BecAndKyle.com

hi my name is emmett i am writing hippo’s great invention.

i am making the worst wrinkly bagels

this is where i taught mom to jump

i am not having fun on my quarantine

i am not having fun with webbs. Ut oh. Mom’s taking over now. Up until now I was selecting the photos and sounding out the things I wanted to say. She seemed pretty pleased until now. Sheesh. She said something about being too negative.

Other things I did during the time my kindergarten class was in quarantine:

I got to stay up late and look at the Harvest Moon with my new telescope. Thanks, Nana.

I also made lots of sidewalk art…

and watched Bob Ross, then tried to make my own happy trees.

I also made biscotti – it needs to be 12 inches long, so I busted out the tape measure to check.

Can you stop taking my picture?

No, OK.

I also, after many failed attempts, got a sourdough starter going and made some delicious bread.

And learned to tie my shoes.

The Bigs figured we should go backpacking since we were supposed to stay away from people, so we hit the trails.

We stayed near S. Matthieu lake

and had views of North Sister (Faith) Mountain. We tried and tried to get good pictures of her.

Quarantine’s not that bad…

It was The Bigs’ 14th wedding anniversary. WE celebrated at the Midtown Yacht Club with

Mezze platters (baba ganoush with pistachios and feta , olives with almonds and orange, Moroccan carrots with mint, fried cauliflower with tahine, pita and falafel)

and halvah for dessert. The Bigs were not entirely sure what this was, but it sure was tasty.

Pork and Beans Man. You may think this is a funny-looking getup, but wait…

It gets even better:

Practicing my chords:

We’ve had fall-like weather lately, and that means rainbows:

We also did some weekend mountain biking at Phil’s:

Moroccan lentil salad with apricots and almonds:

This week I made pretzels. Before:

After:

I also had my first and second days of kindergarten.

It made me tired.

I also made a solar powered car,

went for a bike ride and a hike,

and bought and planted some new houseplants. These are MINE. The Bigs refuse to take responsibility for cacti and other hard to grow plants. I am not afraid.

I also ate grilled figs with pomegranate molasses

and pasta with broccoli, preserved lemons, and chickpeas.

This is going to be a long one folks. We traveled 3750 miles. Mom may have taken 3750 pictures.

We hit the road on August 4th. The first night we camped near the Oregon/Idaho border and the second night we stayed near the Idaho/Wyoming border. On the third day we drove through the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area on the border of Wyoming and Utah.

We were on our way to see

dinosaurs! We went to Dinosaur National Monument. There are real fossils still in the rock to see. This picture does not do its amazingness justice!

We camped on the Green River and did some hiking while at the Monument.

There were a lot of petroglyphs to see.

Then we headed to Grand Mesa, Colorado for some mountain biking and then on to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. We stayed at a campground that had restored narrow gauge trains.

Next up, the cabin!

Ryan, Nora, Aunt Michelle, and Uncle Chris met us there. I took everyone on a hike to the top of Pennsylvania Mountain the first day. Why not? Sea level to 13, 006 ft? No problem.

Almost there.

Here Ryan and I are at the summit!

Ryan and I built cool forts.

Nora and I made my birthday cake. Chocolate cake with blueberry frosting (my idea).

Uncle Chris made me work for my presents with a treasure hunt.

No problem, because I am six.

We also hiked to Limber Grove. Some of the trees there are around 1000 years old.

We also did some mountain biking in Frisco and Fairplay and a few more hikes around the cabin before we left.

We saw lots of beaver dams.

It wasn’t all fun and games. We did lots of work too, like sanding the deck.

But doesn’t it look great?

Next up, off to Vernal, Ut for some mountain biking.

We rode

AND

We were not done yet. Next stop? Eagle Cap Wilderness in the Wallowa Mountains of Oregon for a backpacking trip.

Here we go.

The map said 7 miles. My watch said we’ve been going 8. What’s up?

First night’s campsite.

Up over Ivan Carper pass on the second day. Come on Bigs!

I am the Lorax and I speak for the trees.

The third day was an easy hike out along the Lostine River.

Now we are home and stuck inside due to smoky air. So we are in the kitchen. I made banana cream pie,

banana oat pancakes,

pecan honey granola,

and honey oat bread.

I also helped The Bigs make Farmer’s Market Fried Rice

and kimichi noodles.

Big week this week. Wednesday was the Growing Tree graduation ceremony.

if I look a little upset in this picture, it is because someone cleaned up my shave ice (the Tree hired a shave ice truck to cater graduation – boy am I going to miss the tree) before I finished it.

On Saturday, I went to the Bend Rock Gym to climb with Hazel. It was awesome. I can’t wait to go back.

I made some mini heart-shaped cakes with green frosting and red, green, and white sprinkles this weekend. Happy Holidays(?):

Some other things we ate this week include watermelon and mango salad:

pasta with kale, capers, and anchovies:

falafel sandwiches with tahini sauce and pickled daikon and carrots:

tofu po’boys:

and, finally, Hawaiian shave ice (promised to me after the graduation incident) after our mountain bike ride on Sunday:

Dad’s birthday was last week, but we weren’t home, so Mom made him a cake this week. It was carrot cake, and it was delicious!

