Augh, it’s been too long! So Halloween came and went. we had a good time at the Harvest Party, check the album for more pics and a synopsis through the captions. Thursday we decided to go visit Portland…about an hour before we left! We were going to stay one night be ended up staying until Saturday. It was a good visit, everybody got to see Ali andremakr on how big she’s gotten. We surprised Cynthia at work Thursday night, surprised Nana and Grandpa on Friday and Friday night Ali surprised us with about ten minutes worth of belly laughs! My mom and her were playing some sort of game and she found it just hilarious. It was so funny too, becauser not five minutes before I’d asked my mom when she was going to start laughing. Haven’t been able to coax one out of her since then, Grandma must have had a special touch.

Tons of new pics in three months and Oregon in November. Here are a couple samples

Her hair is getting super long.

She was obsessed with this bowl of meat!

Smiling at her Grandpa.

Saturday night we went to a party at the Rockaway Community Center. Check out the Halloween album for the full story.

Its been awhile, but I’ve been saving up the best Ali content for you, my loyal readers. But first, you must sit through a quick note. I’m doing some blog upgrades tonight, and I’m gonna try to find a way so those of you with facebook-blockers can still see all the pics. Also, I hope to be back soon with some more substantial content. For now, dig into this (all content from my phone)…

Our "last" visit to the place where we met, Ashley’s old stomping grounds, Subway.

The moving truck. Car trailer visible on the right. It was a pretty big rig for these mountain roads.

Ali in her little fake-walker bouncy thing. Watching us unpack.

Having a chill in the big bed.

Sweet little hat and coat.

And a bunch of bath videos. She absolutely loves baths.

Last night we went to the Fall Festival at the Bay City United Methodist Church. It was a very small gathering but we had a good time. Ali "fished" and "caught" a little red pegasus, Tony and I had some snacks and talks with a couple locals. Shout out to Trista, who made Ali’s costume for my birthday. Ali’s a cow in honor of Tillamook County and all her family in Iowa. Speaking out Iowa, congrats to the Hawkeyes today! They pulled off an amazing win in double overtime against Michigan State. Meanwhile, Oregon is working on kicking some USC butt.

We’re hoping to use all the festivites this week to meet some people, score some sugar, and show off our little Dot*. Tonight we are going to a party at the Rockaway Community Center, a party for children under 10. Then, on Halloween we are going to a carnival at the Rockaway Community Church. Ali is out to charm this whole town. and, let me tell you, she is well on her way. At the bank, at the coffee shop, at the market, on the street…everyone here stops to admire this girl!

* Some new nicknames: Buns, Buns-buns, Als, Ali-Al, Ali-Al-Al, Beaut (short for Beautfiul), Dot-dot-dot (which always prompts me to then say Ellipsis but I always say eclipse on accident).

It was, like, seventy today. Amazing. We had a wonderful time and even got a little wet!

Today was absolutely gorgeous, from the moment I woke up until the sun set an hour or so ago. Ali has been on some weird new schedule since we moved, staying up until 11ish and sleeping in until nine-thirty or ten. Unfortunately I don’t tend to last as long as her. Well, for Tony anyway. So, the girl didn’t wake until ten this morning. We went out for an explore of the beach, a stroll down to pick up the mail (.4 miles away so if we do that every day it’s nice, that’s about 3/4 of a mile there and back), and walk through the town on the way back. During which we randomly saw a transformer blow! Luckily nothing at our house seemed to be affected. When we returned there was a white pick-up truck parked in our driveway. Random. It was the electric guy checking meters, so we told him about the explosion. I wonder if the driveway here is where he always parks when he checks the meters.

Ali and I ventured out again while Tony was working. The lady at the market here seems now to recognize us. Or at least Ali. Then, in the afternoon, it was still nice so we went out again and took a long walk in the more residential area of the town. Tony was even wearing shorts, if that gives some clue as to how beautiful it was. Before returning home we stopped at an antique shop across the street. It the kind of place that has changed businesses a good handful of times in the last decade and I hadn’t been in this new place yet. We talked to the lady (older) inside for, like, twenty minutes. She was so nice and sweet and very obviously bored. She adored Ali and was glad to meet neighbors. There are so many things here that are so different…the lack of anonynimity being the foremost one today.

The last week has been insane. We’re still in the unpacking stage, will be for awhile probably. Luckily, we are not in a big hurry. Yesterday we got our bedroom pretty much in order. The office (which is in the loft area forthe many of you familiar with our new house) is coming along, though a little crowded at the moment. Ali’s room, the newest addition to the house (upstairs), is crowded as well but doesn’t much matter as she still sleeps with us so is mostly for storing her clothes and toys and will hopefully be a good place for her to play and stuff. Today we’re tackling the kitchen once I get my homework done. In there it’s hard because it has less room then our last kitchen ANd it was already full so it much more than merely unpacking. It’s an unpack, decide, repack and put somewhere dance. Lol.

Other than that we are enjoying it here immensly. The storm on Wednesday (or whenever) was scary at first and then fun. Anything and everything left outside was blowing around and the house makes some awfully amazing noises. It’s a wonder that the structures here can even stand through some of the weather they’re subjected to. Speaking of weather…it’s incredibel! How it can be gray and over cast one moment, sunny and blue skies the next, then a random rain (or ever hail!) storm, back to sunny, then overcast and showering again.  It’s a real lesson in taking nothing for granted, getting out there while you can, and always taking a jacket or wearing a hood! Speaking of hoods, check out Ali’s new hoodie in which she’s so "Little Red Riding Hood," and her sitting in her highchair the other night!

We made it! Got here around 11pm Monday night. Got the truck unpacked and returned last night. Got some business taken care of in Tillamook today. Got the tv and internet up and running. Hopefully the garage will be cleared, and house organized, sometime before….oh, Thanksgiving? We’re doing good though. Tired, and Tony’s back is struggling but glad to be here. As you can see, Ali ventured down to the beach this afternoon. Cold and windy. If anyone’s interested our new address is: PO Box 1397 Rockaway Beach, OR 97136.

…is so much more fun then packing.

This is that dress Trista made Ali….and now it fits! Unlike in July. See other pics in the album titled Trista made Ali a dress.