A Crazy Desert Adventure: Part 1

Recently Magnus and I went to Phoenix to help Elina move back to Washington after she finished her student teaching. Due to lack of room in the car on the ride back, Ruth stayed home to have a nice break from taking care of the two of us. [Ruth here: I have the coolest husband!] This was also Magnus’s first time on an airplane. He may look worried, but he fell asleep before the plane was done backing away from the gate. Then he slept until I stood up to get our bag down when we reached Phoenix.

My friend Ryan came to pick us up at the airport. It was really good to see him again. He and his wife were even nice enough to let us stay with them at their house. After lunch we all walked to a nearby park and Magnus got to play with Dash the dog. Magnus is now a big fan of dogs.

He also got to play in some sand, which he thought was pretty cool:

Latter, Elina suggested we go visit Casa Grande Nat’l Monument. It was a neat looking old ruin. And it was very big.

I like this shot with Ryan and Kathrin looking up at the ruin. They look very tiny in comparison.

They then took us to see the Gilbert, AZ Temple being built.

Magnus really enjoyed the part where we went to see some saguaros. The picture of him is one of his favorites. I like the sunset pictures you can get from this park.

Magnus was a little confused at the odd plants in Arizona

Happy Easter! Magnus played some wonderful songs and I took a nice group shot of everybody.

Thanks, Ryan and Kathrin! We were really glad to see you guys.

Here is Ryan and Kathrin’s epic shot:

A Very Cheney Visit

We got to go to Cheney a few weeks ago and visit Will, Courtney, Whitney, and Rachel!

We stopped on our way at a nice park on the river so everyone could stretch their legs. Magnus found a stick he liked and Dana saw a water-going weasel thing. 

After a long drive we made it to Cheney!

The next day we went to Spokane to see the riverfront park. The big red wagon was a must see.

These two pictures were taken in the same minute. It was a hopping place!

We saw the carousel and posed for a picture on the letter blocks.

 

The river was very full. We could have taken a ride out over the falls, but decided it was too expensive. Instead, Will, Courtney, Whitney, and Dana walked down some stairs and saw the falls from below. I was on stroller duty and took Magnus and Rachel to feed the meter.

After that we went to another park Will knew about and had some lunch. Thanks Courtney for making the yummy sandwiches! There was a little snow on the ground at this park so Magnus got a chance to touch it. He wasn’t sure it was the best thing ever.

Everyone enjoyed the slide, though.

That night we all had fun relaxing.

Magnus realized for the first time that Rachel was there. He thought her bouncy chair was pretty cool. But when I wouldn’t let him poke Rachel’s eyes, he had to find someone else to bother.

Sorry about the hair-pulling, Whitney!

She forgave him, though. Whitney was really good to share her toys (and her dinner… and lunch) with Magnus.

We had a great time! Thanks so much for the fun times, Keelers!

“Bobbing Along in the Beautiful, Briny Sea”

Welcome to beautiful Newport, OR!

Come! See little Magnus Cousteau as he shows us the world of the sea:

(Make submarine sounds now)

Here at the Oregon Coast Aquarium we had lots of fun. My friend Brian came with us and shared in our adventure. Magnus really likes to look at our fish at home, so it seemed like a good place to go. He really enjoyed the touch pool, filled with abalone, anemones, urchins, cucumber and more. He would giggle at the squishiness of many of the creatures.

Here he is with some giant Japanese spider crabs that are as big as he is:

Looking at all the wonderful fish:

Here is Brian hanging out with some puffins (one of Ruth’s favorites):

We like this jellyfish that looks like a fancy lamp:

Some random creatures for your enjoyment. Can you find the two fish?

One of the big attractions at this aquarium is the giant shark tank that has a tunnel going through it. It is really cool to see the sharks and other fish swim above, below, and next to you.

Magnus Cousteau even let us go swimming for awhile, though he went and got himself eaten by a giant seahorse:

 

We all loved seeing the strange and interesting underwater animals…

but there were also lots of sea mammals like seals, sea lions, and otters to enjoy. And that is where we will leave you.

Try not to giggle.