Christmas cat

We spent Christmas Eve with Richard and his annoying cat, who bit M and is unrepentant.

Here are some gifts that we got this year that we really like.

Fancy jacket for H from Grandma

Puffer coat Pusheen for M from H

Seattle sprint day 1

D dragged M to Seattle for a whirlwind trip, ostensibly for his 30th high school reunion but really to try to visit Ume, the adorable tapir born at the Point Defiance Zoo in February.

They stayed in Mukilteo to take advantage of the amazing view from their hotel, which was right on the water.

Day 1 was an attempt to visit three pre-WW1 forts guarding the Puget Sound. We have visited Fort Casey on Whidbey Island many times, but never Fort Flagler or Fort Worden. First, they drove up to Deception Pass, then down to Fort Casey. However, they messed up their ferry timing and instead of taking the ferry to Port Townsend, they had to detour back to Mukilteo, then take the Clinton Ferry. It was a fortuitous delay, because they saw a cute orca blocking the way back to Mukilteo.

There were lots of nice views of Mt. Rainier on the last ferry ride, from Bainbridge Island to downtown.

They also saw a bald eagle and some deer. Overall, it was a successful day of forts, ferries, and fauna! 

Snowball

R got a new kitten, a Maine coon named Snowball. Snowy (as M calls him) is playful and easily entertained by a laser pointer. H and Geo have been begging for a cat, but half an hour with Snowy caused D to sneeze nonstop. Plus, they never did anything to care for their fish.

Pusheen Party

 

World Tapir Day

Everyone should know that April 27 is World Tapir Day. George was outraged that Google didn't have a doodle to commemorate the day so he created this sign.

Tabitha approves!

Henry's Popplio sign

"Stop-lio Hurting Popplio."
(The paper at the bottom is fake money used by the Popplio Protection Squad.)

Animal School

George has been conducting an "Animal School" for his stuffed animals, including developing schedules and lesson plans and rewarding good behavior with stickers and parties (all of which requires Mommy to buy tons of school supplies for George).

Here is the cover for "George's teching folder" [sic] he created for his school, including the message: "Look for things you dont know Love George." Note the deposition exhibit sticker he stole from Mommy...

Popplio Lego creation

Since Henry is still obsessed with Popplio, he decided to build a Lego version of the lovable little starter.

Who's your crawdaddy?

Gone fishin'

Peekaboo

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Part III

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Part II

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Part I

Yesterday we decided to take advantage of a glorious 70-degree day by heading to a new zoo--the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs. Georgie was an epic brat, as usual, but the rest of us had a blast.

Pesty little penguin

Here is how George stacks up to various penguins. He hung out at the zoo on Sunday so that Mommy could do something incredibly boring and work related.

Today is Daddy's birthday! We had some homemade marble cake to celebrate. Now Georgie is going to start demanding 38 hugs, up from his usual 37....

Birdwatchers, Part II

Birdwatchers, Part I

Each year in September, a flock of Vaux's swifts come to roost every evening in the chimney of Chapman school in Northwest Portland.  We hung out there this evening to watch the show and run off some extra energy.  Then we went and got some delicious treats nearby! 

Aquarium

The parental units took us on a day trip to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. I got to touch sea anemones and watch otters getting fed. There were cool snakes and jellyfish and sharks. Henry actually liked the sharks but was scared of the octupus. Go figure.