What A Long, Strange Trip Its Been

Actually it wasn't strange, just long, but we had a great time in Oregon. We ran on the salt flats on the way there and on the way back. We visited a farm and went to the Oregon Coast. The coast is so scenic and beautiful. We had a great Thanksgiving dinner and I went shopping for the first time on Black Friday. I got up at 6:30 and not 2:30 a.m. like so many crazy people I heard about. Here are some photos of the trip.

Running on the West Salt Flats

Riding on a Belgian draft horse named Tucker

Tucker was enormous

The boys with Grandma and Grandpa at the coast

We found a starfish in one of the tide pools

The boys loved playing in the cold water

Mud mishap for hubby at the East Salt Flats

Superheroes

Boy #2 has a preschool friend who enjoys superheroes as much as the next three year old. Here they are enjoying some costumes.

Batman and Superman hanging out together

What Are The Chances?

My husband and I currently have two favorite artists that we have recently discovered. One is Fanfarlo and one is Mason Jennings. What a surprise to find that both of them were playing in the Big City on the same night! We had to choose and based on the ticket price and the likelihood of being able to see one of them again, we went to Fanfarlo. The concert was at a great little venue called the State Room. I wish they had played longer and that I wasn't feeling congested, but it was a good concert anyway.

Grandma Lucy

My husband's last grandma passed away this week. He has lost four grandparents in the last three years. Grandma Lucy was a fabulous great-grandma. She would get down on the floor and play with the boys and one of the favorite games was for her to throw a beach ball at them. She was a tough woman who survived breast cancer, lupus, and uterine cancer. Unfortunately, she did not survive pancreatic cancer. She loved to play games and tell stories. She will be missed by all of us. Goodbye Grandma Lucy.

Grandma Lucy in April 2009
Watching a show with the boys
The boys with Grandma last summer

You're My Only Hope

Halloween has always been a fun time for me. I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that I love almost all candy bars and as a child would get my costume on a few days before Halloween and go trick-or-treating with my friend, Keri, just to get some extra candy. Most people gave us candy even though it wasn't Halloween. Anyway, the boys were going to be Jedis and so I decided to be Princess Leia. Boy #1 had an Obi-Wan Kenobi costume and boy #2 initially had a random Jedi costume. However, boy #2 changed his mind and decided to be a medieval knight. My hair was not long enough for the famous Princess Leia hair but with some ideas from my friends I found something that worked. We had lots of parties to attend on Halloween and by the end of the night we were all pretty tired. Here are some pictures of the costumes.

Yes, those are bagels in my hair