Named after a deranged man, no less

On Wednesday, Gus suggested that I meet him after work at Kelly Point Park. Gus had referenced it a few times as being near his work and I just assumed that it was a grassy knoll on the river. It is that, and so much more. There are miles of trails and beaches, and it's right at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers. It's absolutely spectacular. We enjoyed it so much the first night that we met there again last night. Here are some shots of that and a few other happenings of the last few days:







Her new throne. She loves it-- not that you'd know that by the look on her face or anything.

After our first reconnaisance of the park, we met Rosie and Jaden in NW for one last shindig before their big move. The spread from Elephant's was fabulous.



He has amazing timing, huh?



To be fair, here's one of me. There was one that was worse but I'm vain.



While we were waiting at the park for Gus, she got down and crawled in the grass for the first time. Apparently, she decided that digging in the dirt really is what it's cracked up to be.



When we got home, there was a package waiting from Aunt Jackie and Uncle Ed (my dad's sister and bro-in-law) with Chie's first birthday present. She was, as usual, initially enticed by the tag. But she took to that stuffed elephant quite famously. There was also an adorable t-shirt that I have yet to get a shot of that shows the image.



Back at the park the next day. This time, we roamed the beach a bit.



This is an Oregon beach, after all. No palm trees here, no sir. But there's lots of wood for bonfires.



My husband really isn't a fan of smiling on cue.



They're like peas in a pod.



On the walk back to the car, we found this. I guess there's always a chance, but...



After all of that beautiful weather, we felt like breaking out the summer food. Out of the focus is a pile of fresh french fries, cooked in Tuck, our new fryer. Get it? The burgers were seasoned with fresh thyme and homemade barbeque sauce. And the pea salad was like spring epitomized. It was a delicious almost end to the week.