Clara's Blog

Mommy and Daddy seem to be afraid that it won't be sunny all day every day. Well, Mommy kind of likes it cool and wet but she misses summer after months of it! Anyway, we are doing all sorts of things that we won't do in winter.

Mommy and I went to Oaks Park and went on some rides that I hadn't tried before. I really wanted to try the Frog Hopper and that was fun. I also tried a balloon ride and the Big Pink slide. I really liked the slide and pulled away from Mommy's grip and tried to run up the wrong way (to avoid waiting in line). Of course, Mommy had to spoil that by picking me up and holding me in line. When will she learn, if you're cute, you cut?

It was hot later in the week so we all rode our bikes to the Salmon Street Springs. Mommy and I have only ever been there when it is cold out. It was so much fun.! We ran in and out of the water and we got sprays when little boys played with the jets of water (and when we walked right in to the spray!). Mommy and Daddy thought that maybe they wouldn't need to go in with me...but they were wrong! I really like when they do stuff too. I'm glad they don't mind getting their clothes wet.

Here's a bit of historical information on the Salmon Street Springs. "Salmon Street Springs was dedicated in 1988, although it wasn't named until a contest was held in 1989. Designed by Robert Perron Landscape Architects and Planners, the fountain is controlled by an underground computer that changes the pattern of the fountain's 185 water jets. The three cycles of the fountain are called misters, bollards, and wedding cake. At full capacity, the fountain recycles 4,924 gallons of water per minute through as many as 137 jets at once." I had Mommy type up the whole "hard-to-read" plaque for you. I'll put it in the comments on this post.

See, my blog is fun AND educational!

Labels: End of summer, Oaks Park, Salmon Street Fountain, Salmon Street Springs

What a weekend! Mommy and I rode our bikes downtown (to the North Park Blocks) to watch Daddy do the Portland Twilight Criterium on Friday night. We cheered for Daddy, I trained Pop, we begged some friends for free pizza and we ran around in the grass. It was a pretty good night.

Then on Sunday, we went to TWO parties! We went to John and Marjon's housewarming party and we went to Greta's birthday party. Both parties were fun. Mavash and John got me a cool soft stuffed turtle - I love her! (So does Scout - Mom caught him using her as a pillow.) They also gave me a cool butterfly lampshade - now Mommy needs to find me a lamp to match. Hee hee. Megan and Ryan were there - they told us about their new dog Dora. She's a beagle. I can't wait to meet her. Of course, I keep wondering why we don't have two dogs too.

Greta's party was lots of fun too. There was a tiny tent to play in and all sorts of other stuff to play with including some horses. Greta is really good at sharing. She shared with me and the other kids that visited. She got a Hello Kitty karaoke machine and I got to sing with her. That was really great. Everyone was really impressed with my singing. Mommy says she nearly split a seam. I'm not sure what it means but I hope she didn't mess up a surprise sewing project.

Anyway, Happy Birthday Greta!!

Mommy and Daddy have been promising another camping trip and another trip to the beach and they finally came through! Unfortunately, we learned that you should plan your beach/camping trips long in advance because all of the beach campgrounds book up in advance. The good news? Mommy and Daddy thought it through a little and Mommy had the phone numbers of a bunch of places that might have openings for us. We drove by the place we wanted the most because we called ahead and they were full but we found a spot at the second campground we drove through. As Scout tells me, it could be a lot worse!

So we found a 'site at the Kilchis River Campground (run by Tillamook County). It is nothing fancy but the people who run it are nice and there is a river right there. The river was pretty fun but Mom and Dad promised to take me to the beach!! So, we set up camp and then (after I refused to nap) we were off to the beach. (We went to Barview Jetty which is a little north of Tillamook. It is also a county park/campground.) I fell asleep in the car on the way. Mommy and Daddy let me sleep a little but they woke me up because they promised to take me to the beach and it was getting late. Boy, am I glad they woke me up! We played in waves and we ran around. Again! Again!

We made a campfire that night to stay warm and we had sausages and hot dogs cooked over the fire. Yummm. Then, after that, Mommy made me my first popcorn. I loved it! I wasn't that impressed with the foil thing that got bigger and bigger but I loved to eat what was inside.

