Toregon

From Aug. 5-12, Lars, Tor, and I hung out with the Karpluses (and those entrapped by our wiles) in Three Rivers, Oregon, about 15 miles from Bend. It was an awesome week for unwinding, enjoying natural beauty, and catching up with/getting to know each other better.

Left to right: Christina, her fiance Caleb, me, some guy I know, Tim, his wife Caitlin, and my mom Karen

Needless to say, our little ham reveled in the attention.

The perennially popular Opa ride

Funny, Opa heavily censored Hop on Pop when he was the dad

Favorite aspect of the multi-featured Little Penguin: its tag

Great, now the hands are free for havoc-wreaking

Both Hansens remained skeptical of the
Lava Cast Forest's geological narrative

Repping for Tante Caitlin's med school--can we get some free pens over here?

"A stroll! Oh boy oh boy!"

We checked out a waterfall near our rental house and took a few family photos.

Oma and Opa brought along a sleeping bag that we parked Tor on while we had adult time. He's legitimately crawling now, though, and he was close then, so he tended to stray.

To cap off the trip, Lars, Tor, and I joined my dad in a long-realized dream of hiking up South Sister (10,358 ft; 6 miles and 5,000 vertical feet one way). Boy, do we need to get more exercise. Dad jogs five times a week and was fresh as a daisy. Lars and I were sore for the next five days. Tor did better than expected, but it still took us 11 hours car to car.

First water break

See that mountain behind us? It was tough to walk up.

For the final mile and 1,000 elevation gain,
the kid insisted on riding in the front carrier

With the summit behind us! (I'm saving the good view
photo for the Christmas card. Take that.)

Scree: even worse on the way down (note Tor
occupied by rattle attached to pack with dental floss)

Definitely the two happiest of the four hikers at this point

Working on the calorie deficit from his trek

Next post: Tor goes canoe camping with five dirty hippies! Styling his nautical best:

I

Pray for us.

Intercalary Post

What with finishing up the summer term, wrangling the tiny one, and traveling to Oregon for Karplus family time, I have been terribly remiss in keeping TorTales up to date. Here are some snaps from our month in Minneapolis between flying to San Francisco in July and heading to Corvallis in August.

A few mentions of moment: Tor has made it onto his knees (without forward motion) and popped out not one, but two bottom teeth! Nursing has begun to produce anxiety, but hopefully I can train him out of nipping (literally).

"Okay, what now?"

Unfolding the laundry

Tooth photography: harder than you think

 Solid foods continue to be added to the repertoire. The list now includes rice cereal, banana, apple, apple juice, avocado, raspberries, squash, and sweet potato. He has not yet gotten the hang of the pincer grasp, but that's supposed to roll around by ~8 months, so he's got a little time.

All set up to toss some avocado onto his pants 

It's been oppressively hot and muggy in town, and when Lars's adviser invited us to his cabin an hour north of Grand Marais, we jumped at the chance to get away for the weekend.

Stopping for pizza and a brief wiggle

A Superior baby

Scaring away Daddy's fish (excuses, excuses)

For one so small, Tor is a surprisingly harsh taskmaster

Photos from Oregon to follow soon!