Summer Recap 1.0

We left T-town in great spirits...

But oh, how things did deteriorate.  We all felt how she looks
here, on that never ending car ride.

In mid June, over father's day weekend we went to Portland for the Disaster Relief Trials. The drive down there was a bear but once we arrived, Portland greeted us with open arms.  (Really the drive would have been fine if not for stopping in the wrong tiny town for a snack break.  The town we were led to via divine luck just so happened to be having a parade at the very moment that we pulled off the freeway.  Before we knew any better we were locked into that town for over an hour. UGH.) Once back on the road we all were ready for the big bridge and the welcome to Oregon sign.  Once over the bridge we headed straight to OMSI where we spent a lovely afternoon after that awful car ride.  We hit up the HUB brewery for dinner which was fantastic.  Matt had a great time doing the ride on sunday, while we ladies got ourselves lost trying to find the zoo. Not to worry, though we are very skilled at getting lost we are even better at eventually finding our way.  Once we made it there, we had a surprisingly uneventful and pleasant time at the Oregon Zoo.  

Moods improved when we got to OMSI.  Here Tula is
checking out somebody else's ride.

Fantastic Pizza dinner at the HUB brewery.

Food Truck breakfast before the zoo. Delish.

This may be the only time they stopped
moving.

Obviously Tula didn't stop moving
for long.

Hubs looking ever-so homeless after the Disaster Relief Trials.
To his credit, it was hot outside and he had just biked 100lbs of
cargo all over PDX. So, I guess there's that. 

Ya get it?

On our way home from a recent road trip, we made an emergency stop at a craft store.  Yes, it was an emergency.  Sanity was on the line.  We picked up 200 pipe cleaners and two tiny styrofoam parakeets from the clearance bin. This $5 purchase enabled us to drive from Yakima to Tacoma without anyone losing their mind.  They made birdcages and bird beds and bird blankets and all things bird related with the pipe cleaners and brainstormed good bird names for their new pets.  Tula was struggling with a name for her bird and in trying to help her I rattled off a few names...

Me: "George, Sophie, Roberta?"
Tula: "No, that's not it."
Gwen: "Very funny, Mom."  
Me: "What?"
Gwen: "Roberta?"
Me: "I don't get it."
Gwen: "Ra-bird-a. Gah, mom really."  
Tula: "Ra-BIRD-a! Ya get it?" Laughter on top of laughter. 
Gwen: Eye rolling and laughing in a car full of laughter.

I wasn't even trying, but man am I glad these kids get our jokes.