Festival of Balloons

The Festival of Balloons is an annual summer event in Tigard.  We love being able to see the balloons from our house!

This year we took the girls to the festival and they rode on carnival rides for the first time... here is Dad buckling them into their swing seats.

Getting ready for the ride to begin!  Lauren looks excited and Emily looks a bit nervous.

 Whee! The girls loved it!

 Close up of the girls whizzing by...

After the rides and lunch, the girls danced to music in the grassy field with their balloons... Emily on the left and Lauren on the right.

Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge

We live just a few miles away from a national wildlife refuge!  The weather was beautiful this weekend so we decided to check it out.

Lauren (front) and Emily (back) making their way down the path with dandelions in hand.

 Girls checking out a bird resting in a swampy area.

A few other pictures from this past week... Lauren (left) and Emily (right) playing in a huge sandpit.

Lauren's shiner following a scuffle with Emily over a toy.

Although the girls have occasional disagreements, they spend most of their time having fun together!

Mango Tango!

Once or twice a week, the girls and I go to Mango Tango after preschool for a frozen yogurt treat!  It has become a tradition... we always sit at the same table in the same seats.  Lauren likes vanilla, chocolate, and berry yogurt with colored sprinkles and pink mochi pieces.  Emily likes vanilla and chocolate yogurt with colored sprinkles and sometimes raspberries or crushed oreo cookies depending on her mood.  

Emily helped me make a delicious blackberry tea cake this week!  Here she is carefully placing the blackberries on top.  Lauren was lounging on the couch watching Dino Dan while we baked.  

Happy Father's Day!  These are the goldfish cards that the girls made for Daddy at preschool.

Backyard Swingset

Dad, Uncle Lane, and Grandpa Rufener worked together to build the girls a swingset in our narrow backyard... the girls LOVE it!

Lauren (left) and Emily (right) smiling with delight.  

Earlier in the week we visited a park with a small grassy hill and the girls had a great time running up and down the hill holding hands.

Sprinklers

The weather was warm and sunny this past weekend so we got out the sprinklers!  Lauren on the left and Emily on the right.

Running towards the oscillating sprinkler!

 Girls getting sprayed!

 They had so much fun!

We also rediscovered an old infant pool in one of our closets... the girls loved it despite its small size.

A couple of pictures from earlier in the week... Lauren (left) and Emily (right) helping Dad in the backyard garden.

Emily (left) and Lauren (right) enjoying an afternoon at the park with Grandma and Grandpa Rufener.