Little Dumer News: A Fine Time Across the Border

We'd been long overdue for a visit to friends and family in Oregon, so we decided it was time to take a trip down and let everyone meet Cygni. We rented a mini-van with stow'n'go seating and headed across the border! Mommy was a little trepidatious about this long road trip with Cygni who has proven herself to be much more high maintenance than Jordy ever was at her age. But we stopped frequently for some fresh air and to stretch out a bit and both kiddos did amazingly well both ways! We did underestimate the trip length though! We now know we should budget 11 or 12 hours for a trip which used to take us just 8! It was nice having the mini-van to keep Jordy and Cygni separated and to allow whichever parent wasn't driving to move a bit if needed to get something to amuse one of the kids or obtain snacks etc. Not only did he not get car-sick (thanks to some kids Gravol!) but Jordan even kept dry and had ZERO potty accidents on the way down! There was that rest stop in Washington where Mommy had to squat in front of J-man while he was on the loo for about twenty minutes as he fussed and protested loudly (he does not like to poop anywhere other than home if he can avoid it,) quads trembling while she tried her best to snuggle him and not touch the rest stop floor or toilet bowl in any fashion, all the while singing, "Toot, toot, chugga, chugga Big Red Car," until he let go and did his business. Oh the things we do as parents! But other than that it was a great drive we wouldn't mind repeating!

Inside the mini-van, we logged over 24 hours in it!

We made a stop in Renton, WA to visit our friends

Stacy and John and their two kids Eric and Evan,

but didn't think to bring our cameras out of the car to snap some pics!

We did, however, make it a priority to take a picture of a pho place

with a cool name that we spotted on our way to their house!

Too hot to eat a big bowl of pho this time around though!

Besides, John and Stacy filled us up with fruit, cake and warm delicious hospitality!

Thank you Grimm Family!

Lee keeps cool and plays on!

We've got so many dear friends (nearly all of them with kids now too,) down in Eugene, that we decided it may be easier and nicer for all the kiddos, if we have a big gathering at a park instead of trying to drive around from house to house in a short number of days. So we invited everyone to one of the picnic shelters at Emerald Park and asked the guests to bring pot-luck. It was a great picnic spot, with a huge playround and a wading pool and kids water park, all for free, we will definitely go there again in future visits. We had a great time and it was delightful to see and spend time with nearly everyone on our visit list!

Poor Cygni, had a bad rash break out just in time for this trip!

Fortunately it did clear up nicely later on. Here she is with Hayle.

Our lovely friend Crystal with her kids, Hayle, Logan and Erick
all of them taller than her, I might add!

The two of us go back a ways!

Ira grills up some salmon that (caught himself when up in BC

after he and his family came for a visit with us last month!)

Mommy's once-upon-a-time neighbour, Teri who always makes her laugh!

Reunited with bridesmaid Susan and her sweet little girl, Chloe!

She doesn't look it here, but Cygni actually got on quite nicely

with Mommy's good friend, Tricia and her son, Nainoa.

It was great to have a break and let someone else hold her.

Claire gets a nice ride with Momma, Clover!

How did you guess he's Tricia's kid?!

Bonnie and Joey's family

When we arrived, cousin Evan had just received a boomerang in the mail

a gift from some friends in Australia, so we brought it out to the park to give it a go,

above is a shot of Lee getting ready to throw it

and below, some video of Stu and Jordy:

Lee's brand new baby brother, Quincy.

The next day we had a picnic at Peterson Park with Lola and Grampa Tom

Jordy got to play with his new glove and ball.

Cygni and Lola meet for the first time!

And then she tries to tweak Grampa's nose!

A couple of nights ago, while getting ready for bedtime,
Jordy declared, "Lola - Grampa - Fun!"

Later on we paid a visit to Crystal's family, because her husband Clinten couldn't make it to Emerald Park, and we couldn't leave without seeing him! Here are some snaps from our visit with them. Sorry about the quality we forgot to charge our camera batteries so I had to use my phone instead.

On Sunday we headed out to the coast with the Leatons and had a grand time!

The boys monkeying around on an Anchor in downtown Florence

One of Stu's favourite spots (and now, one of ours!) Neptune Beach

Tide pools with anemones!

Auntie Tina helps Evan down some rocks - it can be treacherous climbing!

Sweet Cygni gets to feel the sand between her toes!

Jordan did NOT like getting his feet cold, wet and sandy!

Next stop was Heceta Head Beach,

no great shots of the lighthouse as it was undergoing some maintenance

and covered in scaffolding, but it was still a pretty spot to visit.

Daddy is looking forward to the day when he can wade into the surf with Jordy.

We saved our last day to just kick back and Stu & Tina's and enjoy some crab we picked up the previous day. Uncle Larry, Aunt Virginia, my friend Tricia and her boy Nainoa also partook of the feast!