in search of snow and papa

My dad is working in Central Oregon, neither Beautiful nor I had to work today so we decided to go have dinner with Papa. The path to papa led over Mt. Hood, or around it anyway so we also went in search of snow. We left around 11 in the morning to make a day of it and it really was a great day. We found some snow in piles and the boys got me with snow balls, or frozen chunks of snow from close range. Since we arrived in Madras, where my dad is working building a contraption that allows the fish to maneuver the new damn, early we decided to explore a little. We followed sign to Overlook Park but they led down some deserted looking roads. I was sure we were soon to be abducted and tortured at any moment but we eventually made it to this overlook and man was it amazing. It looked down into this canyon with a lake below and Mt. hood in the distance. We ran around playing in the brush and enjoying the lovely fall day. These are the days where we take to heart the advice of our great friend Linsey. She told Beautiful that the one thing she regretted most in her frantic job search was not taking time to enjoy the time she had. We are frantic in our job search but really enjoying the opportunity to leave at 11 AM and head over the mountain and through the brush to Papa's work we go. We had diner with Papa at the Black Bear Restaurant in Madras and the boys were thrilled. Finn screamed "Papa's here, Papa's here, I'm so excited!" and Henry stood next to him the whole night at diner laying on his shoulder and kissing him. We made the 2 hour trip back with the boys falling asleep in the back and Beautiful and I listening to some music with smiles.

family photo

This has been the summer for getting together for some family photos. While we were in Indiana we had the chance to get a picture of the extended Mcgrail family and in Arizona we got the extended Rohl family. From Left to Right we have Tobias, Kendra, Ze'nea, Beautiful, Finn, Mark, Simeon, Papa, Grandma, me, Henry, Lyric, James, and Zonda.

Finn's weekend

This weekend was a good one for us but a great one for Finn. It started with a couple nights spent with Grandma in Clatskanie. Papa came home early and he got to spend some time playing trucks and eating crackers. Then Tom Tom and Grandma Sue stopped in on their way home from Hawaii. We went to Multnomah Falls and Finn had his rain boots on and all the puddles he could handle to splash around in. He hiked up the short way to the bridge between the falls and then him and I ran down, dodging hikers and finding puddles. We came back and got a fire going while Finn slept for 3 hours. The next day we took the train downtown for breakfast and found some more puddles around the waterfront. Finn went with Kate to take Tom Tom and Grandma Sue to the airport after a too short but great visit and when he got home Papa was soon delivering a truck load of fire wood. Finn helped us unload and got to hold Papa a little before going down for his nap. Two grandpas, a great grandma, a hike, a train ride, and too many puddles to count, it was a good weekend indeed.

Life Guard on Duty

Mark and Kendra got in today and my mom and dad have been here since Saturday. It has been great having them here and the boys have been so great. Henry was a little unsure of Papa at first but has come around. He had no such problem with Grandma and loved her instantly. Finn has been a snuggler with everyone. Passing around the love to whoever will take it. We have gone to the beach more in the last couple of days then we had in the last couple of months. It's great having people to visit to help get you out of the house. We went to Sunset Beach on the North Shore on Tuesday and watched some big waves riders take on 15 ft waves. I had a sense being there that it was like being at Yankee Stadium or the Boston Garden. This is an epic spot where some of the best athletes in the world are preforming at such a high level. We have plans for Peral Harbor and snorkeling and all sorts of other activities so there should be some good pictures for those of you that are into that whole thing.

One Two Three Walk with me

Finn is now doing a little walking on his own.

Bath time with Papa

My dad is pretty funny to watch with Finn. He will not pick him up if he is dirty or in any way sticky, needing first to wipe him down thoroughly. He also doesn't like getting splashed during bath time but Finn just doesn't seem to cooperate with him. When he is covered in sticky bananas and has a full diaper he wants his Papa to pick him up right now. In the bath he splashes and laughs the whole time while Bing is with him. It's as if Finn knows hows particular he is and is doing everything he can think of to get him. Last night while giving him a bath Bing had Finn laughing so hard he could barely breath. There are few things in life so rewarding as making kids laugh and last night my dad was richly rewarded.

The watermelon incident