146/365 Lavender and Wine

Today we visited one of the local lavender farms near Odell.  Gabrielle had a great time cutting her own little bunch of fresh lavender (with Daddy's help, of course), and absolutely loved the lavender lemonade she got to sample there.  The windy weather and lack of a tripod made it difficult to really capture the amazing view of Mt. Hood from the farm, but it was absolutely gorgeous.  Afterward, we continued on to visit one of wineries, where Jeff and Grampa got to sample some of the local organic wine.

145/365 Panorama Point

We had planned on hiking at Hood River Mountain, but our plans were thwarted by a 2 year old who has suddenly decided that she wants to walk everywhere.  She was perfectly content to ride in our  Deuter child-carrier last week, but sadly that seems to have come to end.  We didn't get to finish our hike, but we did stop at Panorama Point on the way back to enjoy the view and get some pictures.

Mt. Hood from Panorama Point

We also stopped at Gabrielle's favourite playground to let her burn off some energy before our dinner at Taco Del Mar.  She couldn't quite manage the climbing wall by herself, but it was lots of fun with Daddy's help.

144/365 Windsurfing At The Event Site

The guys had a great day windsurfing at the Event Site today, despite not quite optimal conditions.  I'm not always sure what to look for in terms of catching the action, but I'm slowly learning. 

While I took pictures, Gabrielle found some more water to splash in.  She's always happy as long as she can find plenty of rocks to throw in the water.

143/365 The Gorge At Noon

Gabrielle and I spent some time at the local beach today while the guys were windsurfing.  High noon wasn't exactly the best time for taking pictures, but Gabrielle had a great time splashing around and finding rocks to throw in the water.

142/365 Hikes and Alpacas

Today we took a drive out to the alpaca farm.  Gabrielle was content to watch from a distance last year, but this year was different.  She had a great time feeding the babies and letting them tickle her hand as they ate.  Here is one of the young alpacas waiting hopefully for some more treats.

After the temperature had cooled off a bit, we also went for our second hike of the season out to Wachlella Falls. Gabrielle wasn't quite as accommodating in the backpack as she was last year, but I think she still enjoyed the ride.

141/365 Hood River Sunset Over The Mountains

140/365 Day Trip To Portland

Gabrielle enjoying some chocolate milk at Starbucks during a day trip to Portland

138/365 Toronto Beach At Dusk

138/365 Another Visit To High Park

We had another great visit to High Park this morning.  Despite all the interesting things to see on our walks, all this munchkin wants to do lately is collect sticks and rocks (even better if she can find some water to throw them in).  She's growing to have the thrill of a lifetime at the beach this summer!

We've also seen tons of these blackbirds at the park lately.  

This one didn't seem to mind our company at all!

137/365 On The Way To The Park

136/365 The Pool At Gran's House

135/365 Showing Mom Her Rocks

134/365 Reading With Tante Heidi

133/365 Throwing Rocks By The Lake

Gabrielle and I took a little hike down to the beach this afternoon, where the highlight of her day was throwing rocks in the water.  This girl loves collecting rocks, but she's not usually allowed to throw them. It was the ecstasy of all ecstasies for her to be able to throw as many as she wanted into the waves.

We had to have a little chat about not throwing them at the ducks, but thankfully they didn't stick around long enough for this to become a real issue.

She was momentarily distracted by one the brave people down by the lake who actually went in the water, but for today she was just content to stand at the shore.

132/365 A Day With Cousins

Gabrielle and I had a great day at the park today with some of her cousins. We made one of our final trips to the High Park Zoo before it's set to close in June (we'll definitely be sad to see it go), and then visited one of Gabrielle's favourite playgrounds.  We also stopped for a little snack, before heading back up to the Grenadier Cafe for lunch.  Here's Gabrielle snacking on some of her cousin's crackers and cheese.

She tried to convince Quinn to try some cucumbers, but he wasn't very interested.

And here's Gabrielle's little cousin Emma gazing adoringly at her mama.

131/365 Riding "Kermit" At The Park

(Daddy's giving Gabrielle a little ride in this picture)

130/365 Second Gymnastics Graduation

Gabrielle just finished her second session of gymnastics and had tons of fun at her "graduation" party today!

Gabrielle learning how to do cartwheels

Taking a break while she watches some kids jump on the trampoline

Practicing her seat drop for Miss Christina

Taking her jumping very seriously

130/365 Playing Outside

I wish I had half as much energy as this kid!  Here she is sprinting down the sidewalk, just for the joy of it.

She also loves watching all the strangers who walk by her on the street.  She found some lady joggers very interesting here.

After finding all the ants on the sidewalk today, she informed me that they are "going home".

129/365 Picking Dandelions In James Gardens

128/365 Interesting Bird At The High Park Zoo

127/365 First Haircut

Gabrielle and I recently took a trip to Melonheads for her first professional haircut.  I was slightly worried about her ability to sit still long enough for the cut, but the cartoons she got to watch while the hairdresser was snipping away seemed to do the trick.

The lollipop she got on the way out was the perfect treat!

"All done, Mommy!"

126/365 Ellie's Birthday Party

Gabrielle playing the tambourine at Ellie's 3rd birthday party

125/365 Gabrielle and Her Grandparents