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.

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.

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!

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.