I know I always say we're really busy, but this time I am not exaggerating. Big news first: We've moved to Washington. Our house sold about a month ago and this past weekend, we moved to an apartment in Vancouver, WA, where we'll live for 6 months or so. We are planning to purchase 5 acres in Woodland, WA and have a home built.
Grandma Janet was visiting for a number of weeks during the busy time when our house initially sold, and she returned this past week with Grandpa Lyn to help out with the actual move. We are very grateful for all the help! There is truly nothing like having live-in childcare and we will miss having grandparents close by when they leave!
However, we won't have to miss it for long because Grammy and Grumpy will be coming to visit in September. [Watch out, Grammy and Grumpy - we're shameless in recruiting Grandparents to babysit for us! It's the price you pay for driving all this way to see us!] We had planned on this summer being the summer of camping, but instead, it's turned out to be the summer of Grandparents! We've truly enjoyed it.
Next HUGE news item: Jeremy has secured his operator seniority position. This means that he has been trained to operate tugboats in the harbor and has been "checked off," so he's officially on his way to becoming an operator (only 600 hours of practice to go! :-) We are very proud of him - we expected this milestone to take about five years, but he achieved it in three and a half years!
Now, for the pictures:
The boys play in a fountain in Tualatin while Dad watches the model boats on the lake.
STRONG MAN!
Look how handsome that long hair is!
Bye-bye, long hair. It's time for mid-summer buzz cuts.
The boys having a picnic with Grandma and Mom at the Tillamook Forest Center.
Grandma Janet and the boys climbing the steps of the fire tower (this one is fully operational, unlike the one we visited unsuccessfully last spring).
Fireman Taylor.
Fireman Aric.
Swimming with the salmon at the forestry center.
Hanging out on the Wilson River near the forestry center - the volcanic rock on the river bank has a number of hollowed out "pools" that have been carved out by swirling water and sediment - perfect for these little boys to wade in.
We went to Nehalem Bay and camped for the night with Grandma Janet. It was a windy adventure, but thankfully, we survived with only 1 bent tentpole. :-( I wouldn't recommend setting up a big tent without lots of extra hands. Our neighbors (smart people who RV at the windy Oregon Coast instead of tenting it) helped us a number of times. We felt a bit sheepish, but it was better than being blown away!
After breaking camp, we drove up to Seaside and visited the little aquarium. It's a bit crowded, but the boys thought it was great to be able to touch the sea life (including chopped up fish that they tossed to the seals - ACK!).
Ari with the Starry.
Taylor tickling anemones.
Well, that's all for now. That catches us up on pictures through July. Next time, I'll try to post all the August pictures.
