What the Cool Kids Do: September 2013

Sunday, September 29, 2013

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Saturday, September 28th, 2013

Dana went out to explore on his own today. He went out to do some hikes on the far side of New England. The first stop was Bash Bish Falls (pictured) in the SW corner of Massachusetts. It is MA’s big waterfall, and it was beautiful. Next was a hike that had vistas in MA and Connecticut and ended in New York. It included the highest point of CT (on the south slope of a hill that summits in MA). Dana turned around at the point where MA, CT, and NY meet. Dana then headed to a stream in CT called Naromiyocknowhusunkatankshunk Brook and caught some bugs. The last stop was Kent Falls in CT, a wonderful series of smaller waterfalls dropping 250 ft.

Ruth had the chance to go and see her old high school’s marching band play at the Homecoming game. She enjoyed being able to see her former conductor and a few friends.

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Friday, September 27th, 2013

A ferry boat ride away from downtown Boston lies the Boston Harbor Islands. We went with Ruth’s parents to visit two of the islands. The boat ride was a lot of fun as you watch downtown get smaller and smaller. Georges Island is the home of Fort Warren, built just before the Civil War and used through WWII. Spectacle Island is a revitalized nature area (it used to be a garbage dump and a horse recycling center). It had lots of pretty trails and a great view of Boston. A stop at Mike’s Pastries ended the day with some yummy cannoli.

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Thursday, September 26th, 2013

After some rest time in the morning, we headed out to see some of the island. We passed a farmer’s market that advertised lobster, so we stopped by. Being in the New England spirit, Dana bought two lobsters and a crab for a great price; thus dinner (for Dana and Lynn) was planned.

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Wednesday, September 25th, 2013

Thanks to my dad, we got to the airport with plenty of time at 5:15 AM. We had some fun with check in people when they gave us four bag receipts for five bags. We made sure they fixed that. The airplane experience went great. Magnus was wearing his airplane pajamas, which impressed the flight attendants enough to take him into the cockpit show the pilots (which was cool). We changed planes in Chicago and made it to Providence, RI with all five bags. Rosanne picked us up and we made it home for dinner. It was a busy day, but we had fun.

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Tuesday, September 24th, 2013

Farmor and Grandpa came over to say goodbye to us. Magnus even let us take a picture of him. We spent most of the evening finishing packing and making sure everything was ready for the morning.

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Monday, September 23rd, 2013

Elina and Anton came over and we tried out our new grill making dinner. Magnus needed some nice snuggles from Elina but just ended up hugging her face. She was a good sport about it.

Monday, September 23, 2013

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Sunday, September 22nd, 2013

Magnus and Dana got haircuts this morning. Don’t they look handsome?

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Saturday, September 21st, 2013

Our Young Men and Women walked to the temple again this year. I did not walk with them, but I met them part of the way with bagels and a short devotional. I am so proud of all our youth!

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Friday, September 20th, 2013

Magnus is generally good about not getting into things. But today he found my mascara and proceeded to beautify himself.

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Thursday, September 19th, 2013

Ivan and Terry took us out to dinner at Red Lobster tonight for Endless Shrimp. We all had some and it was delicious! Thanks, Ivan and Terry!

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Wednesday, September 18th, 2013

Dana collects coins. We liked that the quarter with Great Basin featured a bristlecone pine.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

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Tuesday, September 17th, 2013

Sometimes you just need to dismantle the couch.

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Monday, September 16th, 2013

We’ll say Hulk photo-bombed this picture Magnus took.

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Sunday, September 15th, 2013

And the finished cake.

I think this one turned out better than my previous attempt. Yay for improvement! Thank you to Dana for helping me transport the cake this morning before church.

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Saturday, September 14th, 2013

Cake cake cake.

Another practice cake. I offered this one on craigslist for free. I had a lot of takers. My lucky winner wanted the cake for her daughter’s 21st birthday. I hope it was a crowd pleaser!

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Friday, September 13th, 2013

One of our neighbors was cleaning out her garden tonight and sent me home with some vegetables.

