OREGON COAST!!

Steve's dad recently moved to Warrenton, Oregon which is 10 minutes north of Seaside. We had intended to go for a visit over Christmas, but with the bad weather, we were not able to make it. So, we decided to go this weekend. We left Friday and came home Saturday night. It was a beautiful weekend at the Oregon coast. Everyone at home was socked in with fog and over there were blue skies and great sunshine. The temperature was around 50 to 55 degrees, which is not hot, but definitely nice enough to not always wear a coat. We love visiting the coast and had a great time visiting with Papa Howard and Francine. We exchanged Christmas gifts, ate at Fultano's Pizza (which is our favorite) and spent time enjoying the beach.


Ally, AJ, Francine and Papa Howard on the beach at Seaside. The winds were very calm here that day.

Steve and Ally on the Prom at Seaside.

Overlooking Cannon Beach from Ecola State Park. This is one of our favorite spots!

More views from Ecola State Park. And the people are kind of cute too:)!

This is an old shipwreck at Fort Stevens State Park. The massive ship ran ashore in 1906 and this is what is left. We thought it was pretty cool.

Sunsets at Sunset Beach. We could not keep the kids out of the water, and unfortunately we were not prepared for them to get wet and sandy. Oh well, they can be cleaned and dried off. They like to see if they can "outrun" the waves coming on shore.

We don't look so bad either. The shadows of the sunset make it look romantic, don't you think?:) We love this area and plan to visit more! God's creation is amazing. Look at the magnificent beach and rock formations! Truly a beautiful site!

AJ did it AGAIN!!!

Yes! You see it! AJ broke his arm. He ended his Winter Break with a break:) He was at basketball practice on Saturday and was knocked down, fell on his left arm and voila....it's broken:( We got to spend 4 hours at the ER once again. If you remember, we were there about 1 month ago for stitches in his forehead. This is not the way I wanted to bring in the new year. He was a trooper, however...no tears! I am thankful that he is so brave and tough. But I pray that we have no more incidents for awhile. I have had enough of emergency room visits for now. The biggest bummer is that he will miss most of basketball season now....and he was really starting to improve! Oh well....there is always next year....AND BASEBALL!!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I am finally updating our blog after all the holiday festivities. Sorry it is so long....
We had a great 2 weeks of family, food and fun. We spent Christmas Eve at Steve's sister Sue's house. Grandma, Barb and Brittney were there as well along with Sam and Sarah, of course. We played games, ate great food and shared wonderful gifts. We are lucky to have some family relatively close. It was great to see Barb and Brittney, as they do not live here. The snow did not keep the fun away, in fact, made it somewhat more festive. We thank all of you for the great gifts! We did not get to see Steve's dad this time, due to bad weather. We hope to get there in January for a visit and a late Christmas.


Grandma with all her "babies"



The Hall family...Sue, Sam and Sarah (Christmas is also their birthday!)
Barb and Brittney....Looking good, ladies!

Our family....okay, Steve and Susan do exist, sometimes!

The grandchildren!

Christmas day was spent at our house...just the 4 of us. The kids were up early of course, to see what Santa brought them. They both got Guitar Hero; AJ got a bow and arrow set (foam darts of course) and a new game for the Wii; Ally got a new digital camera and a new Tinkerbell to add to her collection. We spent the day resting and cleaning because Susan's parents were coming for a visit and staying for the next week.




Oh, yeah...Ally got a new bike, too.


We had a great visit with Grandma Andy and Pappa John. Again, lots of food, shopping and papa doing some chores for us....Thanks, Dad!! We appreciated all the gifts and time spent with you.






It is always sad to see the holidays go by so quickly. All that remains now, is a mess in the livingroom....the boxed up decorations waiting to be put back in the garage. But I love this time of year and the time spent with family. The real meaning of Christmas can get lost in the shuffle, but we pray that the new year brings much happiness and prosperity!