Happy Anniversary and other updates

We celebrated our 11th anniversary this weekend. Ellie and Nisa said that for our anniversary they would not fight. That only lasted for 45 minutes, but it's the thought that counts, right? ;-)

For our anniversary we had a great dinner at restaurant that Mika had seen mentioned on Martha Stewart. Afterward the girl's decorated cupcakes and sang "Happy Anniversary" to us to the tune of Happy Birthday. The next morning we went to the Original Pancake House to commemorate our trip to Chicago last year. When we were in Chicago for last year's anniversary we ate at the Original Pancake House in Chicago, not knowing that the 'original' Original Pancake House was in Portland. Their apple pancake is amazing.

Last Friday night we went to our first Beavers baseball game in downtown Portland and had a great time. Hot dogs were a dollar and we had seats behind home plate for $9. It is a great venue. The funniest thing was that at the end of the game we walked out to outfield seats where they had jumpy houses and silly mirrors. The kids spent a solid inning and a half dancing in front of the silly mirrors.

Last weekend was Ellie and Annisa's big performance up in Seattle. The musical was called "Flapper" and it takes place in the roaring 20's. It was a great show, especially considering that the camp was only two weeks long. Kids had to know their lines coming into the camp, but it was still quite impressive. I will post a video of Ellie's singing number soon. Nisa did a great job in her first big performance.

While they were doing acting camp, the kids also participated in "Kate's Camp". Kate is a 12-year old girl who cousin Eli knows through church and she puts on her own summer camp at her house. Kate is very organized and would keep the kids busy for a couple hours each day. At the end of camp all the kids got t-shirts. It was a very cute and very impressive.

With all of the driving we have been doing this summer I thought I'd mention one of Maile's quirks. When she gets tired in the car, one of the only sure fire ways to calm her down is with foot rubs. While it is nice to have a way for calming her down, once you start there is no stopping; thus creating some sore shoulders for Maile's parents. :-)

It has been a busy summer, but we still have one more big trip to go. Next week we will fly to Minnesota and stay there through the Labor Day weekend so we can attend Brian & Betsye's wedding. After that, it will be back to school.