Annual ride on Amtrak to CA

I didn't really ride the freight train but took this picture of a UP train when the kids and I went to play along the tracks, don't tell their parents. It was a cool place but I don't really like them hanging out there without grandma but I'm pretty sure they do. My Amtrak experience was pretty good this year, the train was on time both ways which is a miracle in itself. I slept well and the people I met were quite normal, sorry no funny stories. I sat by a very liberal woman from CA who had, accidentally, one child and that was enough and I listened to her all evening. She didn't ask me one question and I was afraid to tell her we had 8 children on purpose. I liked her stories though and she didn't snore or cough so she was great. On the way home they gave me another sleeper car free, I'm not sure why, I think it's Dad's pass but it was WONDERFUL! You would have laughed if you could have seen me trying to put the seats down to make my bed, couldn't read the instructions, some cute young guy finally came to my aid. I always love the ride home, the mountains had snow and Autumn leaves, I read and napped and had a wonderful day.

I've never seen any one put their hair up in rags but isn't she adorable? The before photo: AFTER! Love those curls! Love this girl and spending time with her.

In and Out for lunch after a fun movie.

I'm so glad we haven't outgrown the $ Store game, it's a favorite.

The weather was fantastic and I LOVE these trees, the streets were lined with them as well as Autumn leaves. Ben, Bella and Joshie on our walk to the tracks.

Holy smokes, what is this boy doing?? Scared me to death when I looked out the window and he and Bella were both shooting BB guns in the back yard. They know how to be careful and all was well.

Thanks Melanie and Andy for a wonderful few days, I feel so comfortable at your house and loving visiting and catching up and eating all your yummy food, thanks to Andy and Beth, I can say brussel sprouts are delicious. Love you!

Halloween Fun went on and on

It all started with a weekend trip to visit Marc and Connie to go to a Tigard game. It was so much fun to spend time with them and watch Kellen and Caleb play soccer. Darren, Joseph and Justin drove down from Seattle to meet us and we had such a great time.

The game was awesome and Tigard won, of course. Kellen was a ball boy and that was fun to watch this little guy running out with the ball and water that weighed more than he does.
Joseph had a great time playing on the side lines with him.

The next day was beautiful and we took our annual trek to their really super fun

pumpkin patch. Aren't they adorable?

Joseph just lost his tooth before this picture was taken.

After that trip dad and I tood the day care kids to the pumpkin patch and then had a littlel party with them. They were all adorable this year.

Next the young single adult had a fun pumpkin carving FHE and then a dance on Friday. The fun never ends around here!

We were so lucky to have Jenni and Michael visit for a few days and she was such a good sport and accompanied us to all our various activities and was here for Spooky Dinner with the Mitchells. Who knew we would be able to see so much family and have such a great October? This Fall has been beautiful here in Oregon and we feel very blessed.

Meeting our new baby, Erica Ruth Jolley.

I could hardly wait to see Erica in person and was able to take a nice relaxing train ride to Seattle and spend a few days with her and her family, it was amazing. She is so precious and adorable and so much fun to sit and admire and snuggle hour after hour, which is pretty much what I did.

She still has her days and nights mixed up so Jill isn't getting much rest but other than that she is very calm and content and just a joy to her family. Her brothers are totally loving having a sister, the first thing Justin said when he saw me was, "Grandma, we have a new baby sister and she is sooooo cute!"

I did manage to tear myself away long enough to go to Joseph's soccer game on Saturday which was a very rainy day but it was a blast watching the little kids run around the field. Justin came prepared with his boots and took full advantage of them playing in the puddles. That was the only bad weather day we had while I was there the other days were beautiful.

Joseph and friends waiting for the game to begin. Cool dudes!

We made cookies, did some shopping, went to church, played games and just had a great time together. I loved having the job of driving Joseph to school every morning, he is in 1st grade already and just looked like such a big boy going off all by himself to the play ground for a few minutes before school started. I know it will feel like a blink of the eye and Erica will be in first grade since I remember visiting Bethany as a new born as if it were last week and she just informed me today that she will be taking drivers ed starting Monday. They grow up too fast!!

Shouldn't Jenni just be learning to drive?

