Tiger's Birthday

Christopher woke up this morning and decided that today was Tiger's birthday.

He made him a crown to wear for the day.

He picked a plate of grass for tiger to eat. (he is allergic to cake)

He is now 6.

Of course, both boys wanted to bake him a cake, so we did just that. Oh Tiger, you are such a special friend to Christopher.

Party time!

Camping at Nehalem Bay

It was a great camping trip. The highlight for Chris and Nate? Being introduced to 'strike anywhere' matches. Heaven on earth for boys who love fire.

They were in complete awe over the ability to strike ANYWHERE with these matches and make fire. We went through about 400 matches.
All pyro jokes aside, both boys have really learned to respect fire. Dan no longer has to be the fire-maker....Chris and Nate were in charge of successfully and safely making all of our campfires. Rather impressive, if you ask me.
Christopher eating the perfectly roasted marshmallow.

Dan's always coming up with something new. This trip, it was an old-school-boy-scout baking box, made of foil and coals. The result? Golden cinnamon rolls at the campsite. mmmm

Frosting the breakfast goodies. Nate and mama at Oswald State Park. What a beautiful part of the Oregon coast!

Look at that sad face....Nate's ocean anxiety continues after last year's tumble through the surf that gave him an incredible scare. He kept thinking that he saw a tsunami out in the distance. Poor boy...laden with anxieties from the world around him.

We played tourist and stopped at a viewing spot on Hwy. 101.

This view is looking south towards Nehalem.

The beach was really windy in the afternoon, so we went to play at the beach on Nehalem Bay. Of course, a round of down-set-steal.

The late afternoon winds really picked up, so we had some family fun in the tent with a few rounds of Shut-the-box.

Family photo at my favorite spot on the Oregon Coast...Arch Cape.

Nate in a sand hole that Christopher dug. We were proud of Nate, as he did some 'working through' his fear of the ocean. Dan made a deal...he could earn his own box of strike anywhere matches for our next camping trip if he would go out into the water up to his ankles. After much contemplation, he did it. 250 matches will be all his!

Nate loses his first tooth!

Before.

After!
Yay! Nate's turn.

Seattle

Good times in Seattle!

The troops aboard the ferry to Bainbridge. Thanks, Cotters!

Trillium with the McMullens

We packed more into this 24 hour camping trip than any other.

Aidan, Chris, Nate and Liam testing the waters.
The Moores take their maiden voyage on the canoe that the McMullens brought. Very cool.

Looking back.

The view of Mt. Hood from the middle of the lake. Gorgeous!

Bill and the boys taking the canoe across the swamplands. ewww!

Nate and his buddy Liam chillin' on the hammock.

Trolls on big tree stumps!

Giraffe tree. Remember when we discovered this tree 2 years ago?

The highlight of the trip? Catching salamanders in the lake. The boys proudly caught 17 of the little fellows. So.stinkin.cute. with their orange bellies.

Nate guards the salamander pail as the others scoop em' up. The perfect camping trip.

7-11

A little treat on the way back from camping.

Did you know that on 7-11, you can get a free 7.11 oz slurpee from any 7-11.

How cool is that?

ig least

Nate's self-portrait.

"Ig least it's sunny outside!"

"Ig least daddy doesn't have to go to work tomorrow!"

"Ig least we have a pool for when it gets really hot!"

I decided that I needed to do a blog post on this topic before those funny, sweet words are a thing of the past.

Nate's use of 'ig least' when he should be saying 'at least' is one of my favorite things, and that is why I don't have the heart to correct him.

Is that bad? Probably.

But I am just going to go ahead and savor his incorrect use of the English language as long as I can. Ig least I will be able to remember it when I look back on this blog someday.