Love Letter from Dad #9

Dearest Koh - This funny camping scene last week was too precious and you're just too funny and you're too young to remember it, so I'm capturing the story here. We will laugh together again about this one for many years.

Important context here is that you and Abe are in potty training, and it's been a year-long road we are still on to get you off the diaper habit into big boy underwear. For the moment, Abe is better at peeing on demand, and you feel the pressure. You both really like stand-up urinals we find only when you go with me to public restrooms, MEN version.

In our state park campground restroom last week at the end of a fun and active day, there you and Abe were, side by side pants down at the dual tall urinals doing your thing before bedtime stories. Nothing was coming out for you as Abe sprayed his down with little effort. You spoke no words while concentrating, standing firm, head down, squeezing your gut ...but not even a drip. Abe finished, backed up and you kept trying. And trying.

Eventually the epiphany struck you, your head lifted, you shuffled to the right toward Abe's urinal ...and said quietly "Try other one."

That one had me laughing loud and long.

I love you, Koh. -Dad

Tumble Bus

Abe: Every week at school the Tumble Bus comes and we love it cause it's a padded gym on wheels and we get to jump and climb and dangle like monkeys.

Click here to see our 1-minute Animoto video.

We're really yurting

Koh: We love to yurt, and we did it again at Ft Stevens State park on the Pacific ocean this week.

We ate donuts and s'mores, ran in the ocean and a lake, got very sandy, dune surfed, played with cannons, got cold at night, bought new sleeping bags, slept with mom and dad, watched sunset on the water, hiked, triked around the camp, rode the bike trailer, touched a shipwreck. walked up/down 170 steps at Astoria Column and threw airplanes off the top, made sand castles, ate sand...

We love this ...MORE MORE! Watch us in 5 seconds of film action below.

See 38 more pics here.

Daddy, I'm scared

Abe: Today we took daddy out for his 54th birthday to Oaks Park, this fun and historic amusement ride park that was having its annual Octoberfest. We know dad likes beer and we like rides plus it was a warm sunny day along the river.

We liked the train and every other ride except this really scary Rolly Coaster one that Sally and my mom took us on.

Dear Mommy: please don't make us do things that make our faces as frightened as this ever again, OK?

click here for more pics like ice cream faces and chicken dancing

Am I on Fire?

Koh: Thru my blog I met the people from a secret gaming society with code name Fire. I can't really say much, but they want me to join, and I'm a little nervous. It's all online stuff until you get in, then I couldn't say any more.

"Fire" is always around, in chat words, on the game walls, lots of gunfire, just everywhere ...including the hot fire brand I would have to get on my body.

Please help me by "comment" below. Do you think I should do it? I'll be 3 in January, and I can officially get in then. My parents don't know about this.

We miss our Grandma

Koh: We took Grandma to the train station yesterday and she gave us BIG hugs and said she was going to her 50th high school reunion in Wisconsin and would be gone almost 3 weeks! But what about Mondays with Grandma? What about trips to her house? Orange treats? Weekend adventures like this one to Maryhill Museum?

Come home Grandma! Grandma come home!

Corndogs, Cows, 4H Clubs - guess where we went today?

...to the Oregon State Fair, of course! World biggest petting zoo, lots of greasy food even grandma and mom and dad ate, fun acrobats on stage, free stickers and pencils, these really big scary animals everywhere, milking the goat, ribbons on rabbits, "don't step in the poop," loud chickens not like ours, sky-high rides ...when do we get to go back?

Thanks, Taz! Thanks, Margie!

Koh:
Dear Margie and Taz,

Abe and me made this singing video to THANK YOU for the nice books from Amazon.com.

Stinky Cheese

Abe: Just because I'm a kid doesn't mean I have to like just plain ol' American cheese or Velveeta. I have sophisticated tastes. I like gorgonzola. A lot. I mean I will eat fistfuls of it. Oh, and feta too. Koh likes gorgonzola too, especially as a sandwich between two Triscuit crackers.

Ohio Fowlers come to visit

Abe: I like Taz and Margie! My Dad's Vermilion friends came to visit for a week and said SHOW IT ALL TO US 'cause they'd never been to the northwest before. We like that request ...so off we went to all these places like the ocean beach, the ice cream store, the cheese factory, the zoo, the river, big trees, playgrounds and more.

We got to ride more trains, touch giant slugs, and they let us eat A LOT of blackberries and we even had pizza at a place so far away we zonked out on the drive home. I guess. Plus they played with us and read to us and I showed them our chickens.

Taz and Margie ...when will you please come back?

NAKED CAR WASH $5

Floor urinals - we love this!

Koh - We took Grandma to her first nude beach today, which she really liked - even though we all kept our clothes on.

It was a fun afternoon of Columbia River splashing and staying cool when the temps were almost 100 again today.

But the most fun was getting to pee in the state park bathroom after Dad showed us how to use these TALL URINALS. We now want one of these for the house... really Mom pleeeeeeeeaaaaaaase can we get one? Think of how much more clean and tidy all those toilet areas will be when all us boys can just go here!

Love letter from Dad #8

Dear Abe - Thanks for that 10 minutes of joy yesterday afternoon after you had that boy-I'm-pooped-after-the-day-of-summer-outings-including-the-big-city-pool-can-I-please-just-lie-down zoned out look. We put down the paddles, I sprawled out, and you came over to lie on me. Plop, perfect stillness, no sounds but the ocean, no movement except two heartbeats. Oh now that was 10 minutes of joy. Wispy clouds in the blue sky above, refreshing breeze through the backyard, cool comfy grass in the shade of a 90 degree day, summer's first gin & tonic half full on the patio.

That was a really nice zone we were in. I love you, you know. -Dad

Renee caught us love lounging and captured these pixels in a camera from the deck above.

Sorry Bugs

Koh: Mommy is making me and Abey blog an apology to bugs. To all those we've already squished and all those she said we have yet to squish. So, sorry bugs.

Photo is unrelated to this post. I'm just cute with my new haircut and having my first-ever lollipop.

Skinny Dippin' is the best

Abe: I remember 2 yrs ago this campground where Dad taught us about naked swimming in a river. We love our daily "naked baby hour" at home and it's even better outdoors ...so we went back to that same spot by these big clear rivers now that we're big and can do whatever we want.

Camping with Mom and Dad in a tent is the best. Hikes, river fun, sand, rock throwing, fish and birds and bug chasing ...wow.

The only fireworks this weekend were in my tummy that first night ...i think i was just hot and excited about my life.

More photos here.