It's so true that time flies when you are having fun and my visit came to an end but I am so grateful for those days and being able to bond with Erica, I miss her and I love her to pieces!! Thanks Darren and Jill, Joseph and Justin for having me.

Erica Ruth Jolley at age 2 weeks.

Horseshoe Bend Fix

Wow, I'm having trouble getting these photos to move where I want them and no time to fix it.
Take notice Jenni and Steph of Whitehorse Falls, your favorite to play in. They have a lot more water going in to it now and they built this new observation deck.

Lemolo Falls, our newest discovery.

We knew we were taking a big chance going to Horseshoe the last week of August and thought it would be really crowded but instead it had rained that day and everyone moved out, we had the place to ourselves. The rain stopped as soon as we got there but we know better than to go without the fashionable blue tarps, just in case. It never rained again and got warmer every day.

Bruce in his favorite spot, he fished early mornings and evenings and we went on outings, played games, read and had a great time during the day.

Warming up after standing in the river for hours, I never did understand that. He caught some nice fish but it's catch and release there so we only broke the law once and ate one for breakfast. Yummy!

About Lemolo Falls (first photo) I can't believe we have never heard of it after 24 years. I don't know if it was that we hiked right after lunch or if I'm that out of shape but it was a long way in and out, you'll see from my face in the next picture that I was exhausted, Bruce just looks as though he went on a nice stroll, grrrrrrrrrr. I'm sure that sign lies! Plus, we had been hearing about bears and cougars and I was a little freaked out the whole time, we saw one other couple on the trail.

We both admitted being concerned about going without any family and we missed you all so much but we had a wonderful time and there was a memory around every corner and we had such fun talking about them, too many to mention but they are the best!

Who says it's never nice on the Oregon Coast?

Two great days, photos in no particular order.

Take #150

Sorry Em, I had to include this one...we were trying so hard to get the kids to smile, she was exhaused.

You have to go to Mo's, right? It was so delicious!

I wish you could see that Carly's sweatshirt has whales on it, so cute!

They never tired of this activity.

This is when we weren't watching Carly and she fell and hurt her head on a pointed rock, sorry sweetie but you have to get the photo.
SUPER GREAT TIME!

Super fun birthday week

We were so lucky to have Emily and the kids visit for a week this month because of her class reunion. She was busy with the reunion for a couple days so that gave us time to play with the kids, it was great. To make it even more fun, Jill, Joseph and Justin came down from Seattle for a few days. Here are a few favorite photos. Carly is really enjoying her piece of Grandpa's corn on the cob. It was slow coming this year but finally made it and was delicious. I can't say as much for the tomatoes though, they still aren't ripe except for the hanging plant tomatoes, they did great.

After a fun afternoon at SPLASH, we had a picnic with the Mitchells. Warner and I exchanged our gifts and they were great, as always. It was a very fun evening but the boys were exhausted and Easton got a sliver in his foot so it was bed time. Another fun thing about the week was the great weather and we were able to sit out every night and visit with Em and Jill while we watched for the plane.

Here is Joseph having a good time at BOUNCE, they ran and played for an hour and had so much fun. Jill, Em and I were anxious to leave as it smelled in there:)

The kids had such fun together, jumping on the tramp, watching movies, riding bikes, picking blueberries and most of all playing with Grandpa's train.

I love this picture of Em and Jill, look at her adorable baby tummy! Thanks girls for making my birthday extra special.

I almost forgot this picture of Carly, Em was at her reunion and we were watching the kids, it got real quiet so Dad went looking for her and found her IN the suitcase. Cutie Pie!

I'm grateful for another birthday and all the love shown by my family and friends. Life is so great!

HOT Topics

Our Summer vacation to celebrate retirement with those who couldn't attend our Oregon parties.
HOT Spot #1 UTAH !! Warning this blog is long, it should be three or four separate ones but there wasn't time on vacation to blog so here we go, stay with me if you can. We thought the weather was hot while visiting Jenni and Michael in Provo but looking back it was marvelous weather there and we should have appreciated it more even though we were sweating when we were walking at 7:00 am. This is a picture of their new home, a four plex and they live on the top right. It's adorable and they love it and we loved helping them get it whipped into shape.

Yes, finally the shelves are up! Several attempts have been made but Bruce the Builder was the one to succeed. Jenni was soooo happy.

