Valentine's Day

Whew, I am caught up...I can't believe it!! If you have noticed the lack of posts the last few months and are interested, I have posted all of my "back-log" under February.

Valentine's Day (and President's Day) weekend, Matt flew out for a three day weekend. It was REALLY nice to see him again! Our friends John and Connie, and three of the kids (Rory, Natalie and Kai), invited us to go ice skating on Valentine's Day.

It had been a LONG time since I had donned ice skates, but I don't remember it being quite so hard to stay upright....


This was Matt's first ice skating experience. He said it felt just like roller blades.


Kai calls Matt "Uncle Matt" and gets VERY excited every time he sees him. Matt took him around the rink a couple of times. (Natalie is in pink!)



Rory was a little concerned about the ice, so he and Connie went around once together.


Pics of John and Connie:





We had big plans for the weekend...organizing, cleaning....decided just to relax. It was nice.

After Matt left, Hobbes went into withdrawal. I think he was seeking comfort from my other furry friends.

Trip to Grams

Megan and Andy decided that Megan and Jesse should stay another week, so we took some family pics before Andy set off.


Megan had been really disappointed that she wasn't able to visit Gram, so we took off for another coast trip.

Our first stop on a quick driving tour was the Garibaldi boat docks. Megan and Jesse enjoyed a quick stroll.




I love the textures and colors at these boat docks. I always have to take pictures....







Of course we had to check out the bar....





Along Latimer Road, we spotted some elk and jumped out to take a few quick pics. The first picture was before they noticed us...


And this was after!


Matt had to work that day, but he and Dad traveled over to Grams together in the evening, and we all enjoyed the night with gram and my aunts and uncles.

Day Trip to the Coast

Because Megan and Andy only planned to stay a week, we decided to make a "day trip" to the Oregon Coast. (If you have lived at the coast and then move inland, you actually go through withdrawals at about six months, which get progressively worse until you almost can't function...and Megan was there!)

We headed out in weather that looked less than optimal!


First we stopped at Lincoln City Beach and decided to feed the monstrous gulls! These guys were AGGRESSIVE! They would dive bomb you in the AIR and take the food out of your hands as you prepared to throw it!!


This is my birdlady moment....my dear sisters think my expression paired with the position of my hood make me look especially goofy...



Little beggar!


They seemed to think that dad's car was a spectacular taking off point!



Some crazy people got out and ran around the beach! The wind was so strong it just about blew you over!

Megan


Megan and Katie


Dad Megan and Katie


Next we headed a little south and stopped at another favorite beach:

Family picture


Andy at the beach in THONGS!


Matt


Mom freezing


Megan and Jesse


Jesse taking it all in....


The beach was covered in foam:


Sadly, I even found a casualty...but he was still fascinating! Can you tell what it is?


The wind was transforming the tops of the waves into filmy veils:


After getting very wet and cold, we decided to grab a bite to eat at Mos.

Check out Jesses hat hair!


While we were waiting for food, someone gave Jesse a lemon slice. Check out these faces!



He must have liked it though because he wanted another one!

Christmas Day

Christmas morning (or actually I think it was the day before Christmas) dad found a way to plug the generator into the house so that we could have lights!! We enjoyed seeing the Christmas lights and had a good morning.

A boy, his cat, and a cow....nothing better!


The cows were very happy to be reunited. They spent most of Christmas in a pile! (If you don't know Tessa and the gang, it's a long, long, long story....)



We all pitched in to help with Christmas dinner. Because it was colder outside that it was in the refrigerator, we cooled the jello salad OUTSIDE!


Matt made pie:


Megan sliced yummy English cheese...drooooooool. (My favorites - stilton with mangos and ginger and cotswold.)


Late morning, the electricity came back on!!! The first thing mom and dad did was WASH DISHES!!!