view from Clarabel

                       Riding Bertie                          

Steering Harold with Daddy