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Thursday, September 12th, 2013

Magnus wanted to color with his markers tonight. We had to have a talk about how markers are for paper and not for arms. It will not be the last time we have that talk…

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Wednesday, September 11th, 2013

Dana has a whole list of hidden gems in the Gorge, including Duncan Creek, shown here. It was a very hot day, but the stream was completely deserted. We met Brian at the trailhead and hiked in to the stream. Dana and Brain jumped into the deep pools and Magnus and I waded in the shallow water. We found a frog and took some nice pictures. The water was cool and refreshing.

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Tuesday, September 10th, 2013

The new Star Trek movie came out on video and Dana bought the version that came with a model of one of the ships.

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Monday, September 9th, 2013

Before heading home we had to stop at the Tillamook cheese factory one more time. This time Magnus especially like the loaf van. He made everyone get in the van with him and drove them around.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

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Sunday, September 8th, 2013

Happy Birthday, Anton!

Ivan and Terry came out to the coast to help celebrate Anton’s birthday. To start the day, some of us went to see the giant WWII blimp hangar near Tillamook, it was very big. On the way back we had a great look at a random driveway as we fixed a flat tire on the car. The day got better, though, when we went to enjoy the sand and water in Netarts. Here is Elina cruising her sandmobile that started out as a castle for Magnus. Then it became a volcano, And somehow evolved into a car.

That night we had some delicious birthday cheese cake.

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Saturday, September 7th, 2013

Staying in Netarts meant we were very close to Tillamook, so we had to visit the Tillamook Cheese Factory. But before that, Anton, Elina and Dana took a little hike to Munson Falls, the tallest waterfall on the Oregon coast. Magnus really liked seeing the people in the cheese factory working with the cheese. He also liked his ice cream cone. We spent the rest of the day on the beach at Oceanside. Magnus played in the sand. Farmor and Ruth relaxed a bit. And Anton, Elina and Dana explored the beach rocks, finding this cool sea arch.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

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Friday, September 6th, 2013

Day one of our beach trip took us through Astoria. The weather was very wet, but that didn’t prevent us from having a good time. We spent some time at Fort Clatsop, the winter quarters of Lewis and Clark. Magnus liked to run around in each room. He also liked the trail that had a boardwalk, because he could sing “Under the Boardwalk.” We also visited the wreck of the Peter Iredale, the Salt Works (where Lewis and Clark collected salt for their journey), and Ecola Point. We made it down to Netarts, where my mom had gotten a place for us to stay for the weekend. It was a good day.

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Thursday, September 5th, 2013

Ruth finished her fabulous gloves!

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Wednesday, September 4th, 2013

Dana and Magnus took a walk to the park. Magnus shows he is getting much better at helping us get a picture everyday. I think this is a pretty good picture of me. Good job, Magnus.

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Tuesday, September 3rd, 2013

Magnus takes a picture of Mommy and Daddy.

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Monday, September 2nd, 2013

Labor Day!

One of Magnus’s new favorite activities is playing with Jenga blocks at Farmor’s house. He likes to build the tower and make it fall over.

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Sunday, September 1st, 2013

The time till our new baby is due is just under three months away. See how happy Ruth is looking. Also, today Magnus found my watch which is out of batteries and told us it was his turtle-com (a Ninja Turtle communicator).

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Saturday, August 31st, 2013

My good friend makes the most most beautiful knitted and crocheted things. When Magnus was born she made some socks, a hat, and a sweater vest. I think she has outdone herself this time. I just love the little aviator hat. Now I have to find the new baby a tiny bomber jacket.

Thanks, Leslie!

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Friday, August 30th, 2013

Magnus was very proud of his large Duplo truck he built.

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Thursday, August 29th, 2013

We thought this toy we found at the store had an interesting label on it…It must be a very hungry puppy.

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Wednesday, August 28th, 2013

We spent most of the morning in our campsite. Dana went swimming and found a crawdad, which he cooked and shared with Magnus. We also saw a cool waterfall and headed further up the mountain to do a hike. But soon into the hike a cloud came in and poured rain on us, cutting it short. We ended the day with huckleberry milkshakes at the café we like in Trout Lake.