Here it is, a picture of the town that Suzanne fell in love with- Newport, Oregon. Well, it's a picture of the bay in Newport from the window of the hotel we stayed in. But the rest of the town is nice too.
We did get a day of sunshine while traveling up the Oregon coast. We stopped at a little unmarked beach between Brookings and Gold Beach and took a break from driving. The whole coastline is gorgeous. It must have been Suzanne's first time playing in the sand, because she got caught unawares by a sneaker wave. It only wet one of her shoes. Gas to Oregon: $36.00. One wet sneaker: $20.00. Watching your wife do an impromptu jig to avoid a sneaker wave: Priceless. :)
All right, you didn't come here for a slideshow of vacation pictures, so let's get to the kids. Our kids got to spend plenty of time with the only remaining set of California cousins: My brother Davy's kids. The tall, dark-haired belle is Paris, the little pink primadonna is Naomi, and the Huckleberry Finn look-alike is Colton.
Their mom is Leigh, in the middle of this picture, and those are my parents on the right (your right, not theirs!) We were at a little pond throwing pieces of bread at some very snooty waterfowl, who turned up their noses at it and wouldn't come closer than twenty or so feet. McKay got cold, Carter got muddy, and cousin Colton got to show off his Hulk-like muscles.
Our two little troublemakers got to spend plenty of time with their Grandpa and Grandma Phillips (Carter knows them as Papa and Maagna, respectively). We had a joint birthday party for Carter (3 years old Nov. 6), McKay (1 year old Nov. 20), and cousin Naomi (1 year old Nov. 22). We managed to pull the boys away long enough for just a few shots.
The new shirt says "napper" in case anyone wants to know. McKay spent a long time practicing a fake smile for pictures, but luckily this one is real. Don't let that innocent look fool you! He made a huge mess out of everything he touched. My parents moved tons of things into their own bedroom to avoid the destructive power of "McChaos!" Even so, I know they were sad to see him go. With a face like that, who wouldn't be?
Last but not least, our little three-year-old. He had loads of fun playing with his grandparents and he loved going into Grandma and Papa's backyard to ride the trike.
We are glad to be home, but sorry we couldn't bring our family back with us. Hope life is treating you all well. Hasta la pasta.
We did get a day of sunshine while traveling up the Oregon coast. We stopped at a little unmarked beach between Brookings and Gold Beach and took a break from driving. The whole coastline is gorgeous. It must have been Suzanne's first time playing in the sand, because she got caught unawares by a sneaker wave. It only wet one of her shoes. Gas to Oregon: $36.00. One wet sneaker: $20.00. Watching your wife do an impromptu jig to avoid a sneaker wave: Priceless. :)
All right, you didn't come here for a slideshow of vacation pictures, so let's get to the kids. Our kids got to spend plenty of time with the only remaining set of California cousins: My brother Davy's kids. The tall, dark-haired belle is Paris, the little pink primadonna is Naomi, and the Huckleberry Finn look-alike is Colton.
Their mom is Leigh, in the middle of this picture, and those are my parents on the right (your right, not theirs!) We were at a little pond throwing pieces of bread at some very snooty waterfowl, who turned up their noses at it and wouldn't come closer than twenty or so feet. McKay got cold, Carter got muddy, and cousin Colton got to show off his Hulk-like muscles.
The new shirt says "napper" in case anyone wants to know. McKay spent a long time practicing a fake smile for pictures, but luckily this one is real. Don't let that innocent look fool you! He made a huge mess out of everything he touched. My parents moved tons of things into their own bedroom to avoid the destructive power of "McChaos!" Even so, I know they were sad to see him go. With a face like that, who wouldn't be?
Last but not least, our little three-year-old. He had loads of fun playing with his grandparents and he loved going into Grandma and Papa's backyard to ride the trike.
We are glad to be home, but sorry we couldn't bring our family back with us. Hope life is treating you all well. Hasta la pasta.
Here's the first picture in a long time of Suzanne. I don't know how I convinced her to pose but I'm glad I did.
McKay is normally very sweet, but when our nest egg was stolen, we were shocked by a blurry picture captured by our security camera.
Although this concerned us, we were much more concerned when McKay began a terrifying transformation on Halloween night... Into a vicious, belt-biting Were-Beast! The horror! No one is safe!
Carter and I went Trick or treating that night, and he loved it! For Halloween, I went as a doctor and he was a box of crayons. At first he was just confused, but after 2 doors he saw the pattern and started running between apartment buildings! He practiced his "Trick or treat" after ringing the doorbells (it sounded more like "choo choo train" to me) but when the door opened he forgot his line and just stuck his hand out. Sometimes he said, "Eat it," but "trick or treat" was forgotten. He became bolder as the night went on, and I had to stop him from running into houses as soon as the door opened. He grabbed at the candy bowls and took more than he was offered and I had to apologize at more than one door.
All in all, we had a great Halloween, and we hope that all of you did too. Talk to you later!
