The Oregon Coast

Liam and Katura head to the Beach

We got to the coast and Liam immediately did a face plant into the waves; here he is afterward

Running on the flats

Liam and Katura after a long day of playing... almost ready for sleep!

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Mommy comes back from surfing with the girls

Enjoying a windy afternoon on the beachExploring the beach

The Intrepid Explorer

Father's Day

We spent a sweet Father's Day out in the sun. We biked to a local beach and hung out for a couple hours. Happy belated Father's Day to all those great dads I know out there!

Our lounge lizard....

Watching the sailboats with Dad.

Kelp....always a favorite.

Father's Day party

The day before Father's Day (Saturday night), we held a little BBQ party in our backyard for all "the dads". My dad and mom, Gabe's dad and mom, our good friends Mark and Heidi, Gabe, Reuben, Perrin and Rory (her boyfriend) and Liam all enjoyed drinks (well, not Liam), good food and good conversation into the evening.

My mom, Liam, Heidi and Tahoe enjoy the late afternoon sun.

Michael (Gabe's dad), Mark and my dad enjoy some wine and laughs.

Uncle Reuben helps Liam with some (extremely rich) chocolate cake......

....needless to say, Liam was up until almost 11pm! We are all living on the edge these days :)

Life on the farm.....or sort of

With a couple of warm days under our belt, our garden is in full swing. Here, Liam shows off some lettuce we harvested recently. You all know.....I do love my salads. I just wish I could get Liam to love them like I do!

Liam shows off his bounty.

Farmer Ted.....er...Liam?

A little big....

Contemplating...in Mama's hat.

Chickens!

Yep....we have chickens in our backyard. Theoretically, we should be getting about two eggs a day, but "our ladies" have been a little sluggish since their move here a couple weeks ago. Still, when they grace us, their eggs are delicious and they are fun to have around.

Liam checks on the hens.

They like greens, especially lettuce, but Liam has found they will peck at (and enjoy) many other foods as well (bread scraps, watermelon and others).

Our backyard

One of the wonderful things about our little rental is the backyard. Not only is it fenced, but it has room for gardens, raspberries, strawberries and more. Having Tahoe and Liam, it is great to be able to open the back door and know everyone is safe from traffic. Here is Gabe (our most avid gardener) out planting some new additions this past weekend.

One of our vegetable garden patches.

Liam and Gabe in the garden.

Water!

We are all about water these days. Liam has been asking to wash the car for days, but it has been too chilly! I know for all of you Californians out there it is hard to believe, but it has been too cold here up north to play with the hose!

The other day, we got a nice warm afternoon and Liam (and Daddy) got to wash the car. Liam worked very hard.

Washing off the soap.

The other day when Liam wanted to wash the car and it was too cold....we compromised. He washed his trucks on the back porch.

Who thinks he will be this excited to wash the car when he is a teenager.....???

This week, Liam and I went to a local park to play in the water. Liam was totally in his own world...and element (check out those kids watching him go crazy). I finally had to pull him out when his teeth were chattering and he had goosebumps from head to toe.

Indoor Play

We have had a unseasonably cool spring and are looking forward to some sunny summer weather. Here are a few pictures from one of those mornings. I traced Liam and his friend, Julia, on some butcher paper and they "decorated" themselves.

Liam works with some stickers.

Concentrating.

Then there is always time on the couch for reading. Here, Liam "reads" me one of his favorite new choices from the library

Fun on the beach - Cypress Island

Yes, nothing better than wet, wet sand. Liam enjoyed the low tides at Cypress this weekend. He spent about an hour on the sand flats, burying his legs and digging holes.

The bandana....let me explain. I do think it is cute, but it is also because I worry about Liam's scalp and for some reason he will wear this, but not his hat right now. And....I think it is cute.

Liam relaxes and eats a s'more by the fire. Sticky, sticky........yum.

Another island weekend

We met Chris, Gabe's brother, at Cypress. He was in Washington for a dental conference. We also enjoyed our warmest weather yet this year, which felt great! Here are a couple of pictures from the weekend.

Striding out on the beach.

Liam has been very attached to "Baby" lately. She/he goes everywhere with Liam. This was Perrin's baby when she was little so it has been well-loved. So well loved, that I need to give it sutures this weekend to repair a partially severed arm!

Seductive.....or just plain sweet? You be the judge!

Mother's Day

Happy belated Mother's Day to all those wonderful mothers I know and admire. Here are a couple of pictures from last weekend.

I was making breakfast on Saturday and Liam found Gabe's glasses and came walking into the kitchen with them on. He and I had a good chuckle. Liam is good at laughing at himself.

Getting a kick out of himself.

Later that day, Liam got busy painting a "Thank You" card for my mom and dad who had kindly given us some tickets to a local performance circus. Liam and I, plus a friend and her daughter went and had a great time. Liam loved the jugglers and acrobats and the aerial ballet was pretty amazing. It was two hours long and the kids were transfixed the whole time.

After painting, Liam got to use my roller and roll out some color. That is his favorite.

"Uncle Kevin" comes to visit

Our dear friend, Kevin, came to visit a few weeks ago. We had a great time catching up, eating some good meals and taking him out to Cypress for the night. Even though the weather was a little chilly, we had a nice time and Liam got to show off his beachcombing skills.

Finding dried crab shells.

Looking for that perfect rock.

"Look at this, Mama!"

Liam and Kevin heading to the beach in the evening.