PopPop is here! PopPop is here!

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..and we've been having a great time! Richard drove all the way from the Outer Banks, hauling boxes of stuff that he wanted to give to Drew and Amanda. He arrived on Thursday and is staying at our house until tomorrow (Tuesday) morning.

So, what have we been doing? On Friday, Richard, Drew and I took a great hike through Forest Park and ended up at the Pittock Mansion, home of the first owner of the Oregonian. We admired the view of downtown then hiked back in time enough to get home and pick up Rachel from daycare. (She throws so many temper tantrums these days that we figured it was wise not to subject Richard to every one of them. Hence, we kept Rachel on her regular schedule).

I made beef stroganoff just in time for Amanda and Jenn to arrive and go to sleep. So Richard and I ate dinner, later joined by Drew after he put Rachel to bed. Then I made a chocolate chip cake and gingerbread for breakfast, then fell into bed, exhausted.

The next day, Saturday, we got up at a leisurely pace -- Richard was quite impressed that Rachel loves to sleep late like us -- went to the Farmers Market, then Rachel, Amanda and Jenn, followed by me, went down for naps. After we woke up we all had pizza (Rachel refused the pepperoni this time) and sorted through the things in the boxes. Then another early bedtime.

On Sunday Amanda and Jenn left in mid-afternoon and Richard, Drew, Rachel and I headed to Silver Falls State Park. Rachel was asbolutely fascinated by her first waterfall! She seemed to get a kick out of all the plants and tall trees around her...until she conked out in the stroller as we were headed back. On the way home, she kept giggling in the back seat and reaching for Richard's fingers, a sure sign that she was warming up to him.

When we got back to the house, Rachel played with Richard in the living room while Drew and I fixed a quick supper of grilled chicken, salad and roasted potatoes. Rachel started saying, "hi, PopPop!" and Richard would look at her every once in a while and sigh, "she is so adorable." He also was clearly impressed by her vocabulary and knowledge of letters and numbers. She is one smart kid, he said, which of course thrilled us to hear!

Today we got Rachel up, breakfasted and off to daycare and then the three of us went on another hike to Latourell Falls in the Columbia Gorge. Wow, what an incredible view of the Columbia River and tall trees yet again. "We have GOT to do this more often," Drew said on the way home, and it's true, we need to get out jmore. It's easy to get in a rut with Rachel -- taking her to the same parks all the time.

Now Drew is out grocery shopping and I am getting ready to pick Rachel up from daycare. When we come home we'll have a nice dinner of fresh asparagus from the Farmers Market, penne, salad and the rest of the chocolate chip cake. I'm sure Rachel will say, "Daddy books!" indicating, like she has the past couple of days, that she wants Drew to read to her, bathe her and sing her to sleep. I'm not too upset since I'll have to do that the next two nights when he's in Seattle.