Team Staley: Biking and Camping

I am so happy that we have kids that love to be outside as much as we do. Getting dirty, throwing rocks, riding bikes, what more is there to a great summer day? These next few pictures are from an outing to Shevlin Park, about a 5 minute car ride from our house. It is fun that the boys are now able to explore on their own two feet, as opposed to riding in the ergo or a stroller. We don't really get very far, but of course that is not the point on outings like these, just watching these guys explore and inspect and wander their way along the trail is the experience in itself.

Our favorite mode of transportation these days has been on bike. I found this trail-a-bike on craigslist, and I am pleasantly surprised how much Piper digs it. I thought she was going to be too little, I was afraid she would fall off. Though she can't quite reach to peddle yet, she loves it so much and hangs on just fine. She is usually singing away as we bike around town and she especially loves riding to school on it. We even rode to swimming lessons across town which included going through a pedestrian tunnel under the railroad tracks. If we are all together, Dave usually rides with Piper on the trail-a-bike and I have the boys in the Chariot. Though the other day it was just me and the kids, so I had Calvin in a bike seat attached to my bike and the Chariot trailing behind with Piper and Jett. We ventured out to the Farmers Market, then to Piper's soccer practice. So fun to be out riding around, I really am proud of ourselves for just being creative and figuring out ways that we can be out and mobile rocking the 3 kiddos where ever we want to go. And I am happy that both Dave and I are equally confident and cable of being on our own and out with the 3 little monkeys. While I was out on a mt. bike ride with some friends last week, Dave also ventured out on bike to take the kids for a picnic dinner by the river. We really do live in a great location with so many different fun places we like to bike to.

Piper loves swimming, and we have the added bonus of signing up for swim lessons this year the same time as several other friends from her play group. We all strategically signed up for the last time slot before open swim time on Friday morning, so we can all stay and play in the pool right after lessons. I asked Piper what her favorite part of swimming lessons was and she said "I liked EVERY SINGLE part of swimming!"

Last weekend was our first camper van trip of the summer. It was so good to get it out again after all the work Dave has put into it over the last few months. We knew there was a leak that was there before we bought it, but didn't know the extent to the damage until he really pealed a few layers back. We got a really good deal on the camper van and this was probably why. It was a lot of work and a lot of headache, but it is all sealed back together now and we are excited to get it out in the woods again.

So this trip was to Wickiup Reservoir, the lake that pours into the beginning of the Deschutes river. We found a sweet spot that had lots of lake frontage and no one else in view. We saw bald eagles, ospreys diving in to catch fish and the biggest highlight...frogs! Thousands of little frogs, so many that you couldn't help step on one while walking along the beach. Once again it was funny to see the difference in reaction of the kids towards the frogs. Piper and Jett were all about them, chasing them, catching them, super interested in them. Calvin was curious, but wanted nothing to do with actually touching the frogs.