Back in Oregon

We took Bry, my brother who just returned from his mission, to the beach. After checking out the famous cheese factory, we went to one of my favorite beaches, Oswald West State Park. It was a beautiful day!

She had another chance to crawl around. There was sand in every crease in her little body!

On the move...

We also went to Multnomah Falls with LL and Robert while Bry was in town.

Thank goodness for a portable A/C unit!

Yesterday we explored a new area in the Ollalie National Recreation Area (near Mt. Jefferson). The hike included passing 5 tiny mountain lakes and beautiful scenery along the way. It was a place we definitely would love to backpack to and fortunately the area seemed undiscovered. We only saw three other people all day!

Taking a little snack break by Red Lake.

Malia was a trooper, even though it was a long time to be in the carrier. Unfortunately, despite our applying bug repellant, the mosquitoes went to town on her face. The poor girl came home with almost ten bites on her face : ( This picture was taken before they got to her.

Here we are at the top of Potato Butte, with a view of Mount Hood in the background.

The bear grass was in full bloom! We also saw a ton of huckleberry bushes. Here we are at about 5200 feet.

Here is a view of Mount Jefferson and a couple of the lakes we passed along the way.

Malia's Birthday in Texas!

Sitting in the grass in the shade in Austin.

Can I really touch this?

It tastes good, I think.

It really does taste good!

Elbow deep in the lady bug.

Almost finished demolishing it!

It's bath time!

If you want to see a video of the event, stay tuned....but it is long!

Way Behind!

We've done a lot since our last post.

Here's Malia showing off her pearly whites.

Loving the swing!

We went to the Kite Festival in Lincoln City while my Mum was here. It was quite the production!

Malia's first opportunity to get in the sand. She loved it! There is also a very long video at the end of the post for those interested.

We had to show my Mum the Rose Garden in all its glory!

Here we are taking a walk in the arboretum.

Stay tuned for a video of Malia digging around in the sand...

Angel Girl

Malia is a bubble-blowing pro!

Here she is helping out with dinner.

She may have bed-head, but she's happy!

This is her prime method of communication these days. Fart noises and raspberries can express quite a lot, actually :)

Mount Hood!

We climbed Mount Hood last weekend and had a great time! We stayed at Timberline Lodge and climbed from the south side via "Old Schute". Conditions were not ideal, avalanche danger was high due to the warm weather, but we went for it anyway! It was a beautiful, clear day.

Here is the "Hog's Back", with the Bergschrund (cravass). This is at about 10,000 ft.

Here is the "Old Schute". We made it into the shadow, about 200 ft from the summit. It was too warm by the time we got there to safely go any further.

This picture is slightly deceiving, but it was steep!

Coming back down.

Almost to the top!

It was a beautiful day!

Here we are all geared up. Neither of us had ever used all the equipment needed on a technical climb. After having a taste for climbing we are both anxious to get to the top! Thanks, LL, for watching Malia!

Have you any room in your heart?

This is what Kurt asked me the other day while handing me his Iphone. I wondered what he could possibly want to show me, but wasn't too surprised when it was a picture of a cute little Abyssinian kitten! Don't let him fool you...HE is the one that wants another cat! I am quite happy with just one for now, but it makes me happy that Kurt has really come around as a cat-daddy! He loves to look for little sisters for Nya. I think I'll be laughing about his question for a while! :)

On the Move!

Malia gave Kurt an early birthday present this year and finally started crawling! I thought I was ready for that step, but boy was I wrong! We had a few particularly fun incidences this week that made me miss the blanket baby stage, but I'll spare you the details and give you what you really want: pictures!

Malia is quite the little ballerina! Oh, and she does a beautiful 'downward dog'! I have yet to capture than on camera, though. Here she is showing off her splits. Believe it or not, she does go wider! Check out those pointed toes :)

Here we are at the Japanese Gardens.

We are excited for summer. Next week we're going to climb Mount Hood (don't worry, we aren't bringing Malia), and the following week we're painting our house! We'll keep you posted!