Top 5 Events Since Our Last Post

1. Evie's Birthday Party

I actually tried to load about 12 pictures right after her birthday, but had such trouble formatting them that I deleted the whole blog post and never wanted to try again! Hence, the 1 month hiatus...
Back to Evie: She turned 1 on July 17th. On the 15th, we had a family party for her with balloons, fish tacos, mexican rice and a Tinkerbell cake (which she LOVED!). We even had to dunk her in the bath before opening presents.


2. Bought a minivan

Yup. A mininvan. How did it come to this?! And when did I get excited about a minivan? I really like the power sliding doors with the touch of a button and all the extra room inside, but I have to admit I miss my cute little QX4. I miss the leather seats, the Bose stereo, the moonroof. But I suppose one must sacrifice... "Sacrifice": Who am I kidding. Most people say the Odyssey was the best car they ever owned- my problem is going from a luxury vehicle to a standard vehicle but unless we can afford to pay $35k (!) for an Odyssey Touring, this is the best their is! And I AM truly happy.
**And, yes, in case you were wondering, it does barely fit in our garage. But we did measure first.




3. Harry Potter Movie & Book

I know it's a fad, but I really like the Harry Potter series. Mostly I love Snape- always have, always will. I think my love affair with Snape is enhanced by the fact he is played by Alan Rickman- a wonderful actor who lends spice to every character he portrays.
The movie was the best one yet, despite the fact that book 5 was dark and not my favorite. I loved the new characters and everyone far outshines Daniel Radcliffe in the acting department with the exception perhaps of the "new" Dumbledore. Well worth watching in spite of these two deficiencies.

The Deathly Hallows was terrific and I gobbled it up in two days. A little slow in the middle, but the ending made up for it. I will say no more.




4. Washington County Fair

Doug and I took the kids and met Brandy and her kids at the Fair last Saturday night. The kids looked at the animals, sat in a police car, checked out some tractors, ate treats, and tried some rides. Sterling, Doug, Brandy, and Jared went on the Super Slide which the kids both LOVED! And then we got braver and Sterling & I and Brandy & Jared tried the Dragon Wagon which is a kid's roller coaster. It's pint sized- but still scary... Sterling was seriously scared and cried most of the time until he got so scared he couldn't cry and just kept saying, 'no... no... no...' in a shaky voice as we went around the track. When we were done, he was a little shaky on his legs, but seemed proud of himself, nonetheless. I did feel bad though. I should prehaps relate (to no surprise of anyone) that Jared LOVED it! He's the family daredevil.

5. Jamison Square Fountain

Downtown, in the newly-posh area of the Pearl District, the city put in a fountain/wading pool. Stephanie and I took the kids there on Wednesday when it was over 90 degrees here. At first Evie didn't like the tepid water, but then she got used to it and started crawling around and splashing in it. The only problem I have with the park is the *minor* oversight of, um, a BATHROOM! HEL-LO! Even a port-a-potty would suffice. It just seems like if you're going to build a water playground for little kids who might be staying a while, you would put a potty somewhere... Anyway, thanks both to "Mommy foresight" and Sterling's incredible holding tank- we made it. Painful, but we made it.