Summer Breeze....makes me feel fine.

What an awesome weekend. Too, too short. Here we are at the s-hole again. I was having an awesome morning until the outburst. Now I'm cranky. This too shall pass.

OK, better now. Mood has passed, splitting pain behind left eye gone. Back to business as semi-usual.

Smell of the day: Full diaper, brought to you by the peds department! All fans a blowing.

Word(s) of the day: SQUINCH

Lexie log: Saturday we went to Gramma Betty's for a good part of the day, and sat on the porch with Gramma and Aunt Patty. Nice day outside. Lexie's cried so hard when Aunt Patty went back to her house. It also seemed like she finally said "I love you". She mimicked Gramma Betty when we left. Sunday left the house at 8:14am and drove up to Grammy's in Yamhill. We all piled in the RV and after multiple stops for gas, food, Safeway bakery and coffee, finally headed Southwest to Newport. Gorgeous day! Lexie fell asleep on the way, good since we hate taking her places without a nap. It changes the entire outing (like the trip to the aviation museum). We had a great trip to the aquarium. Started out with the inside exhibits. Lexie was so excited, she kept running from one exhibit to the next and then back again, staying a few moments in front of each one in amazement. We saw jellyfish, kelp forest fish, sea pens, and well all kinds of aquatic life. I held her up for the touch tide pool and she felt the back of a starfish. That's all she would touch though. It kind of freaked her out. Then she was content to look and splash. Next we headed for the outdoor exhibits. She raced around and around the Puffin exhibit not noticing the birds. I finally got her to stand still and check them out. Not even two feet inbetween her and the birds in the water. She laughed when they would stretch out there wings, puff up, and shake. For the rest of the exhibits, she was content to race past, peeking momentarily at the animal, and go about kicking up the gravel walkway. She was having a blast. She was interested in the animals, but a little uncomfortable. We think it was because of their size. Grampa pointed out that it seemed instinctual to be hesitant to be so close to such large creatures. She saw the Octopus, Sea Lions, Harbor Seals, and Sea Otters up close. Then she just kept racing around the same exhibits with her Grampa happy to chaperone her and a semi-unlesiurely pace. We had a little bit of trouble in the Deep sea exhibit, where you go through underground clear tubes with fish, rays, and sharks swimming all around you. She wanted to zoom through and there were just too many people in a confined space. Grampa ended up having to carry the wriggly little thing through most of it, back and forth actually. Then she ran around the exhibits some more as Frank and I slowly viewed the animals. She finally started to run out of gas. Grampa swears she said clear as a bell, "How do we get outta here?" We'll, then we left, wondering how long she was actually looking for the exit to the maze of exhibits. Next we went to lunch at a brew/pub, that you actually have to walk through the brewery to get to the restaurant part. Although I wasn't very impressed with the view being cut off by the steel bar table, we could still see most of the bay, docks, boats, and enjoyed a good lunch. By this time she was tired and restless and wouldn't sit in a chair. While we waited for our meals, Grammy took her over to the lego table and kept her occupied. When lunch came, I scarfed down my French Dip and then walked her around screaming until Frank came and relieved me. Afterwards got out her trike and headed for the boardwalk. She was so tired, we thought she would give up right away and start a fit. We were wrong. The excitment over getting to try her trike outside and actually being able to mostly reach the pedals gave her a second wind. She triked, with some guidance, halfway up the boardwalk and then got off and met two more toddlers. Dylan and Rowan were walking the pier with their mother. Lexie was very happy to have some strange conversation with Rowan (two years old) It was the cutest thing to watch them walk up the railing, point out, Rowan would say, "Boat" and then Lexie would say, "Yeah", and then start chatting away in gibberish. We went all the way to the end and back, passing people with crabpots and fishing. At one point the three children went racing ahead, and it was the cutest thing. Of course we forgot to bring digital or video camera, since we thought the trike experiment was going to be a short live tantrum. That'll teach me. Grammy, Lexie, and I slept on the way home, Grampa and Frank chatting up front. What a great excursion.

Today I'm grateful for Frank and Lexie, Newport, grapefruit, antioxidants, prayer, that people can't read my mind, that I can't read other people's minds, and energy.