The next day - we went to a beach that wasn't for swimming - Bay Ocean Spit. It made me very very sad not to swim. I think maybe I could have gone swimming if Mommy and Daddy wanted to take me. Anyway, I felt less sad when we went back to the car and had a peanut butter sandwich. Then we went to the Blue Heron French Cheese Company and that was great! There were lots of animals to check out. Scout, of course, made friends with the minature donkey. Is he part donkey?

After I took a nap, we went swimming in the river at the 'site. It was cold! That was fun too but not as fun as the big ocean waves. Sorry we forgot to take river pictures. The water was low (I bet it is different in spring!) but clear and there were a lot of rocks and more rocks. Lots of kids too. They mostly floated in boats. I guess other people don't like to go in cold water as much as we do.

Oh, just in case you were wondering - we all sleep just fine in the tent. Even though Scout and I have our own bags and pads, we pile on Momma. Daddy doesn't share with Scout like Mom does. I think Mommy falls for those hound dog eyes. It certainly isn't his smell!

Labels: Barview, Barview Jetty, Bay Ocean Spit, Blue Heron Cheese, Camping, Kilchis River, Tillamook

I wasn't really feeling super talkative this morning but Mommy wanted me to talk about our camping trip to the Coast...so, she interviewed me! I'll write a post later but maybe the movie lovers might like this movie!

Mommy and I took the bus downtown twice this week! The first time was great - the bus was quiet but I talked and talked about being on the bus and I'm sure that everybody on the bus could hear me. I don't get an audience like that very often.

Anyway, we went to Marjon's work and brought her some flowers because it was her birthday. We didn't stay long, though, because she had work to finish before she could party with her family.

The next day, Meg came over and she rode the bus with us to the farmer's market again. On Wednesdays, it is smaller than the one we went to with Daddy but it was still good. I pigged out on the blueberries that Mommy got and had some bread from the Pearl Bakery. Yummm. I also tried some really yummy peaches. I guess it is peach time here! They were really really juicy. After all that, I needed to top it off by eating a pile of Meg's raspberries too. Mommy didn't really encourage me to eat Meg's berries but I know that Meg doesn't mind. It's too bad she's going back to work soon - I'd want her to come to the farmer's market every day.

I had a really good week. I went hiking with Mommy and Miss Connie on Wildwood Trail. Mommy carried me for half the hike and then I wanted to run. I made Connie race me up the hill. She'd stop running and I'd say "again, again" - I ran almost the whole way from Dogwood Trail to the parking lot at Wildwood and 53rd Ave. I don't really know what that means but it is a long way and uphill!

I also met up with my friend Tarn from swim class and we went to the zoo. It was really fun to go to the zoo with a friend. We even got to see the wild bird show this time. It was really cool to see my favorite owl flying! The birds flew from perch to perch and they went really low. I wasn't even allowed to stand up - they might hit my head they fly so low!

Yesterday, we went to the Portland Farmer's Market. It was really fun - there was a big grassy areas for me to run around and there was tons of food! I really really like all the berries but I also had a little pizza and a little bit of cream scone. There were lots of pretty flowers to look at too. Mommy wants to bring home a nice bunch of flowers next time. This time, Daddy got some halibut and salmon and we grilled it. The best part was that Uncle Todd came over to share! Mommy also made a tart with the blueberries though everyone loves them plain. I had a ton of fun with Uncle Todd. We sat and looked at my book of animals and talked about it. He's pretty cool. Oh, I think I like the salmon better than the halibut. Just in case you were wondering.

Today we went to see a new state park, Stub Stewart State Park, it was pretty cool. There were trails and stuff and there were some flowers and some grass near the parking area where I could run around. The best part? HORSES!! I love horses. It was so much fun to see so many horses. We went to the area where the horses camp and I visited with some nice horses. One horse tried to eat the flowers I was holding! Daddy had to put them in his pocket to keep them safe. (They weren't fancy native flowers, tree hugger friends, they were pretty invasive weeds.)

On the way home, we picked up some blackberries at a roadside place - they are sooooo nummy. These blackberries taste a little wild. I like it that way.