Disney on Ice

On Friday night we got to see Disney on Ice! This was the second one we have seen (the first was in South Carolina) and we were not disappointed. All of the skaters/actors did a wonderful job.



Our favorite was the first scene...Cars. They had actual cars driving on the ice...very cool.



Then they presented several songs from Little Mermaid.



Next was the Lion King.



Then the last presentation was of Tinkerbell.

Oregon Coast - Part 2

On Friday the first thing we did after breakfast was start driving down to Tillamook. We toured the factory and saw how they made their famous cheese. Then we got to sample some cheese and some ice cream. The kids were quite envious of this part of our trip!





Then we drove back up past Cannon Beach (where we stayed Thursday night) and on up to Astoria. This fishing town (at least in days past!) is on the river and we stayed underneath the 4+ mile bridge that connects Washington and Oregon.


We took a trolley ride up and down the river in Astoria and got a great little personal tour from an old man on the train. It was definitely the highlight of our time in Astoria!



Check out all of the sea lions on the piers! There were so many sea lions and apparently Astoria is one of their favorite places to be in the winter because of the great salmon available to them there. Also, if you have been searching for God's will, we found it...;-) (Check out the name of the black/yellow ship in the background.)

And here is one of the Coast Guard ships stationed in Astoria.


We had a great time on the Oregon coast and highly recommend it to anybody! This time of year it was so quiet, with not many tourists around at all. I would imagine that it's much busier in the summer (not to mention more expensive!).

Oregon Coast Trip - Part 1

The first night of our trip we spent in Cannon Beach, Oregon. The weather forecast was calling for "hurricane-like conditions" including high winds and tons of rain. We had several windows of time where we could get out and not get soaked, though, and even saw the sunshine a few times! Because of the high winds, the waves were amazing the entire time. These pictures were taken on our way from Cannon Beach to Tillamook on Friday.








This was the view from the hotel room on Thursday night and Friday morning...I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E!! It was dark when we arrived on Thursday, so we couldn't see the ocean, but we heard the crashing waves all night long. Imagine our delight when we looked out the window Friday morning and could actually SEE what we were hearing! It wasn't raining for about 10 minutes, so we both went out and walked along the beach, snapping some pictures along the way.

Okay, I'll Admit It...I Turned 30!

My incredible husband surprised me with a birthday getaway to the Oregon Coast this past weekend. I think he was just trying to make me forget about the fact that I was turning the big 3-0, but whatever the reason, it was amazing. My favorite part was just the time I had my husband all to myself! We left Thursday around noon and got home Saturday evening. I will be putting up pictures and blog entries about our trip this week. If you are looking for an amazing vacation spot, we highly recommend the Oregon coast. The beauty and solitude are well worth the drive.


Instead of a birthday cake this year, I wanted hot and fresh Krispy Kreme doughnuts! Mmmm....

The kids loved them, too. We had a little birthday party when we got home Saturday evening. 8 seconds in the microwave made the doughnuts nice and hot again!

On Thursday Garth took me to Black Angus Steakhouse for my birthday dinner. By the way, they have the best steak we have ever tasted. I enjoyed filet mignon, fried zucchini, salad, and mashed potatoes. Then we took some cheesecake with us to eat when we got to the coast that night ('cause we sure couldn't eat another bite at the restaurant!).

Recent Pics

Mostly for those who live outside of our state, I wanted to share some recent pictures Garth took of our two youngest. Benjamin decided to be Boba Fett (from Star Wars) and made himself a jet pack and was out protecting the land...



Rachel's just a sweetie with a big personality. You cannot always tell what is going on inside that head, but trust me...there is ALWAYS something happening in there!

Canadian Thanksgiving

On October 12th we celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving. The kids think it is so fun that we have TWO Thanksgivings! I just try to convince Garth that I can now play Christmas music since it is now after Thanksgiving (for me!), but so far he is not buying it.

Here are some pictures from our feast! Carissa and her daddy ate with our family, too.

Blackberry Picking

Our 2nd annual blackberry picking/jam making excursion occurred last month up in Sequim. We took full advantage of these thornless blackberry bushes with HUGE berries! In just a couple of hours, we had our buckets full and ready to make jam the next day.


Rachel's full time job was occupying her cousin Jaden. And Jaden's full time job was occupying her cousin Rachel. No telling what they were talking about!


These berries were so big and juicy...so delicious!


If you look carefully, you can see some berry residue around Rachel's mouth and on her jacket. We all enjoyed munching on these delicious berries while we picked. Good thing they didn't weigh US on the way in and way out!



And then we started the jam making process the next day! We cooked the berries and then put them through a Squeezo machine (like a big sieve) to get the seeds out. Seedless blackberry jam is much tastier than that with seeds! Now we have many, many jars of jam to enjoy throughout the year. Mmmmmmm....

Recent Pictures of GWI

For those of you who don't know, my parents own a bed and breakfast (George Washington Inn) up near Sequim. Last month we got to spend the night there and as always, really enjoyed the scenery and nature around us. Here are some pictures that Garth took on our visit.

Field Trip to the Naval Undersea Museum

Recently our family took a field trip to the Naval Undersea museum. This has been on our list of things to do for quite some time, so we were all excited to see what this place had to offer! When we drove up, the kids were instantly enthralled with the "big machines" outside.



We enjoyed exploring the inside of the museum as well. I thought it was great how many hands-on things there were for the kids to try out. Not just a bunch of history things to read, but actually things to touch and really feel like what life might be like if they had to live under the sea!