Babyup!

Off to school!

Chloe is learning to cook!

Grama Diane Came to Visit!

Chloe here is teaching Grama how to use her phone…

Hey, guess what? It’s going to be nearly 100 crazy degrees of F in the valley, so let’s go to the beach!

and here we are at Hug Point

So, what happens if you collect a bag of shells and crab parts on the beach?
Well, create a Secret Crab Burial Ground, of course!
There’s also a pink plastic teapot we found,
which is the kind of thing that all Secret Critter Burial Grounds are not complete without.

Then we found this Alien burial mound, probably created by energetic teens with shovels.

A great day. Time to head home…

It’s Second Birthday time, with presents!

Pokémon cards!

New pyjamas!

What’s the first thing you do with a new hammock? Put it on your head!

Big pool!

…and now it’s time to take Theo Bunny for a walk…

This is going to take some practice.

Blobfish!

Lisa got two small inflatable kayaks, so I got a canoe, and the other day we took Chloe and her friend River to Hagg Lake.

It was an idyllic day. Sunny, warm, mild breezes. Even a picnic table in the shade.

The first thing the kids wanted to do was hop on the lobster floaty and paddle around!

These crazy young things swam all the way across the inlet, twice!

Spiders and bugs in the water are scary, however, a dead fish is pretty cool!

The kids took the kayaks right away.

They named the fish “Jimmy” and gave him a burial on the beach.

Just a nice average day in McMinville…

Bunny!

Big, cool playground!

Cool muddy stream!

We picked a whole bunch of cherries from the tree in the backyard!

Cheeseburgers for dinner…

Because you need a bunny photo.

Hey, we got a canoe!

Chloe’s ready to paddle!

Show me your cookie face!

And so, Chloe had a day off from school so we headed back to Newport to visit the aquarium and search for Crab Monsters!

But first we had to draw a bunny.

The search for crabs begins…

How do they do the bare feet thing?

Back at the motel, the Crab Monsters begin to take shape.
First we rinse off the sand.

Now the hot glue gun comes out.

The Crab Monsters are coming together nicely.

But next, breakfast!

Pigs, Pancakes & Tourists.

But before we get back to important Crab Monster work, a stop at the Oregon Coast Aquarium.
Holy cow, the starfish are giants!

Don’t let the Alaskan King Crab sneak up behind you in a dark tank.

When sharks fly.

Time to snack on Chloe’s head before we go back to the beach!

One last look at the Crab Monsters.
They followed us home where we can expect they will continue to grow and mutate!