Most of our down time was spent playing scrabble, they are sitting next to each other playing scrabble on line, silly huh? Fun though. We had a great time with them, Michael worked a lot put popped in and out and met us for meals and I failed to get even one photo of him.

Anne brought Ben and Bella down from SLC for the evening one night and we had a rip roaring game of Yahtzee and Grandpa took us out for ice cream. The days flew by and it was time to say good by and you know how I feel about that! It was such a joy to spend time with them and see them working and playing hard and loving their life in Provo.

On down the freeway to Beaver, my beloved home town. I do so love it there and had a wonderful time with my sisters, their families and mother. It is never long enough for me, I think it would make a wonderful retirement home. Emily and the kids like it there as well and joined us for a few days which was such a treat. Easton loves to be able to play outside in the yard, go for walks and play with Great Grandma's REALLY old toys.

Is this cute or what? We did a lot of sitting out in Beaver, the sky at night is amazing there.

We took a little trip to Cove Fort which was really interesting and fun for all, a must see if you are ever in the area.

This is Ponderosa Park and I had to get a picture of them on the rock because I used to sit on that rock and eat my watermelon after our many picnics as a kid. Lots of memories of this place.

HOTTER spot #2 (weather wise I mean:) Las Vegas

Celebrating Carly's first birthday in air conditioning at the Bellagio, it is such an amazing place and we never tire of visiting. She is such a living doll and she liked us, I was worried about that.

Here she is at the children's museum the next day, love this picture because it shows her cute little teeth. Em drove all over town determined to find Pawn Stars for Dad which she eventually did, we went in but they are to famous to come to work now days so everyone there was disappointed but it was fun for him. We love hanging out with Em and Steve and the kids and it was such a special treat to be there for Carly's birthday.

HOTTER spot #3 California - On the road again. It was great having a few days to rest and visit with family in between our hours in the car. The trip to Yosemite was very interesting, miles of desolation and miles of beauty I guess is the best way I can describe it. We loved it there! We spent the night in a cute little town, June Lake, and drove through the park the next day. It would be fun to spend more time there some day, not in July though, too many people.

These two pictures are out of order but they are Ben at horse camp here in Eugene, which Ben is crazy about, and Bella showing just how much she enjoys going to horse camp. We brought them home from California with us to spend a few days and we had a great time.

FUN days with the Sorensens in California. Nick is as tall as Grandpa now!

They have NINE puppies!

California State Fair, it was so HOT! I talked Grandpa into going on the tilt a whirl with Ben and I felt terrible because it made him pretty sick but other than that we all had such a fun day.

Yep, he rang the bell and won a toy. He is one strong boy. We went swimming, played games, ate great food and just enjoyed being together and soon it was time to move on one more time.


HOTTEST spot #4 Springfield MO

It's been too long since we visited Jason in Missouri so we took this opportunity to celebrate with them too and it was so fun. They were all there to meet us at midnight at the airport and we spent five fun filled days with them. This is Jason's new office at Missouri State.

A fun picnic and swim at a state park, Megan and Kevin are off in the lake, those two love to be in the water. Jason and Lu have a pool in their complex so we took advantage of that several times.

Super Saturday fun with Andrea and Megan at the church. We went to lots of yummy restaurants and tried to get into Lambert's Cafe but it was a two hour wait, maybe next time.

Adorable family photo and yes, Sammy is a member of the family.

Andrea has a friend who owns a house on the lake and let us spend the night there on our way to Branson, it was a beautiful home and spectacular view!

Toy Museum in Branson, I loved this place, it was filled with wall to wall toys, old and new. I found a toy coke machine that I played with as a kid and my Bonnie Braids doll. FUN! We had a very fun but hot day in Branson and the highlight was the Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede Dinner attraction, it was amazing! So much delicious food and great entertainment.

Jason and Lu cooked a delicious breakfast just before it was time to leave.

Central High School's most adorable cheer leader. We hope she has a wonderful freshman year.

Well, thats it in a nutshell, there are a lot more pictures and lots more to say but mostly I just want to say what a great trip we had visiting people we love. Thanks to everyone for having us and for taking SUCH GOOD care of us. We love you and are so blessed to have such a wonderful family.