When I’m not tracking wild animals,

I can often be found practicing my ukulele:

I’m also in the middle of my Journey 3 swim lessons, and I’m getting very good.

Friday was paddle board picnic day:

On Sunday, we hiked up to Lucky Lake with Isaac and his family. Collecting bark on the way to the lake, so we could build a canoe:

The only thing we made this week worth taking a picture of was grilled grapes with burrata:

Mom made paella this week. Not my favorite. There was much grumbling about the price of saffron and questions like, do I think other kids’ moms make them PAELLA?

We went to Hood River this week/weekend. This is the view (sorta) from our campsite.

The first night, I explored the Columbia River,

while Dad got out and did some windsurfing.

The next day we went for a run and then out to a u-pick farm. I picked cherries…

2.3 pounds of cherries, which I ate most of, …

and pet some animals.

After cherry picking, it was back to the river for some windsurfing and rock climbing.

The next day we hiked to the Tamanawas Falls.

We hiked BEHIND the falls! It was cool (figuratively and literally).

After the hike we dropped Dad off at the river and Mom and I headed to the pump track. We had it all to ourselves.

On Saturday we rode the 8 Mile Creek Loop. I believe we may have disturbed some Ewoks.

Afterwards, we had lunch by the Hood River.

Then some more wind surfing followed by a birthday dinner at Ferment. They had tasty beers (and marionberry lemonade) and food.

I had the salmon burger – alaskan salmon patty, sweet chili sauce, bread and butter pickles, and cabbage slaw.

The Bigs had falafel wraps – hummus, herbed tahini sauce, cucumber, mixed greens, pickled veggies, flatbread – and fried brussel sprouts with soy vinegar sauce. Everyone was happy!

Then it was off to meet Kaelia (Griffin, Jay’s daughter) for ice cream at Mike’s.

Some pics of Mount Hood from the ride home.

Now that we are home, it’s time to get serious about making music! Check out the ukulele I bought myself with my allowance.

I just go and go (and jibber jabber and jibber jabber). Nan and Pop kept right up. Check out Nan’s soccer moves!

Silly, Pop you think you can out run me wearing flip flops?!

Pop wanted to take us to a nice dinner. The Bigs suggested the The Midtown Yacht Club. Sounds fancy, right?! It’s a food truck pod. Pop was not amused.

Pop and I made bread. I usually try to avoid recipes, but our loaves turned out great. Maybe I’ll start using more recipes – did The Bigs just sigh with relief?!

We also went paddle boarding on the Deschutes River.

Pop, follow me…

On Saturday we rode our bikes around Cultus Lake and stopped for a dip…

And on Sunday we paddled around Sparks Lake.

I napped on the car ride home. I wonder why?

I play tennis now. Getting the feel for things on the backboard:

See if any of you tennis experts out there can identify what went wrong here:

We went to the Midtown Yacht Club food truck pod for a belated Father’s Day dinner out (Thanks, Nan and Pop!):

Afterwards, we went to Bonta for Gelato:

It has been hot in Bend. Really hot. We went to the coast for a few days to escape the heat. We stayed along the North Umpqua River on the way to the coast. It was hot there too, but we stayed cool in the river all afternoon.

I got to bike along the river to get to our swimming spot:

The next morning we headed to the beach. We had a beautiful beach all to ourselves at Yoakam Point:

I dug in the sand and ran in and out of the waves for hours. It took me a little while to warm up to the waves:

We camped near the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area:

Our campsite had a great climbing tree:

The Dunes were amazing:

I’m the little speck in the middle of this photo (the Bigs were hanging back to enjoy a bit of peace and quiet):

Jumping down the dunes was the best:

The next day started off a little foggy and windy, so we went to Sea Lion Caves, a tourist trap that the Bigs have always driven by, because they were too cheap to go in. It was awesome! (The Bigs agreed with that assessment.)

Check out what I’m wearing. It was 110 degrees in Bend when this photo was taken:

Next, we went for a five-mile walk along a beautiful beach.

The beach ended at a cliff.

And, tide pools!

After the walk, it was construction time. I built a sand/rock/driftwood house:

To top off another great day at the beach: roasted marshmallows!

When we headed home the next day, I was just a little tired:

Thursdays are bike-class days:

On Saturday, I got to ride with Isaac again:

Sunday, was the Fourth of July. After a paddle board on the river, Nan and Pop showed up!

Monday was Flag Day. Happy Flag Day!

Turns out, Flag Day is also Pop’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Pop!

A month in the life of our hops (video):

This week, we went to Katie and Brad’s for dinner. I put on my going-out clothes:

They have a four-story townhouse downtown with a ridiculous rooftop deck:

Even better than their deck is their dog, Poppy:

I love Poppy!

It’s popsicle season:

Strawberries for dessert:

Still missing teeth:

Father’s Day Sunshine Muffins:

Going paddle-boarding:

Father’s Day dinner – farro bowl with mushrooms, spinach, and tofu:

And, coconut custard pie: