Ever heard of a chimney cap?

Some of our friends know that we've had visitors living in our fireplace for the past couple of months. It seems that a momma racoon and her babies decided to shack up with us. We joked about how they might come in the house and take over while we were on vacation but we didn't think it would really happen.
This is the sight Mom saw last night in the fireplace. EEEEEEKKKKK!!!!! She cried!
It seems that 2 babies, yes 2, had fallen through the damper and into the fireplace. My dad is so creative, he decided to wrangle them out. He's almost like the Crocodile Hunter! He built a snare and had our friend Ed poke them under the grate so he could nab them! They weren't really big, just the size of a medium sized cat, but Momma wasn't happy. She was glad to have these visitors leave!

Go West, Young Man

All right, folks, prepare yourselves! I suggest grabbing some popcorn and a drink. You can take a break when you need to because this is going to be a long one!
We have been visiting the great state of Oregon for the past week. Our cousin Sam got married, so we had a good excuse for a vacation! We stayed in Lincoln City, in a house with Mums and Pappy and we were right by the beach! This was my first time to see the ocean and beaches! It's like one great big sand box and pool! I loved it! The weather was chilly the first couple of days, but after that, it was pretty nice! We visited the Tillamook Cheese Factory where everyone except for me had ice cream - somehow that didn't seem very fair! I did get to sample the cheese curds and they were tasty! We also visited the Tillamook Air Museum, which used to be a part of the Tillamook Naval Air Station. It was a VERY big building - all framed with wood! There were lots of airplanes and helicopters inside.

The next day, we went to Newport to see the Yaquinas Lighthouse and the Oregon Coast Aquarium. The lighthouse was very neat - very tall! I didn't get to go up in it because they said no babies allowed. Who are they calling a baby!?
We did walk down to the beach and that was fun. Dad and Mom kept calling it a beach but it didn't look much like a beach to me, looked more like a whole lot of rocks.


The rocks didn't have much flavor...

On to the aquarium... We got to walk through cool tunnels that were under water. I about had whiplash from watching the fish and sharks swim right toward us and then over our heads to the other side.

This turtle was fun to climb on! He was really slippery and I liked sliding down his big shell!

Saturday, before the wedding, we went to the Evergreen Air Museum and saw the Spruce Goose, of Howard Hughes fame. It was soooooo big, we could only take pictures of little parts and pieces of it. There was a fun play area though! I liked pulling on the controls.

This plane was just my size!

Top Gun, here I come! I'm going to fly planes just like Great Grandpa Henry! On Sunday, we walked a couple of blocks to the beach so I could play!

The first time my feet touched sand!

These starfish and mussels were too cool! Dad said he'd never seen purple and orange starfish!Dad and I are two peas in a pod.

Dad buried me in the sand!

I thought it was very funny!

On Monday, we went to Multnomah Falls and hiked. It was very pretty!

Very tall too! It is the second highest waterfall in North America.

After hiking, we drove into Portland so I could stretch my legs. We found Jamison Square, a fun little park where I could crawl around.
Crawling in the grass was fine and dandy until I saw...the fountain! Off I went (followed by Dad) to splash!

What a good time!

I really liked crawling on the wet rocks!
We had a really great time in Oregon! During this trip, I added 3 states to my visited list. Oregon, of course, California (ok, we didn't get off the plane, but we were there! I got to see where Mom used to live and the Golden Gate Bridge) and Nevada. We had a layover in Las Vegas, but those mean people wouldn't let me gamble away my allowance.

A Very Busy Boy!

I have been such a slacker lately! We have been so busy, I haven't had time to keep up. I'm going to do my best to get all caught up today!

Here's Dad and I on his first Fathers Day. One of his gifts was a 3-D Bi-Plane kite. It's really cool, but we haven't had time to fly it yet. I'm thinking next week might work out!
A few days later, I got to see my favorite musician, Jim Cosgrove, a.k.a. Mr. Stinky Feet. The only song of his I don't like is 'Put down the Binky'. He sings, 'you've got to put down the binky if you want to rock and roll'. I don't think so, Jim. I can rock 'n' roll plenty WITH my binky. Ain't nobody gonna take my binky!
The next weekend, we went to Shatto Dairy Farm. We had such a good time! Nana and lots of friends came with us - they even gave us rubber cows toys to play with!
Here's Dad and I in the milking barn. It smelled kind of funny in there, and no, it wasn't me!
I got to pet a few cows, but I really enjoyed pulling on their soft ears!

It was hot sitting out on the hay. I enjoyed chewing on the hay, just like a real farm boy!