Day 4 in Tucson

On Saturday (2/14) we got out of the city and back to our preferred environment - nature. Before heading out, though, Aaron needed to stop by a mineral dealer's location in hopes of lowered prices. The prices were not significantly lower, but enough so to justify purchasing a nice pyrite specimen. While Aaron was making his purchase, I stayed in the car with a very sleepy Saul.

Aaron was really hoping to get a picture of Saul with one of the many huge specimens on display, but I just couldn't wake him up. Saul was so patient with us on Thursday and Friday that I felt that we owed it to him to let him sleep. And, I knew that we were going to be hiking later in the day and I wanted Saul to have happy energy during our fresh air outing.

See the pictures below:

Saul's morning nap in the car - I think he slept just shy of 2 hours.

Aaron and Saul looking for good shots in Saguaro National Park.

Saul helping Aaron take a picture.

Perfect example of our early evenings in Tucson. Saul asleep while Aaron's reading.

Tucson: Days 1 - 3

We have enjoyed a very nice week in Tucson. The trip had a number of purposes including: (1) mineral show; (2) Aaron's attendance at a board meeting for the Friends of Mineralogy; and (3) escape from Portland to enjoy some warmer weather and avoid work.

We are heading home tomorrow so while Saul sleeps, I thought I should post some pictures of our trip. Here are some from the first few days.

Day 1: Traveling.
Day 2: Viewing minerals at the Tucson Convention Center.
Day 3: Viewing minerals in the dealer rooms at the Inn Suites - a hotel with many dealers from around the country and the world (California, Utah, Colorado, Pakistan, Peru, China, etc.)


Day 1: Keeping Saul entertained at PDX during our 1-hour delay.


Day 1: Saul checking out the camera.


Day 1: In the rental car on the way to the hotel.

Day 2: Enjoying some sun and taking a break from the pack at a table outside the convention.

Day 3: Taking a break from the pack but wanting to . . .

. . . . get some help . . . .

. . . to stand up.

Day 3: Back in the pack and having fun!

Saturday Mornings

Most Saturdays this winter Aaron has had dragonboat practice on the water at 9 a.m. Since he's up and heading out, I use this as an opportunity to force myself to get out and exercise. Many mornings are very chilly - in the mid-30s - but we just put a very bundled up Saul in the stroller and off I go for a lap around the waterfront. My single lap is down to almost 30 minutes, which means I'll have to add a second lap soon. In the meantime, I use the remaining time while Aaron finishes his practice to stretch, do a few lunges and push ups, and then sit and enjoy the scenery while Saul sleeps. He typically is awake and talkative for the first 15 minutes or so and then snoozes the remainder of the trip.

Below are some pictures from our Saturday mornings over the last few weeks.


January 31: On the Hawthorne Bridge looking to the northeast.


Same morning, same bridge: Looking west.


Same morning, same bridge: Looking at Saul.


February 7: Enjoying the view while waiting for Aaron to get off the water.


Same morning: Close up of Saul sleeping. Love those lips!

Little Bear

This bear towel gets used very regularly. Clearly, you feed this bear at your own risk!


"I promise I won't bite. Just give me your picnic basket!"


". . . or I will aaarrrrr!"


". . . or I'll just gum it a little bit."

Little Caterpillar

These pictures are from a few weeks ago, though Saul's crawling abilities haven't increased all that much. He's advancing in other areas, like going from a sit to a crawl position. And, two days ago he somehow went from his belly to sitting. He hasn't replicated that yet, but I'm sure we'll see more of it. One of these days, he'll just take off crawling, I'm sure! In the meantime I think I'll just attach a dust cloth on his belly so he can pick up the dog fur for us.

(I must really like this outfit, as it's what he wore today.)


Up.


Down.

Catching up Part 2: Cousin Claire and toys

Saul's Cousin Claire is only 6 weeks younger than he is. She is a big part of Saul's life, as are Auntie Michelle and Uncle Jeff. In fact, I recently realized that Saul gets very excited when we get to Michelle and Jeff's door, as he seems to now know that he's going to get to see them, or play with Claire's toys and watch Puma. Who knows what has him the most excited, but he knows it's behind the red door!

Considering all of this, it suddenly seemed strange to have no pictures of Claire yet on the blog, since she couldn't join the kids in the picture with their great grandma. So, since Claire plays with toys very differently than Saul does I find these pictures particularly funny. She generates much less slobber on her toys than does Saul and doesn't typicaly demonstrate the same enthusiasm that Saul uses in his play. Despite this, Claire has shown us that she really does like toys - or at least Saul's toys!

Sweet sleeping Claire. No toys in this picture, but couldn't resist including it. She was probably about 4 to 6 weeks old here.

Claire tasting the sun on Saul's exersaucer.

Claire pretending to have no interest in the octopus toy Saul is playing with.

Claire's real interest is revealed as she reaches in for the steal!

Claire playing with her new goods. Is this a sign of things to come or just pay back for all of Claire's toys that Saul not only plays with but drools on before she has the chance? (Saul's cheeks look particularly large in this pic!)

Claire watching Saul play with her blocks. So nice of her to share.

Catching Up Part I: Post-New Year's Weekend in Tillamook

Normally, the weather would completely "freeze me" from travelling. I just get nervous at the idea of making the trip over the mountain. This sounds ridiculous when I consider that Uncle Eric drives from Tillamook to Hillsboro for work at least 4 times a week, but that's just the way I am. So apparently the two weeks of snowy weather in Portland "numbed" me and we made the trip to Tillamook regardless. Actually, it wasn't that bad.

Most importantly, we got to visit Julie, Todd and cousins, Trevor and Kelsey. We also got to see my grandma and have a nice dinner with almost all of the family. We had a photo shoot of Grandma with all but one of her great grandchildren (see picture at the bottom of this entry). Claire was asleep and Michelle refused to take her out of the pack - not that I blame Michelle, but the picture is now incomplete as a result.

This was the first time that we stayed with my Uncle Scott and Aunt Barbara. They have a grandson, Austin (my cousin Scotty's little boy) who spends a lot of time at Uncle Scott's house. As a result, the house was already prepped for Saul. Breakfast Sunday morning was delicious, too! (See the picture of Scott, my mom and Saul at the very bottom.)

So beautiful I decided I should try for some pictures.

Just coming down on the west side of the pass. I don't think I've ever been through there with that much snow!

Julie prepping Kelsey's hair.

Saul sitting in a chair just his size (well, almost). We may have to get him one of these for his birthday.

Grandma with 4 of her 5 great grandchildren: Kelsey (2), Trevor (4), Saul (6 mths) and Austin (almost 5)

My mom, Uncle Scott and Saul. In this picture Saul looks to have the Simmons forehead but then in other pictures it's the Wieting forehead. Who knows!