Boba, meet Boba.

We did some shopping the other day and Tim bought a Boba Fett action figure. When we got home I remembered somewhere in a bag I had a Boba Fett from when I was his age. I actually remembered which cabinet and drawer he was in.

Tim spent some time comparing the two: his is more gray, his has a cape, his has a removable jet pack, and a few others.

Joe snapped the picture of us so we could share these with everyone.

Too Hot, Not Enough Water

It was 105 degrees in Portland today. So Holly left work early and we went to the beach. Turns out it was 92 there, but what did we know-we spent most of the time in the water so it didn't seem hot all. We would stay in the water until the boys got too cold, dig in the sand a little bit, and then head back into the water. It was a perfect day for it. A lot of other people had the same idea. It was so crowded at Cannon Beach we drove down to Hug Point, and it was pretty crowded there too but at least we found a parking spot.

Tim is Eight!

Tim turned eight yesterday. We kicked off the morning bright and early with some presents. One of his favorites was this fruit bat.

That evening we had the Grandparents Bullock over, and Holly's uncle and cousins who are in town visiting. It was a nice night for outside, perfect weather. Not that Tim cared that much, he was happy to have a bunch of people over for a party.

Which brings us to this evening. It's Tim's turn to have the "kid party" this year. It was loosly themed around Harry Potter. Everyone made a wand, checked it with some magic cards, played some Harry Potter trivia and learned a magic trick themselves and performed it for everyone. It was really neat to see the kids learning a little trick and then performing for their friends.

Tim loved it. And he still has one party left to go with some more family who couldn't make it the other night. He doesn't seem to be complaining about it though.

Rafting Down the Deschutes

We had a great time rafting down the Deschutes River yesterday, about a five hour trip on the water with Sage Canyon River Company. We took Amy and her husband Tod, and Laura and her boyfriend Brock. Amy and Laura are Holly's cousins.

The weather was perfect, in the nineties, so even in the morning it was warm enough to enjoy the trip.
Our guide was really fun and Tim stayed in the back with him the whole time chatting it up. When we weren't going through class III or IV rapids, Joe was sitting on the front of the raft, "riding the bull."

This picture (PhotoReflect.com) is from Box Car Rapids. The first real big one we hit. After lunch we went through Elevator Rapids, a class II. Our guide took us to the bank, we all got out, walked upstream and jumped in and did them again.
The boys absolutely loved it and are ready to do it again.

Woodstock Parade

We went to the neighborhood Woodstock Parade today (Tim is coming back from camp today so he missed it.) We ended up with more candy than Joe will ever eat, which doesn't take that much since he doesn't eat it. But people threw whole handfuls at us and he had fun picking it up.

Our favorite entry was the March Fourth Marching Band. There's nothing like goofy people on stilts, good horns, a tight rhythm section and someone to do the funkiest Funky Funk Dance while pushing the amplifier for the bass. OK, maybe there is something like it, but we've never seen it before.

We also stopped at a store and bought Joe a combination lock. A friend of ours who teaches middle school begged us to do that so Joe could practice opening one. He said that's always overlooked by parents, kids have no idea how to work the combination lock on their lockers. After a little practice Joe had it down to a couple of seconds.

Tim Goes to Camp!

I took Tim and his good buddy, Elias, to camp in Cove, Oregon yesterday (you take I-84 east to La Grande, take a left and go another 13 miles - if you drive straight through, it's takes about 4 hours and 45 minutes). I had forgotten how remote things look even from the interstate! The picture is from our stop in Arlington at the city park to play, swim, have lunch with his mom and younger sister (they were just returning from camp themselves). We heard about the giant slip and slide at camp (you even soap your self up to get the best slide), how the cool the pool is, some of the songs and how much fun it is.

When we finally got to camp, the boys jumped right into everything. Elias was excited to see his aunt (the executive director of the camp) and I was pleased that I knew many of the volunteers through other friends (small world!). I helped the boys lay out their sleeping bags, went back to the car to get the camera (which took less than 5 minutes) and they were already off having fun. I barely got a hug from Tim before heading back to Portland.
-Holly

And then the party!

We waited until Friday for a bigger party for Joe's birthday. The grandparents came, Auntie, Uncle and Sidra, and Jon and Erin too. Yea!

We borrowed a little swimming pool from a neighbor and put three big blocks of ice in it. Too cold for some but we loved it.

On Joe's request, the cake this year was the Starship Enterprise. Joe is enjoying the old episodes of Star Trek and lobbying to go see the new movie. Joe got some new books, a big OSU Beavers blanket, Pokemon cards, and a Star Trek Phaser.

Joe turns 11!!

Holly and I decorated Joe's door last night so when he woke up he'd have a little surprise. Thankfully he let us sleep in until 6:30 (our request) before he woke us up so he could open presents. His favorite present was the classic Star Trek communicator, he may not look excited in the picture but he carried it around for most of the day.

For a little extra celebration today we went swimming at the Sellwood Pool, out to eat at his favorite restaurant, and a little extra time playing some computer games.