WARNING - this is a long post!!!

For some reason, Janae wouldn't let anyone take her picture, so this is the only one I got. She now loves riding on Daddy's shoulders, which is funny, because a few weeks ago she HATED it.

Miss Kiera being cute as always! She was not feeling well all weekend, but was a trouper! She is sooo laid back and easy going - I love it!

After walking around the park, we went to Pioneer Place Mall and saw Kung Fu Panda. It was very cute - Hayden and Janae loved it.

Saturday, we decided to try out an amusement park in Portland called Oaks Park. We had heard that it was fun, and the weather was perfect again, so off we went. Definetly worth it. They have free admission, so those of our group who didn't want to do rides didn't have to pay anything. We bought a couple of ride bracelets and put them on loose enough so that we could take turns if we wanted (cheating, I know...).

Beans standing in line with Daddy to go on her first "ride," the giant slide. We were a little worried that she would get nervous when she got to the top, but she loved it!

Jeff, Beans & Hayden coming down the slide....FAST!

At the bottom - YEAH!

So after that, J turned into a DAREDEVIL!! We were so surprised - she went on some pretty big and fast rides for only being 3-years-old! After the slide, she and I went on a mini-roller coaster, which turned out to be not so mini. It was a lot more intense then I was expecting - but J LOVED it!

Next she and Daddy went on this boat ride. It spun in a circle as it went back and forth on its track. These aren't the best picts, but they show just how much J loved it!WWHHEEEEEE!!!

Here they are on a hot air balloon ride that went WAY up in the air - no worries for our thrill-seeker though.This spider/octopus ride was the one ride that was a little too much for Janae. You can hardly see her in the pictures - she is smashed against Jeff, holding on for dear life. He said she was fine until their car started spinning fast; she didn't like that so much. But as long as they were just going around slowly, she loved it.

J on the carousel with Grammy.On the ferris-wheel with Daddy - again you can't see her 'cause she's so little, but Jeff said she loved this ride and was even a little bored while they stopped to let others on and off.We ended the day with a train ride around the park - nice and calm before she fell asleep in the car on the way to dinner.Kiera did really well for being confined to the stroller all day - here she is just chillin'.Such a happy girl - especially for being sick!

Saturday night we all went down to Salem and stayed the night at Grammy and Grandpa's. The girls slept really well - we had worn them out at the amusement park!

Sunday we hung out in Salem. All of Jeff's extended family came over to Ron and Cynthia's to celebrate Father's Day. It was great to see everyone; we wish we could see them more. Janae got several owies playing outside with her cousins, but she seems better today. She is definitely a DRAMA QUEEN!! At bedtime we put jammies on the girls and drove home to Vancouver.

Erik and Lourdes left early this morning (4:00 am!) to fly home to San Diego. We loved having them here and look forward to seeing them at Christmas! Needless to say, I am being very lazy today, just working on laundry. The busyness starts again tomorrow!

I think its great that she can even get this bib off - it doesn't break away in the back with Velcro or a button so she is really showing off her skills. Hopefully this isn't a sign of things to come - I don't need a toddler who strips all the time!

So....it is June, isn't it?? Where's the sun?

Summer preschool started up this week, and we had a bit of a rocky start. J is just going 3 days a week for the summer, but I'm thinking we might up it to 4 days just to have a more consistent routine. Anyway, on Tues. drop-off was a nightmare. Her teacher had to carry her into the classroom screaming. I felt awful and was again questioning her readiness for preschool. But when I picked her up she was all smiles and told me about all the fun things she had done. Wednesday was a tad better, but there was still crying involved at drop-off. Again she had a great day after the initial tears. So on Thursday, we tried something new at drop-off (thanks to mom for the idea!). The whole way to school we talked about how much fun she would have, the friends she would see, the theme for the day (which was ice cream yesterday), etc. I told her I knew that she was sad when I dropped her off, but she just needed to think about all the fun things she would get to do. We also decided that I would get her out of the van, walk her to the door and give her a big hug and kiss. (They have a drive-up drop-off system, so really I don't even have to get out of the van, which is great.) We talked about what she would do after I left: hang up her coat, put her lunch in the tub, etc. This seemed to make all the difference. I think the combination of being reminded of what happens when she arrives, and me walking her up to the door did the trick. There were NO TEARS! When I picked her up after school, she was wearing a Super Sticker that her teachers gave her for no crying! She was so proud of herself and we made sure she knew that we were proud of her too.

I couldn't get her to take a serious picture, but you can see the Super Sticker on her shirt.

Janae's imagination has really taken off the last few weeks. It is so fun to listen to her play - my favorite was when she created this tiny imaginary family that she 'carried' around in her hands. There names were Doc, Choc, Ducky and Goc (they all rhyme, with the exception of Ducky, sorry I'm not sure about the spelling). I thought it was hilarious!

This is a popular game with Janae and Daddy lately. Janae yells out, "chase me, Daddy!" and the game begins. Last night Jeff had Janae's stuffed animals hostage and her blanket tucked into his shirt like a cape. It was just too funny. Kiera was watching them run around and around, laughing the whole time - I knew she wanted to join them. I love watching the girls play with their daddy - he is pretty funny, especially on days like this.

Okay...so these are the pictures I was trying to post a few days ago. (I gave up after that last post, and then just got too busy. Better late than never, right?) We spent Memorial Day weekend in Salem with Jeff's parents to celebrate his birthday. Janae and Grammy made a cupcake cake for dessert. J did a great job with the frosting and sprinkles. Grammy and Grandpa were also brave enough to babysit so that Jeff and I could go out on a date! Thanks again!