The big work party day finally arrived.  I couldn’t wait!

I wore my safety vest and hard hat, and brought my shovel and wheelbarrow.  I was ready!

Today we were going to move the sand out of the far yard playground, and put in some new wood chips!

We started digging!

And barrowing.  Luckily, some friends came to help, so it was fun while we were working!

Check out my dumping technique!

Sometimes you have to stop so your photographer can get that “money shot”.

After we finished moving the sand out, it was time for a break!

Some water and some really yummy cookies really made it all worth it.

And how often do you get to sit on a gigantic pile of sand like this?

After the break was over, it was time to move the chips.  I started by surveying the situation.

Then it was time to get to work filling my wheelbarrow and hauling those ‘chips down to the yard…

Here I go!

And of course, it is good to have help.  We had a lot of work to do!

And here’s the dump!

And here’s the video highlights!

When you’re working hard, it’s hard pay attention to keeping sand out of your shoes.  You can see how hard I was working!

Boy was that a fun day!

It was hot dog day at the air museum, so Mommy took me over, and Daddy even took a “long lunch” so he could come, too.

We looked at lots of airplanes, but the most fun was playing Ex delivery man, and delivering packages from the airplane while Daddy flew the plane.  My friend Elliott helped!

I also got to sit at the controls of this helicopter.  I was a little worried, but the nice man in charge assured me that it would NOT take off.

Easter got started with brunch at school.  I got to sit in the teacher spot!

Then, on Saturday, we went to the park for the big Easter egg hunt.  They had lots of fun things to do, like face painting.  I got a rainbow!

My buddy Jehan and I got a look at the goat, pig, and calf.  We also got to pet some really soft bunnies!

Later, the hunt was about to begin.  We listened carefully to the instructions, like good Otters.

The hunt was on!  Weeeeeee!

After the hunt was over, we talked M&D into a train ride.  Because nothing says Easter like a ride on the train, you know.

Later, it was another hunt for eggs at the Thomassons!

On Easter morning, I did some coloring.  Daddy says he spotted the Easter Bunny and might have got him on film, but I don’t see him in this picture, do you?

Our trip started with a visit to Aunt Barb and Uncle Steve.  We had lunch and dinner with them, and while I was there I got to pick some really big lemons from their tree.  Thanks for the lemons, Barb and Steve!

Then we went to our hotel in Monterey where I got to move all our stuff inside with the cart.  I really like those carts they have at hotels.

The next day, we went for a walk out to breakfast.  I tried to stop Mommy from taking my picture:

For breakfast, I had a Mickey pancake with whipped cream!  Mmmmm….

Then it was off to the aquarium.

This was the first tank I saw.  There were sharks!  And a diver was cleaning the floor with his vacuum.  Just like we do at home!  So, what’s so special about this aquarium, anyhow?

Later, I touched some sea creatures at the touch tank.  Kinda slippery!

Then there’s the tank where the fish swim in circles.   Around and around.  Seems like they would get dizzy.

After the aquarium, we stopped for ice cream.  I got to finish off the sundae we shared.  Mmmmmm…

My favorite animals at the aquarium were the otters, but somehow my photographer didn’t take any pictures of them, so I can’t show them to you.  Maybe next time.

Monday was the big canoe trip.  First, we went for a ride in a big van with canoes on the trailers.  I got to see snow out the window!

Before getting in the canoes, Daddy helped me make the necessary preparations.

Then it was time to get my life vest on and pose for a picture.

After that, the guides (Matt and Chase) told everyone what we would be doing.  I thought I could listen best by getting in the boat and visualizing.

Finally, it was time to leave.  Here we go!

Then it was my turn to paddle.  It turns out that this is harder than it looks!  I gave Mommy her paddle back pretty quickly.

Avery was in her own boat  with Uncle John and Aunt Heather.

Once we got to shore, it was time for a snack.  That stuff that looks like snow in the background…?

… it really is snow!

When we all got back and it was time to get in the vans, I got ready to direct everybody to their seats.  Can you find me?

M&D and I took a trip to Oregon this summer.  It was a long, long drive, but I got to see lots of Ex and PS trucks on the road while we were driving.  I also got to see lots of roadwork up close, including front loaders, dump trucks, excavators, asphalt spreaders, steam rollers, and bulldozers.  For some reason, M&D didn’t take any pictures of those machines, so I can’t show them to you here.

The first real stop on our trip was at Lake Shasta Caverns.  We got to start with a boat ride across the lake, which was the best part of the tour if you ask me!

After the boat ride was a bus ride up the hill.  I directed the bus where to back up and park.

Then we went inside and saw some funny rocks all stuck to the ceiling.  Weird.

After that we stayed in a hotel, and I got to make lots of deliveries with the cart they let me borrow.

The next day was more driving to get to SunRiver.  After going to bed late the night before, I was ready to take a snooze in the car for the last leg of the trip.

Next up: SunRiver!

We had a last hurrah Indian summer day before it got cold and rainy again, and Mommy put my tent outside so we could have a picnic lunch.

Daddy showed me how to find shapes in the clouds while we were gazing up at the sky.  I found a bunny rabbit!

Ma and Pa came to visit this weekend, and we went to Train Town!

We went for a ride on the train…

…and the train stops at the petting zoo where I got to feed the goats with Ma!

After that, I got to sit and drive this fancy blue and red car.

After going on the Merry Go Round, it was time to head back home for my nap.  Boy was I tired!

Thanks for coming to visit Ma and Pa!  It was fun to see you!

I like Trader Joe’s. They have shopping carts that are just my size, and M&D let me help do the shopping.

The weekend before last, M&D took me out to pick a pumpkin for Halloween.  This seemed like big responsibility, especially for someone with no experience, but I decided to give it a go.  We got to the patch a little on the early side, so I had the place all to myself.  Easy pickins’, right?

Well, it turns out this means you have lots of time to stomp around and check out a lot of pumpkins…

But I finally found one that I liked.

After that, it was time to climb the hay bales,

and visit with the calves, piglets, goats, and chickens who were there.

Mommy wouldn’t let me take the calf home, but by the time we had to go, I’d found two good pumpkins to take with us!