Go for a Hike

It has been raining in Portland almost every day and especially on the weekends. Mom and I haven't been able to get out and see some of the things we would like to. We have been wanting to go hiking but the weather just wouldn't cooperate. Finally, we had a good day on Saturday, January 22nd. The temperature was in the upper 40's/low 50"s and the sun was out. It had rained up till the day before but, finally, a dry warm day. He headed to Hoyt Arboretum. It is a park in the Portland area that has numerous hiking trails and outdoor things to do. It is next to the Portland Zoo so we didn't have to drive too far. The traffic was terrible, and even though the distance was short, 12 miles, it still took an hour to get there. We had a nice time but everyone else in the city had the same idea and the trails were full of people. Regardless, it was still a nice day and we took a two hour walk through the woods.

We didnt take any pictures while we were out but found some on the places website to use. It was a nice place but a bit muddy and crowded. It was good to get out and walk. Above is a picture of one of the bridges nd below is a map of the trails.

Mom and I are now the Sunbeam teachers in our Ward. This is the 3 and 4 year olds. If they all show up, there are 7 of them. They are a handfull to say the least but they are very cute and we are enjoying the experience. We have one named Connor and he has lots of energy. (Does this sound like any other Connor you might know). There are 4 girls and three boys. I take the boys to the bathroom and Mom takes the girls. It seems like more than four when we are in there. They crawl on the floor, climb under the stall doors and walls and love to play in the water. Fortunately there were only two there today, even though it seemed like four.

Mom and I have made our plane reservations for our trim in late June and early July. We will fly to KC on the 29th, stay for a few days, drive to Oklahoma for a couple of days and then fly to Rochester on the 7th.. From Rochester we will fly home after the pagent in Palmyra. We are also trying to plan to come back to KC in mid March.

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Christmas

As you all know we were unable to return to Kearney for Christmas. However, Dad did enjoy spending the weekend before Christmas with Gabe's family, Becky's family and Nellie. I am very thankful for modern technology which allowed me to be there using Skype. This year I was able to see everyone open their presents and to observe what was going on. As I watched Dad jump up once during the opening of presents to get bags for the grandchildren to put their things in or get distracted by someone talking to him, I realized that in years past that was probably me. I wondered how much I had missed because of distractions. This year there were no distractions and I was able to absorb it all. This was actually a unique experience that I enjoyed until it came time for hugs and kisses. The physical contact was hard to do without! And once again I am thankful for modern technology. The digital picture frame displaying all the Christmas pictures is great!

Dad and I picked Nellie up at the Portland Airport on the Thursday before Christmas! She and Zoey made the trip just fine. While she was here we took her to the coast where she insisted on touching the Pacific Ocean. And although the waves were very turbulent and rough she managed to get her fingers wet when they rolled back out. (I managed another lighthouse picture too.)We also were able to get very close to a high waterfall in the mountains on our way back from the coast. She and I made jewelry, gingerbread houses, Christmas cookies, snack mix and ate and ate and ate! She wore Dad out doing "Just Dance " on the Wii. Zoey, who wanted to be sure everyone received something for Christmas from her, made little chocolate colored presents and left them throughout the apartment for us. (She preferred to leave them on the Christmas tree skirt under the tree.) Sunday came much too soon.That morning we took Nellie to the airport to fly home. I cried all of Sunday morning and part of the afternoon. We miss all of you soooo much! As I said before though I am grateful for modern technology. I don't know how my Mom's generation managed without Skype, cell phones, facebook, blogs,etc. I would be totally depressed right now without them.

                                                                   Zoey at the ocean.

                                                          The waterfall in the mountains.

                                                                      The Pacific Ocean.

 All of us and the lighthouse on the Oregon coast.(Zoey is back in the car wiggling out of her carrier and peeing on the car seat to let us know how she felt about being left behind.)

                                            It was a little windy the day we went to the coast.

Nellie trying to get close enough to the ocean to touch it with me in the background hollering, "Don't do it!"

                                     
                                             You can see the turbulent waves behind them.

The Pacific Ocean.

Cape Meares.

Thank you Rachel and Dean.

Thank you again.

Thank you Caleb and Camber!

Gingerbread Houses! Yum!

                                       

Nellie loves opening presents.

Merry Christmas to All!

 

New Year's Eve Dad and I went to a dance. We really need to brush up especially on the waltz.The waltz seemed to be the dance of the evening. I think it was more fun for me than for your dad. I appreciate him doing that for me.

New Year's feast.

Close up of the feast. Happy New Year!

Another Lighthouse

Saturday, December 11th Dad and I drove Michael from Fushing, Blount's agent in Taiwan, to Corvallis to see his son who is going to Oregon State University. Corvallis is about three hours south of Portland. After we helped Michael find his son, rent a car and have lunch at a Chinese noodle place we headed for the coast. The drive to the coast took about an hour and a half. The weather wasn't the best. It was drizzling and cool. We were on a mission to find the whale center at Depot Bay though. This is the time of year to view the gray whales heading south.  We were unable to get to Depot Bay before the whale center closed but we added another lighthouse picture to our repertoire of lighthouse pictures. Our goal is to travel the entire west coast of Portland taking pictures of all the lighthouses. Even with all the drizzle and fog we had a great time. The ocean has always had a mesmerizing affect on Dad and I. We could sit for hours and listen to the waves crash against the shore.