Luke in St. Louis

Mommy and Daddy came back to Portland today from spending Memorial Day weekend in St. Louis. Luke is staying in St. Louis another week to spend more time with his cousin Johnny and his Grandma and Grandpa Siorek! Life in St. Louis is very busy. Here are some photos of Luke's adventures.

Luke was fascinated with "the kids," as he called his cousins: Leo, Annie, and Johnny.
Annie and Luke cuddling in bed. Annie was so sweet with her little cousin.
Luke slept in a big boy bed for the first time. He was grinning from ear to ear the first time he got into the bed and he slept like a rock.

Riding a trike in his jammies.

Playing in the fountain at Tilles Park.

The jungle gym at Tilles Park.

Today Luke and Johnny went to Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center.

They had a great time together and are turning into fast friends.

Cookie Making

Luke helped Mama make peanut butter cookies yesterday.
Luke helped dump the ingredients in the bowl and he helped stir.

I think this is me trying to get the spatula back from him.
Then his hands got all sticky from making a dough ball!

Dozer Day

Today we went to Dozer Day in Camas, Washington with Mike, Emily, and Cameron. Here are Luke and Cameron sitting on a hydraulic excavator.

I wish I had taken more pictures to do justice to what a cool event this was! Basically, it's like a fun fair at a rock quarry and the "rides" are heavy construction machinery. Kids can climb all over the machines and can sit on the lap of an operator and drive bulldozers and excavators.

Cameron and Luke had a blast. The event was totally packed. We estimated at least 5,000 people were there but everything was so well organized you really didn't mind the crowds.

Here is Luke sitting in the claw of the excavator.

And here is Luke sitting in the cab of a firetruck. Look at the smile on his face!

The other time he glowed like that was when we rode the Articulated Hauler. Basically, it was like a hay ride but instead of a wagon you got to sit in the bed of a dump truck.

We didn't wait in the long lines to operate the machines, but there was so much other stuff to do. Like digging in the sand, of course. And crawling through big black plastic pipes. We literally had to drag him away from that.

Finally, Happy Birthday last week to Daddy! The big 4-0. Luke was very excited about the candles, the birthday cake and singing the birthday song.

Luke's Kitchen Remodel

When we bought the house 5 years ago, the kitchen looked like this.

We quickly stripped the wallpaper and lived with this for years.
And today, thanks to Uncle Matt of Old Green Woodworking, we have a beautiful kitchen of our dreams!

Another before.
And after.


Way before.
Shortly before.
And after.


The hallway: before.
The hallway: after.

4 Down, 46 To Go

School Picture Spring 2010

Luke had his school picture taken early last month. This was before his last haircut and during a rough patch at school.

Knowing Luke the way I do, the teddy bear prop cracks me up. He is totally humoring the photographer here.

Seeing as how Luke almost got kicked out of day care for being difficult, this transition report to the twos room didn't turn out too bad.

A Beautiful April Weekend in Oregon

On Saturday we went to The Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm in Woodburn, Oregon. They have 40 acres of tulips!

Here is Luke walking in the tulip field with Langston.
There was a lot for little boys to soak in.

Then on Sunday, we went to the garden center to get some flowers to plant in the backyard. Here is Luke hauling the flowers from the car in his wheelbarrow.

He is going to be such a big strong helper!
We also bought a bag of ladybugs to eat the aphids on the rose bushes.
Luke was fascinated, but didn't really want to get too close to them once they were out of the bag.
He prefers looking for insects under rocks.

He likes centipedes and slugs.

Luke is going to be a big help this summer.

Coat Trick

Here is a cool trick that Luke learned at day care.
It has made mornings a lot easier and more fun.