Over the last several days, weeks, Samuel has taught himself how to ride a bike without training wheels. He is so excited and likes to ride around in the back yard on our patio while he listens to his books on tape. Actually, I think part of his success has been combining the two activities because when he would go out to just try and ride the bike without the training wheels, he was often so frustrated that he would stop. When he listens to Freddy the Pig, he seems to relax a bit and it has really worked out for him this time.

What have we been up to?

We went and picked some blueberries on Sauvie Island but ended up with some wild blackberries instead. And the kids had ice cream afterward from the Farm Store at Krugers.

We went to a gymnastics center and played in the foam and on the trampolines. And the kids had ice cream afterward.

We went to the Farmer's Market and then to Bug Fest at the Nature Center nearby. There were some very informed entomologists there who would identify different bugs the kids caught. We learned there are 4,000 species of bees in the United States alone. There are 20,000 bee species world wide. Wow. Eva found a tumbling flower beetle. She even saw him tumble. No ice cream afterward, but Eva had one of those yummy Ruby Jewel ice cream sandwiches at the market.

We went to the Arboretum today and had a lovely walk in the woods. And the kids had ice cream afterward.

Gosh, that is a lot of ice cream. It is a good thing they like it!

I started a new sweater. Afterward I made a juice in my fantastic juice machine I was given for Mother's Day. I used beets and cherry tomatoes and zucchini from my farm basket and carrots and cherry tomatoes and cucumber from the garden. I have to say that the more juice I make, the better it gets. The tomatoes and beets really go well together and I am so glad I planted so many carrots because those have turned out to be great to juice as well.