Portland, Oregon

We are freshly back from a most excellent trip to Portland, Oregon. We went out there for the wedding of an Outward Bound pal of Chris's and we stayed with our lovely cousins, the Bradford-Vinings. They were exceptional hosts, one and all.

 One day we went blackberry and flower picking on beautiful Sauvie Island.

Thanks, Portland People! We had a wonderful time.

Empire State to Granite State

There has been a lot going on. Good things, all! Now we are in New Hampshire in our fine new home, enjoying all that a New England summer has to offer.

But first we said good-bye to some friends in our Brooklyn backyard. We are anxious for everyone to come visit!

And when we got to New Hampshire we pretty quickly set up a blueberry picking date with Grandma Carola. We went home with empty pails and full bellies.

We have been exploring some trails around our new town, and there's a lot to discover. We are finally getting to use our hiking packs that were hand-me-downed to us over two years ago. These pictures are from our first adventure.

We are all finding it much easier to contemplate life in New Hampshire.

We got to celebrate the birthdays of two of Creston and Ivy's great uncles in Vermont and it was a lovely family reunion. Cousins from near and far! Limbo!

 

Back at home, we couldn't say no to the lady at the nearby estate sale who insisted that we take her piano for free because "it would be so easy to just roll it down the street." By the end, Uncle Rick and Chris were unsure about her definition of "easy." Now someone just has to learn how to play the piano.

And then we went to Maine. We had a frogging adventure with the Grandparents and it turns out that Grandma Robin is some kind of frog catching black belt. The frogs had no chance. It was catch and release, of course. Sometimes the release was a long hop down the dock for all to see.

We hope for more photos of Maine to come soon from a certain betrothed brother. Creston and Ivy very much loved being with their aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents. And we are glad to now be so much closer to so much family.

Dominican Republic

Life has been very, very good to us. We spent a week in the Dominican Republic and found out that life with twin toddlers can actually be very relaxing if the setting is just right. And it was. Without too much commentary, here are lots of photos of our good time.

 

We spent the mornings at the main town beach, walked back to the hotel for a nap, then played around in the sandy tidal pools by the hotel in the afternoon. The hotel's beach wasn't swimmable, but it was actually perfect since Creston and Ivy aren't ready to really swim in the ocean yet. Here's the scene:

 

In the evening we walked back to the town center and ate dinner on the beach.

Cabarete, Dominican Republic, is famous for windsurfing, surfing and kiteboarding, so all of that was a real theme of the trip. Every afternoon the ocean was full (100 maybe?) of sails and kites. Surfing happened further down the beach and we didn't see it until our last day, but Creston and Ivy still got into it. Here are their sand surfboards. Nice form, little dude.

 Paddle, paddle, paddle.

And then we went to the Master of the Ocean tournament and saw some real surfing and actual surfboards.

In the Dominican Republic, people just take your babies from you and walk away like it's no big deal. It's great. Actually, I think that happens in a lot of countries that are not the US. This young lady was a real fan of our twins.

This is at our hotel - it had great meandering paths, beautiful stone walls, and beautiful flowers. We spent a lot of time just wandering.

One of the security guards at the hotel had a couple of chihuahuas that Creston and Ivy liked to walk.

The hotel didn't have a bathtub, and we had extremely sandy babies, so this was the best solution. All parties enjoyed the set-up.

Ivy's into yoga.

And there you have it. The trip was as great as the pictures make it seem. And Creston and Ivy turn TWO in a few weeks. Unbelievable.