90th and 1st

July 19th we celebrated Chad's Grandpa's 90th Birthday. He had family from Kansas, Idaho, Oregon and Washington come to help celebrate. Cassidy was able to meet Susannah from Idaho and I think it's a good thing these two cuties don't live closer together...TROUBLE!

Cassidy with her Great Grandpa

All the great grandkids...

Chad took the brood to the hay field for a little wiffleball/softball game.

After the game, everyone needed to cool off with popsicles. Cassidy wasn't about to be left out of the game and popsicles, so Grandma gave in...

This was our attempt to get Cass down for a nap....yah right!

On the following Wednesday Cassidy and I went for our first ride on Tucker. She made it a hour, and so did I! We're still figuring it out, but the sippy cup and snack cup tethered to the saddle definitely helped.

Thursday found the cousin clan at our house bright and early with Grandma and Grandpa to go on the 1st annual crabbing and camping trip. After two boatloads of gear and people we landed at our campsite with enough gear for I think a week!

We had a little snafu with the extra low tide and some mud...but we got the boat back into the water after the ultimate leg workout and about 45 minutes being waste deep in the lovely bay mud. Always an adventure!

Then the fun really began with the rope swing. Even Jerry got a good swing, followed by Caden, Brady, Lindsey, Alexa, and of course Cassidy

With the tide out it was a great time to do some beach exploring. Cassidy really liked the kelp and wasn't about to be left behind. Her cousins are so great to her and made sure she was always included.

When the tide came back in, it was time to go get some crab!

and we found the monster of the ocean

The two boys with the prize catch and another good sized crab.

We had a sudden summer storm roll in, complete with thunder and lightning. Check out the rain bouncing off the water and the sun shining not too far away. It was amazing, but caught us a little off guard. Thank goodness Jerry was in camp and able to scramble to get things covered up. The girls didn't even have the rain fly on our tent, it was too warm! It rained a little off and on through the night, but not enough to really bother us.

Crabbing wasn't great, but we got enough to have with dinner and give each cousin a lesson in how to clean. They were great students and the crab, like most things, tasted even better camping!

Kit took Cassidy back to our house for the night. Here is the camp crew that stayed.

The next day the girls decided they wanted to hang out with Grandma and Cassidy while Chad, Jerry, Brady, Caden, and I continued our hunt for crab. However, after pulling pots for most of the day that had lots of crab but few legal ones, we decided to do a little more beach exploring and found a new adventure....clamming! The boys, including Chad and Jerry, would watch for the spouts of water shoot up and then frantically dig using a clam shell! They actually did pretty well, and we got quite a few.

I think the kids had a great time, but were pretty worn out by the time they got all their gear back into Grandma and Grandpa's cars and headed home. I heard a rumor that one was even asleep before hitting the highway! Hopefully we'll make this a new tradition. It's always great when all the kids can come together.

Anatomy 001

Chad and Cassidy working on her anatomy lessons. Sorry it's mostly from behind her...the crazy lady with the camera is usually a distraction and has to hide to get the good stuff! You may have to turn your volume up...

Number 3

It's official, Cassidy now has 3, that's right 3, teeth. Her upper right has finally popped through after about a month of "maybe tomorrow". Her teeth definitely seem to be on their own schedule, at this rate she'll be getting her 1 year molars in preschool! It's not too bad though, it certainly doesn't slow her down eating and supposedly they are healthier.

Here is another crabbing picture from day 2 (yesterday). Cass went from navigator to captain in 1 day...it must be in her blood!

On land, my garden is doing really well, especially the zucchini and pumpkin bushes. Cassidy braved the jungle after a zuck and came out a little shaken but victorious.





Even with my wonderful helper, things are still growing. The carrots and onions seem to be a little slow, but hopefully they'll be coming on soon. Cassidy enjoys picking the spinach for dinner, and judging by the vines she'll have a prize wining pumpkin come fall.

Crab Bait

We went out crabbing today and had a beautiful time on the water. Cassidy seemed to be much more comfortable in her life jacket this year...now that she has a neck! She was Chad's navigator and a big help and seemed to really enjoy being out.



Snack time

What'd we get??

She loved going fast, getting the wind and of course the bumps.

We had some great company on our day as well

More great adventures

Before getting to the adventures...check out her ponytail! We still have a bit of a baby mullet going, but I'm sure the front will catch up to the back soon... she is my daughter.

and this one is just too cute not to share!

Ok, on to the adventure. Cassidy and I did another epic road trip this weekend while Chad was chasing fish and crab. We stopped the first night in Woodland to see Aunt Bette and Uncle Bob and spend the night. Cassidy was a little shy inside, but as soon as they headed outside, she was all about going to see the horses with Aunt Bette. She wasn't quite sure about Uncle Bob. He looks a lot like Grandpa but not quite the same. He won her over with the raspberries though, I think she ate at least a pint, and that was after a huge breakfast!

Friday we hit the road again. After a quick hello to Don we headed to Battleground to see our friends Karen, Allen, Abby, and the newest member Zack who was born on the 4th of July. I think that is the best possible Birthday! He is sooo tiny, but Abby the big sister did a great job holding him while Cassidy inspected and then gave loves.

Karen and Allen look great, maybe a little tired and we had a nice visit before heading off to Sisters, OR for the annual Grandparent's Ride with the Tindall family. We got there Friday night just in time for dinner and for Cassidy to turn into Grandpa's girl as soon as she got out of the car! There was a head count of at least 60, but that might be a little low as it's pretty tough tracking all the little ones. Cassidy was the youngest and would watch the group of 3/4 year olds very closely. You just knew she was trying to figure out how she could do the same things they were doing. If only she could remeber how far she's come since last year! She managed a few new skills like crawling over logs, running through the grass and pine cones, and playing in the red dirt. That was her favorite...until it came time for baths in the trailer. I actually had to "pre-wash" her at the water pump before even attempting to get her clean in the trailer!

Saturday brought out Dad's team and wagon rides. Cassidy of course was riding shot gun, after all she's a pro now, even helping Grandpa hold the reins!

Cassidy also found another great past time...leading Cadee around. Cadee was horrified as Cass would squeal and giggle with delight at being bigger and "in control". Check out her mischievous face...

We did another first...Cassidy went for her first trail ride. I'm so excited and proud of her. We were out for about 45 minutes and other then 2 brief little whines, she did great. She even held the reins with me. We're going to have to work on her helmet not going over her eyes and her boots staying on, but otherwise I think I've got a new riding partner!

Sunday morning we said good bye and headed back west to Forest Grove for the 37th Krueger Family reunion and my Great Aunt Mary's 90th birthday. Despite the overcast sky and cool temps, we had a great turn out, 70+, and lots of fun catching up with family.

On the way home we stopped to see Jay and Presley who was born in April last year. The girls had fun playing....Presley got to show off her cool toys while I got to catch up with Jay.

It was a bit of a whirlwind but a great trip. Cassidy is getting to be a pretty good traveler. Sleeping has become more of a challenge now that she faces forward in her car seat, but for the most part she enjoys watching out the window and getting Momma to laugh. Today though, she was definitely a little tired. She slept in, had a long nap and still went to bed on time without a fuss! Give her a couple days and she'll be ready for her next great adventure! I might take a few more days though....