HOT! Suddenly, after weeks of colder than average weather and overcast days, it's sunny and mid-90s. We went camping despite the uncomfortable heat, and found respite on the shores of a tributary of the middlefork of the Willamette for a nice, long afternoon "nap." That's "nap" as opposed to nap without quotes meaning the kind that doesn't actually involve any sleeping. Rather, we threw rocks, sticks and leaves into the water, painted pictures, sang songs, chased ants and butterflies, and jumped on Mom and Dad if they showed any signs of taking a real nap. Who could sleep when it's this hot, anyway? What's that, Mom? You could have? Well, you had more fun playing with me. Promise.

Here's a peek into Dad's labor of love...the garden. These pictures do not do justice to the spectacular things--some edible, some aesthetic--starting to burst forth from the earth around our home!

columbine

Blueberry bushes


Some of the veggie beds in the background, with some starts, blueberry bushes, and what will soon be flowers in the pots in the foreground.

Fresh salads every night now!

We love spring...

Did someone say "waffles?"


Dad made waffles, fruit salad and bacon ("hmmmm. baaacon.") for a festive Mother's Day breakfast--an event, I think, that with a little planning, could be worked into our every day lives. We also went to feed goats in celebration of Mother's Day (and again, I see no reason why this can not be a more regularly scheduled activity). All in all it was a fabulous celebration of mom. She seemed to have a pretty good time, too!

Tea parties and forts can wear a girl out. Happy May!

One last peek into the weekend's activities...

Hello, all! Went on an adventure today to explore a waterfall which has the fabulous feature of cascading over the hiking trail. I walked under a waterfall! Or, rather, due to the rather narrow and slippery trail, I saw it from the safety of mom's back. This series of shots unfairly depicts me free-loading every step of the way, when in truth, I walked for the first 1/2 mile or so. The waterfall was about 1.5 miles from the car--uphill the whole way in, so that was about all I had in me. We stopped for a picnic and then hoofed it back to the car (downhill now!) since a dark black cloud seemed to be blowing our way. Rains never came--and it has been a glorious spring weekend!

This first photo is of the waterfall that was our destination.. this shot is from across the ravine, before we looped around and walked underneath it. This is about the time that I was pointing and saying "WHHHHOOOOOAAAAAAAWHOOOOAAAAAAA! HUUUUUUUUUUGE WATERFALL!!!! LOOK! WHOOOOAAAAAA! etc." Below shows a shot of Brice Creek itself--beautiful and raging all along.

Happy Spring!

I'm in my "smiley face" phase and spent my morning filling the driveway canvas with variations on this theme.

Maybe it was the rain. Or the hail. Or the snow... but you know it was a pretty quiet weekend when Spaghetti Dinner gets the award for "Most Bloggable Event." I got to watch movies--Lady and the Tramp and The Jungle Book--so you didn't hear me complaining. Shots below show a reinactment of a favorite scene.

Daddy spent most of the weekend moving vegetable starts out of the cold and hail, then back into the warming sun, then back out of the cold and hail with startling regularity while mommy muttered things about layers of tank tops and fleece jackets and insisted on riding her bike in hail and freezing rain because, she says, It's SPRING! Amigo Miguel came to visit from LA--I sought reassurance from him that the "doggy under the truck is OK!" (lady and the tramp scene) no less than 3,800 times and he seemed like a pretty trustworthy guy, so I'm off to sleep soundly with no Disney-induced nightmares. Hopefully, we'll wake up to warmer, sunnier weather tomorrow! G'night!

(P.S. Mom would like me to fess up to being a WIGGLE WORM during my haircut yesterday afternoon, resulting in the downright silly bangs. She'll fix them when I'm 12 and sit still on command).

Here I am in front of the raspberry bushes papa planted, showing you where the raspberries will one day rest: in my tummy.



When ya gotta go, ya gotta go.

Whenever I point at my pants and say, "Like the clown, Mama?" She says, "No, like a badger, sweetie." Likewise, when I point at my new red t-shirt and say, "Skunk, mama?" She says, "No, it's a badger, sweetie." This is about the time when she breaks into song about wanting to see a badger by the light of the moon, by the light of the moon, by the bright shining light, by the light of the moon.
Some days, one just has to accept the baffling world of adults for what it is. I'm pretty sure these are clown pants and the guy with a stripe is a skunk. Thanks for the fun times. Gramma and KooKoo!



Can you take me seriously when I'm in these pants? Try.
Harder.

Long time, no blog. Nothing marks time's passing more truly than the fact that the last blog entry dares mention the D-word! Diapers are very much a thing of my past now (unless I'm sleeping or swimming). I picked out my very own underwear and wear them with great pride-- the only downside of the whole deal is how often mom and dad now inquire about the state of my bladder. Sheesh, you'd think I wasn't the BIG GIRL everyone keeps telling me I am.
Below are some pictures of our trip to Yachats in celebration of Daddy's birthday a few weekends ago. We're a bit behind on pictures because our camera broke, but we've got a new one and we'll be back on track now with more regular updates.

Diapers are for babies. Here I am performing one of my favorite tricks these days. "DIAPER OFF!" Based on the reactions I've received, this is perfectly acceptable behavior when camping--not so much in the produce aisle at the market. If you ask me, a bulky, wet discomfort is a bulky, wet discomfort no matter where you are, but parents are sort of weird that way.

Went to the beauteous Oregon Coast with friends this weekend... seen here in front of our luxurious camping abode, a yurt! Highlights: purple star fish, touching sea anenome, wading in the tide pools in my rain boots and drinking hot cocoa...

Before anyone panics or turns my mom into DHS, this is not a drop off behind us.

Some days, the only thing to do is play music, eat a snack and wait for the tide to roll in. We like those days.