Norah turns 2

We had a small party for Norah's 2nd b-day party. We invited just a handful of beloved family and friends. Pizza and an interesting dessert(more on that later) were had by all as we celebrated 730 days of our wonderful gift from God. 

So Norah was very sure that cake did not stand up to a "big cookie". She had been talking about a big cookie for a couple weeks before her birthday. Wendy delivered in amazing fashion. 

Wasting no time digging in. I'm not sure if she is bobbing for chocolate chips or just pretending to be a piggy.

Noah managed to get all the desserts on his plate at one time. Ice cream and two different kinds of big cookie. 

After eating Norah opened some presents and we played around the house. Truly a really fun time with family and friends with whom we were so happy to share Norah's special day. 

Fall Beach Fun

 Our Brother in law Abraham won a weekend at the beach at a charity raffle. It was to be a quick yet fun trip. The weather was typical fall Oregon coast, but we still braved the outside and had a sweet time.

I was sure that I could build a giant castle using a 5 gallon bucket... round 1 didn't go so well. 

Wendy's obligatory picture of a local buzzard... oh wait I mean Eagle. 

Noah and Norah playing on some oversized driftwood. 

The next day we drove down to the Newport aquarium for some fishy fun. It really is a fun aquarium and it is all by donation so it doesn't empty your wallet. (and yes we donated... we aren't total cheapskates)

Fun feature that showed kids how water flows from high points and pools in low points. You can change how the water sits by disrupting sand. 

More sandcastle fun right in from of Moe's clam chowder restaurant. 

Oh how cute... A man and his offspring. 

Gwyn and Miah attempting a well timed jump picture. The well timed thing didn't really work out. 

Hey Hey come to the Fair.

When August rolls around that means it is time for the Oregon State Fair. I (Brian) always have such a big decision to make mentally before I go to the fair: Elephant ear, or funnel cake? It is really not quite a simple choice for the elephant ears look so flaky and sweet, yet the funnel cakes are so thick and covered with white powdered yummyness. 

We had to sit in the back of the car for about 7 minutes before entering the fair due to a very dark rain cloud spewing out its contents. Who wants to start out at the fair soaking wet?

 Pretty much straight away we went to the petting zoo. It did not disappoint as the cuteness factor was a little bit out of control. 

May it be pigmey goats, tiny pigs, or stubborn llamas, all wanted only what us simple humans had; tasty treats. When they realized that we didn't offer them what their hearts and tummies desired, they moved on as quick as possible. 

No trip to the state fair is complete without some deep fried food. These corn dogs were just the appetizer for the funnel cake for the future.

Norah chose the ice cream cone instead of the funnel cake. 

A wonderful time was had by all at the piggy races. Norah wanted a front and center view of the action. 

Camping at Scott Lake

Our first car camping trip of the summer! And what fun it was! We headed up to the McKenzie Pass close to Sisters, OR. Scott Lake was our destination. We had camped at this lake a few years ago, but the weather had been so bad, we only stayed one night.

Norah is happy about it! This time, the day we headed to the mountains was in the 80's. Awesome!

The kayaks are in the water and Jeremiah and Ike decided to go for a float together.

Even Norah had a life vest and got to kayak with Daddy!

Hiking around with Noah and Brian and Scout. And Norah!

Can you see a faint road? In the 1870's, during the wagon days a road was cleared through a lava bed for horse drawn wagons to get through. Very cool!

The view from Hand Lake.

Nap time! See Norah's little tent? We just stuck a tent in our tent at night for her to sleep in. She did great.

Now for a little lake and mud fun. It was the perfect lake, a small, sandy beach, shallow warm water that stayed shallow for a ways out. Awesome for Norah!

The Three Sisters Mountains

Me. Brian. Gwyn. Abe.

Gardens and Picnics

Our last day in Juneau we headed to a beautiful garden out the road a ways from the city. On the warmest day...lucky us!

Who wouldn't want to live here on a nice sunny day? A bear even came to visit us, we could see his head peeking out from the bushes. Eating berries I'm sure.

I told Norah to hide in the elephant ears here. 

And as you can tell in the picture below, she is well hidden. 

After the garden, we headed out to Eagle Beach for a picnic. The lupine was all blooming on our walk out to the beach.

Brian, Brian and Noah all decided to test out the ice cold glacier river. BRRR, They didn't last long at all!

Trying to get a picture where they are both smiling is impossible! But Norah had fun with Grandma!

I sure love this girl. 

Enjoying the sunshine, food and the best company. 

It was a great trip to Alaska. 

Fun in AK part 2

More fun in Alaska as we had so many people to see and so many fun things to do. 

 Eating dinner at my best buddy Paul's house. His son Oliver and Norah are about 2 months apart so it was really fun to watch them play "together" 

 Hiking up Perseverance trail. Norah got to ride in the nice soft stroller all the way up. 

 This is the end of the trail as you can see the river has swallowed the bridge. Norah and No-Ni were throwing rocks and having a good old time. 

 Dead center on this picture is our close encounter with a black bear. He was young and quite scrawny. I was happy that Noah got to see a bear. Wendy normally has intense focus to see a bear. Yet I (Brian) was the one who found this guy. 

Our customary hike to the glacier to see what fun ice caves await. There is a newer trail that we had never done before and that was pretty cool also. 

This time it was a little sketchy because there were big rocks falling out of the ice ceiling. Noah got hit on the shoulder with a baseball sized rock and he said "uh let's get out of here" I agreed.