Newport, Oregon

Ya know what’s in Newport?  An aquarium.  Seattle has a pretty lame aquarium, and I had heard accolades about this one.  All ten of us headed south and explored!

We didn’t even get in the doors before Piper started hamming it up.  She’s a….dolphin?

Wesley as a deep-sea diver is a little more obvious. 

The aquarium was fascinating.  I loved the indoor aquariums as well as the outdoor marine mammals and birds.

We have discovered Piper has 2 fears (though they seem like fake fears to me—she plays possum so often that I can’t always trust her authentic emotions):  1) walking across tall bridges and 2) sharks. 

Ahem, we were in a shark bridge.  Sorry, Pipes.

These are supposed to be shots of our immediate families, but…

…you’ll find a commonality (besides Dan and Dwayne looking very much like their father).  Isaac-Wesley is in both.

I do love my nephew.  Isaac is better read than I, has introduced me to some of my favorite authors, has great insights, and is an interesting conversationalist, but I really value him for just one thing.  He allows Wesley to climb, grope, ride, and snuggle him…sometimes simultaneously.  Having Isaac around is such a nice break for me.

Further proof of Wesley-as-tumor:

Funny story:  Dwayne unearthed his latent desire to own an otter or two (because if two ferrets are bad, three otters are better).  Standing right in front of the exhibit, he started searching for “residential otter containment units” on his phone.  Somehow, he came across this quotation in reference to otter maintenance:

If it’s cute and not prolific, it’s got a bad attitude.

Which basically reduced us to fits.  On our way home, Deborah and I debated whether or not 3 children apiece made us each prolific.  ‘Cause we’re pretty cute.