Puppy update! Our little boy has grown so much in the six weeks we've had him. These pictures start at 9 weeks. The last couple were just taken today.

At 9 weeks... Where did all the PBR go? 

Ah, daddy drank it all... 

When it got hot out, he would crawl into the fridge to cool off... 

At 12 weeks, sleeping on the couch with daddy. 

Oops, I woke them up... 

Now, anytime we open the fridge, he tries to climb on in. 

At 13 weeks, Chris showing off how big Keizer's getting... and if those paws are any indication, he's got a long way to go. 

Playing toss in the backyard... 

He lost interest in the ball, and decided he'd rather chew the camera... 

I caught him when he was just about to take a chunk out of the hose. 

Playing with toys from the grandparents...  

During the last week in July, my Mom came to visit us in Oregon. The first night she was here, we all went to a Leo Kottke concert at a local park's amphitheater right by the river. It was a great show.

The day after she arrived, I took Mom to the Safari to work with me. First thing in the morning, we feed the cubs. Here she is bottle feeding Jake the Brown Bear cub. 

And I put Mom to work. Here she is hosing out the bear huts. We have to scoop up everything, hose them out, scrub with cleaner, and hose again. Then, we set up 2 rooms for the 1 1/2 year old Brown Bears ("the teenagers"). We lay out hay and logs and set out varied enrichment items and food. After 2 hours of this, Mom commented that all that's missing is an inside pool....
 

Apparently, the teenagers were listening. Right after we left, they broke the waterier off the wall and began filling the huts with water. Sigh, back to cleaning...
 

Later, we did a Hippo feed. We threw alfalfa hay and produce to Morry and his son Blippo in their ponds. Here Morry is all set to catch a carrot Mom threw. 

Morry after he got out of the water. The pink spots are actually scars from frost bite. Years ago, the ponds froze over and he didn't get out in time. 

Next we did a Bongo feed. We hid produce in their yard. After they found all that, we got to feed them at the fence and even got Bongo kisses from Puck and Slash. Puck had already taken the carrot from my mouth in this pic. 

This is Anna. She was one of two Bongos that we rescued from a zoo in New Orleans after Katrina. 

Helping me feed the Black Bears. We go in with them and scatter feed their 2 buckets of food. It mimic the way the have to search for food in the wild, plus it gives our tubby bears exercise. Little Boy is on the left and Little Girl is on the right. 

Driving one of the work trucks thru the safari 

We decided to take Mom and Keizer on their first camping trip. We again choose the Umpqua Highway. We spent our first night at Toketee campground. It was a new moon that night and the sky was amazing. We even saw a meteor shower. The next morning, we went to the Umpqua Hot Springs. Upon finding that the bridge to the trail was out, Mom says she still wants to go. So we crossed the swift and freezing cold North Umpqua River, with our hiking boots and dry clothes held over our heads. The springs ended up being so hot, I could hardly stick my legs in, but Mom loved it. Back across the river, Mom commented on how glad she was that she didn't hurt her bad foot during the trek... (note: making a remark like this is always asking for trouble.) Then it was on to Diamond Lake.

Mt Bailey, 8368 ft, overlooking Diamond Lake 

Mt Thielsen, 9182ft. As I took this photo, Mom moved away from us to get a better shot. She ended up stubbing her toe on a root, aggravating an old injury. We promptly got her some ice and a bowl of Umpqua ice cream.  

At Crater Lake, with Wizard Island on the right. 7,700 years ago, Mt Mazama erupted and collapsed. The hole which remained filled with rain and melted snow, forming Crater Lake. It is 1943 ft deep, the deepest lake in the US. The lake is 5 miles wide and the cliffs surrounding it reach heights around 2,000 ft. This is one of the most awesome sites I've ever seen. 

Another view of Wizard Island, which was formed during a later eruption 

The rock out in the water is called the Phantom Ship