Jack Clements

A hike to find flowers in the Columbia River Gorge

We have certainly loved our move to Portland, OR and in that process, we have sought to get outside and explore as often as we can. So when a nice spring day came along, we jumped at the opportunity to get out of the house and try and see the early fruits of spring.

We took a little hike at Tom McCall Nature Preserve to see the wildflowers that were starting to bloom and the kids loved it. They love getting outside and exploring, and they do modest hikes and enjoy it. I don’t push them and we just go as far as we can before they start getting bored or crabby and then we turn back.

Visiting Ellie in her bed

Most mornings, the kids do their own thing, or they fight, or if we’re lucky, they’re on the same page and they’re doing something sweet together.

This morning, that’s exactly what happened. Jack had come to Ellie’s room and they were cuddled up in bed together, and Ellie was reading a book to him. We live for these sweet moments.

Superman watching Ellie at gymnastics

While Ellie was doing gymnastics on Wednesday afternoons this spring, Jack would come along with me. Only this time, Jack got swapped out for Superman.

Sledding on Mount Hood [VIDEO]

This winter, we’ve taken a few trips up to Mount Hood to go sledding, which has been a lot of fun. It’s been fun for the kids and their friends, and frankly, fun for us to play in the snow too!

I put together a quick video with some short clips and photos from our adventures.

Girls’ sunglasses? I wear them better

Having an older sister often means that Jack is subjected, or chooses to, try out his sister‘s accessories and clothes.

He thinks nothing of trying on Ellie’s tutus, sunglasses and hair bows and in many cases, I think that he thinks he wears them better than she does. We can’t disagree to be honest.

Jack at his first basketball game [VIDEO]

Jack has expressed an interest in basketball for a couple of years now, ever since he started peering out of our windows and saw the boys across the street playing in their driveway.

Since we now live in Rip City, we decided that a trip to go and see the Blazers would make for a great Christmas present, so I took him on a father-and-son trip to see them play the Mavericks.

Family pictures 2018

We followed on from our family pictures success of last year when we found Cascade Photography and asked them to come and take some more photos of us this year.

Again, they did a stellar job and we were really happy with them.

Jack swims no matter the weather

Here in Portland, Jack isn’t about to let the cold and dreary weather of November stop him from going outside in swimming shorts, (upside-down) goggles and Wellington boots to go and have some fun.

Raising tomorrow’s engineers

I had the pleasure of getting a visit at my construction site from my little man, so along with giving him an overview of what was going on, he wanted to wear my safety gear. I think we can all agree who wore it better. Continue reading “Raising tomorrow’s engineers”

A boy and his pup

Since getting Miles in August, Jack has become quite attached to his four-legged friend. He loves playing with him, inside and out, as well as going to the dog park and watching him play with all the other dogs. Continue reading “A boy and his pup”