The Elma turnover

We turned Claire over to her Grandmother Nancy on the 6th of July. We were sorry to see her

go but she was looking forward to spending time with her Grandmothers and Aunt. We had a great 2 weeks with her and miss her--it was so "nice".

The Winner

Claire had the great idea of being the Statue of Liberty for July 4th. We won the Seabrook porch contest and how could we not with such a great statue. (Also, our neighbor Greg said he stuffed the ballot box with votes for Claire.) There were so many pictures taken of her that I'm sure they will be posted in several places. It was so fun. The prize was $100.00 gift certificate to the cafe. Also bragging rights for the next year.

We are having a great 4th with Charles and Mary, Bill, the Fifes (minus Carmen) and David and the boys. Last night we went down to the beach for fireworks (Uncle John bot the BEAST at the bomb shack). It was unbelievable what was going on down there. There were so many fireworks. It looked like Taholah was blowing itself up or at least expending a month's pay in moments. The kids kept shouting "Unleash the Beast" in unison to egg John on with his mortars.

David and the boyz left around 7 this morning (7/5). Claire will miss her little pack but will likely find replacement playmates ASAP.

Seabrook

We have made the journey to rainy 57 degree Seabrook. It is quiet now but tomorrow a lot of Kerrs show up--including Charlie and Reid--which Claire is very excited about. Claire is continuing to crack us up. She can be so funny sometimes--like saying that we don't know how to parent as well as her parents. True words.

We stopped in Oly and saw Dd--she was so excited to see Claire and vice versa.

Pictures later.

Seattle

We have a few days in Seattle so we decided to show Claire the city on The Duck--the tour that actually goes on land and water. Her comment was it was boring and "nice". Oh well, Tim and Cynthia had a good time.

Then we went to have our nails done (Claire's were entirely chipped)--sticking to green and it looked really good.

Toby and his baby sister, Serena came to visit. Claire showed Toby the wonders of the Children's only.

Dinner was at a favorite restaurant in the international district. We dined on a hot pot. Claire is a very adventurous eater and enjoyed everything.

Tomorrow is a day of getting ready to head to Seabrook.

We visited the painted hills in John Day. Claire said they were nice. Actually she said that she would love to live in the painted hills. It was a lot of fun driving there with the Clairski.

Camping with Claire

Here are some pictures of Claire camping with her cousins. She is reading "Operation Dump the Chump" to them. Charlie loved it.

Then she went swimming and paddle boarding and did very well until she needed to turn around because she was heading to China. Her Uncle and Aunt swam and turned her around. They did not want to go to China.

Back to Seattle

Still planning on posting pictures. We traveled home today through Goldendale, Yakima, Cle Elum and then finally Seattle. Claire doesn't like salads, however, last night I ordered a salad and she ate most of it. We stopped in Yakima for lunch and found a farmers market. There was a filipino family cooking a yaki soba type meal with egg rolls--claire wanted that--what kid wants to eat Filipino food? Miss Claire. Showed her around Yakima and all she could say with a slightly bored sound was nice. We are having so much fun with Clairski. Tomorrow we are thinking of taking her on a Duck tour of Seattle. Tomorrow night Zinzanni (she has already decided what she is wearing). Stay tuned you world travelers.

Camping with Claire

We had a great couple of days camping. What a wonderful spot! Beautiful campsite, great weather, fun lake swimming, biking. Claire paddle boarded for the first time and did a great job. She wants her mom and dad to buy her one. She had fun with her cousins.

We are currently in The Dalles Oregon after touring the painted hills of John Day--It was so beautiful that Claire wants to move there.

Home to Seattle tomorrow and then to Seabrook on Thursday.

Claire misses her parents and hopes they are having a good time.

We will post pictures soon.

Portland with Claire

We arrived in Portland around 2:00 and went to one of our favorite restaurants--St. Honore--It turned out to be not one of Claire's favorites. She said she didn't like sandwiches and was not fond of salads. This was news to us. I ordered her a Croque Monsieur and she didn't like it at all. I tasted it and realized that in fact it is rather strong for a 7 year old. By the time we get to Paris in a couple years she will love it. We checked into our very nice hotel, sat outside for a while, then went to a child friendly pizza parlor where Claire had the hawaiian pizza--and loved it. Then we returned to the hotel and Claire topped off the exciting day by having a rice crispy treat.

Our Treasure

We are leaving shortly to pick up our Claire for a camping trip, followed by Seattle time and then Seabrook for a family reunion and the 4th. Her parents are leaving us in charge as they go to Italy--we'll see who has the most fun.