Corvallis, Oregon

Yesterday, we took a little drive to Corvallis, just north of Eugene. We never really stopped there, even though we always thought that it looked cute when we passed through. Now we had a wonderful reason to really take a look at the city: our neighbor, Nancy, just opened up a new show up there. We had a good lunch and then went to the gallery. Andrin loved to crawl around the wooden floor and we loved to look at the beautiful art work. Thank you, Nancy, for sharing your wonderful art work with us! We had to stop at the park right next to the gallery as well and Andrin loved to play there. We then took a stroll downtown. Yes, they actually have a downtown in Corvallis, it is quite amazing. I still cannot believe that they cannot do that in Eugene! We found out that, they have the following preferences in Corvallis: shoes, books, and jewelers ... Before heading home, we had some gelato and then also stopped at Hazelnut Hill on the way to Eugene to pick up some chocolate covered nuts and fruits ... mmmh. Clemens and I ended the day with a DVD, "The band's visit," a quiet, but beautiful film.

I am 11 months old!

Today was my 11 month birthday! I have not been feeling well and when Mami took me to the doctor on Wednesday, they told me that I had a virus. My breathing has been troubled and I am back on inhaling three times a day with my nebulizer. In the beginning, I really did not like that at all, but I am getting used to it. Papi thinks because I know that it actually helps me. My doctor also found an iron supplement that I can keep down and that has a nice flavor to it (even though Papi told me that I smelled like an iron pole).
Since I have been feeling sick, we had a quiet day. Mami and I walked to our landlord's office to pay the rent for September and I took a nice nap in the stroller. I have been sleeping a lot anyway and Mami was able to finish her work and also organize some of the pictures for my baby album. She told me that her goal is to get as many pictures as possible put in the album before my first birthday. Well Mami ... you better hurry up since there is only one more month until I will have my big FIRST birthday!
In the evening, we had lovely company from my friend Hazel and her mother and foster brother. We had a good time playing, getting wet outside (yes, can you believe it, but it actually rained quite a bit here today!), picking tomatoes, and eating "breakfast for dinner." Or maybe it was more "desert for dinner", like Becky suggested. Anyway, the waffles were good and I finally had some appetite again this evening. (And if you are wondering where Papi was ... he went fishing. He told me that he caught a steelhead, but that he lost it .... too bad!)

Mami seems to have a hard time getting a good picture of me since I am moving around and love to grab the camera.

A half-smile for the camera.

Thinking and talking ... and showing off the beautiful sweater that my Oma knitted for me.

I have been kissing a lot lately ... the fridge, Mami (not as much Papi though), the floor, and my toys ... I especially love to give sherbets and make the sound of it.

Becky preparing the delicious waffles.

There we go ... a big stack. Can the three of them really eat them all? (no, they could not, even though Matt was giving his best).

Hazel playing with the yarn and the blanket that she made out of the yarn for the puppet.

North Umpqua

Helping Papi pack.

All the dirt ...

The fly fisherman is getting ready.

Dirty face before Mami came with those wipes ...

Looking at the majestic trees.

Andrin visiting with Becky.

The kids are enjoying the inflatable couch.

On our way up to Watson Falls.

Last year with my parents, I was carrying the belly like Becky, now I had Andrin in the Ergo ...

Hazel is enjoying the view.

Taking a nap in the car.

Andrin just needed a snack on our hike.

Playing by the river.

We spent a beautiful weekend with our friends, Becky and Beau, and their family at the North Umpqua. Clemens checked with the ranger in advance and he confirmed that the road was once open again and that there was not too much smoke from the fire which is 100% contained since last week. And indeed, we only saw a little bit of smoke once we left. But we also saw the damage that the fire has left behind. In some spots, the fire came all the way down to the road. It is always sad to see the dead trees. On the other side of the river, there was a fire in 2002 and they now know that it was caused by humans. Even more sad!
But let's come back to our camping experience. We went ahead and scouted out a tent site. Unfortunately, the campground at Horseshoe Bend was already full and we thus camped at Eagle Rock. This is the campground that we were at last year with my parents. There was only one decent campsite at the river left. It was too small for all of our tents, so that we had to claim another camp site. A couple hours later, Beau and Becky arrived. We had some dinner (Pasta by Clemens). The following day (Saturday), we went to Watson Falls (Tokatee Falls are still closed) and hiked up there. After this short hike, we hiked along the North Umpqua trail, looking for a nice spot to swim. We did not find a nice spot, but there was a nice place right by the parking lot where we spent some time in the cold water. Hazel at first screamed when she put her feet in the water, but then started enjoying it. Andrin was though from the beginning and he just wanted to sit down in the river). That night, we enjoyed a campfire with hot dogs, and then smores (I never had them before). Sunday, we packed up after a nice breakfast with pancakes and made our way back to Eugene. We had to stop in Rice Hill and get some lunch and their famous ice cream. Thank you, Beau and Becky, for sharing your tradition with us. The "baby ice cream" was already big!
Well, another beautiful weekend in wonderful company! Unfortunately, this probably was our last camping trip for this year. Clemens is really busy in September and we might not have time to do another trip!

Our busy weekend

We started our weekend on Saturday morning with a trip to a farm in the Riverroad neighborhood where Dana, Paul and Owen live. We got delicious peaches, plums, and tasted melon. Andrin and the other babies really enjoyed the melons!






On our way back home, Andrin fell asleep in the car. Clemens ran into the fly fishing shop and got back out to the car all excited ... one of his favorite actors (he did not even know his name) also came into the shop and of course Clemens know even likes him better because he is ALSO a fly fisherman! At home, we had some play time and Andrin was busying himself with reading some books (he also likes to eat them:). In the evening, we met up with Dana, Paul and Owen again and went to the first annual Bite of Eugene. We had some really good food and listened to some music. We hope that this event will attract even more businesses next year because it clearly has the potential! And please do not ask us about the cupcakes. Of course ours did not survive our walk back home from Alton Baker Park.

It is getting harder to take a picture of a moving target!

Thank you, Oma! The sweater looks beautiful on me, don't you think so?

On Sunday, Becky, Hazel, Andrin and I went for our traditional walk along the river. Becky warned me that she is not as fast anymore, but she is doing pretty well for being almost 33 weeks pregnant! Our two little precious babies fell asleep and we decided to have our little "snack" consisting of one, two, three, ... pieces of cake outside while the babies slowly woke up. Of course we had another beautiful walk and we are looking forward to our next adventure, the North Umpqua.