Sarah turns 20!

Suddenly, twenty years have passed since Sarah's birth, and, somehow, it's caught me off guard that she is leaving her teenage years behind. I'm still not sure how that's happened. It's seems like just yesterday when we brought our firstborn home from the hospital...

She actually started celebrating the night before when her suitemates took her out for Thai food. Add a bottle of sparkling cider and it's an occasion!

Her friend, Liza, brought her some birthday treats, too, including homemade oreo/peanut butter brittle - yum!

Because OSU is only an hour and a half from home, I drove down to pick Sarah up to come home to have a weekend birthday celebration. What a delightful change from last year when we celebrated long-distance.

Sarah's birthday dinner request was to have sushi, so we ate at Wassabi, where we had some traditional rolls, and some with more creative ingredients, as well.

Back at home, we let things digest awhile before  enjoying Chocolate birthday cake with peanut butter chips and frosting. Who knew Liza had started a chocolate/peanut butter theme?



Gifts were presented, and Doctor Who socks were the biggest hit. Sarah put them on immediately.

 

Sarah spent the rest of her weekend just the way she wanted. She slept in, shopped a bit for her latest photo project for school, had dinner with friends (where she received yet more gifts!), slept in some more, enjoyed breakfast pizza, spent time with Emily, and then, alas, had to head back to school.

I spent a total of six hours on the road this weekend, picking her up and taking her back to school, and I don't regret a minute of it. The trip is getting more rote each time, and I'm so glad she's close enough this year that we are able to have this time together as a family.

Happy Birthday, Sarah!

Veteran's Day Weekend in Lincoln City

My first grade job ended, and recovery was definitely the order of the day. Suddenly, I realized we had a four-day weekend coming up for Veteran's Day. Not only that, but Emily's band season was over, so she had a free weekend. And Larry had a rare weekend off, too (well, mostly), since he got an extra day off for the holiday. Woo hoo! Could we be lucky enough to find a room at the beach for a family getaway?

The planets aligned and I was able to get an ocean front room at the D Sands motel in Lincoln City. We were on our way!

Larry needed to sleep after working Friday night, so Emily and I drove ahead and got our weekend started. Larry would catch up later. Our first stop was the Tanger Outlet Mall, which, in addition to offering shopping galore, was the site of the Chowder Festival and Cookoff. For a measly $5 admission charge, we could sample chowder from ten restaurants and vote for our favorite. Yum! It was a delicious way to start our weekend. Neither of us chose the ultimate winner, but that just proves there's something out there for everyone.

Chowder tasted and shopping done, we headed for our motel. Uh oh. We didn't realize that the D Sands has no elevator. A third floor room accessed only by stairs was not going to work for me and my cane. Suddenly we had no room. Thankfully, the staff at the D Sands called around and found another room for us, just down the road at the Ester Lee. This, too had an ocean view, and there is a reason this motel's slogan is

"AHH... What you can see from the Ester Lee!!!"

The view from our room was important to me since my ability to walk on the beach is limited these days. I wanted to be able to see and hear the waves. And I could. This was the view from my window. Not too shabby. 

  

Our room also had a gas fireplace, so, despite the cool temps, I was able to open the window and enjoy the relaxing sound of the breaking waves - and enjoy a fire at the same time!

Views from other spots on the property were quite nice, as well.

   

On Saturday Larry and Emily decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather (the planets truly were aligned!) and go for a hike at Cascade Head. While they were gone, I shopped a bit in town, visited a book store to find a book to replace the one I finished too soon, and attended an Arts and Crafts Festival at the Cultural Center. This is an old school building that now lives its life as a place to take classes, attend events, and enjoy activities pertaining to the visual and performing arts. I happened upon the arts and crafts show and found it to be the perfect place for Christmas shopping.

I then decided to take a drive down to Depoe Bay for a more dramatic ocean view. The Side Door Cafe in Gleneden Beach was a delightful lunch stop en route. I was craving a salad and their bronzed salmon ceasar hit the spot.

Depoe Bay always offers that classic "waves crashing against the rocks" view that is so powerful. And it did not disappoint that day.






 



With the sun beginning to set, I hurried home, and was able to capture these pictures of a beautiful sunset from the window of our room!

Larry and Emily returned from their hike, cleaned up, and we went to dinner at The Bay House overlooking Siletz Bay. It was much more upscale than we'd realized, but we had a lovely dinner that was the perfect end to a lovely day.

We left for home the next day after a relaxing few days at the coast. We certainly lucked out with our lodging and the weather. And we are grateful! Who knows when our schedules will all sync again?

Portland Fall 2013

Here's my pictorial homage to Fall in Portland. It's one of my favorite seasons and I am lucky to live in an area of town where there are so many beautiful colors lining the streets. The picture above stopped me in my tracks on the way to work one morning. The streetlight glowing in front of the mass of red leaves took my breath away. I just had to capture the image before the trees lost any more leaves.

There were days when the colors were so vibrant it took my breath away. My camera is broken, so I got to the point where I simply carried my iPad around with me in the car so I could capture trees as I came across them. I was especially drawn to trees that displayed a gradation of colors as the leaves changed.

 

 

 

 

    

 

There's a reason this shrub is called a Firecracker Bush.



We recently had an ash tree come down in our back yard after an evening of high winds.  We loved that tree. It was somehow comforting to see the red maple turn a vibrant red, and stand sentry over its fallen brother. It gave me solace to know that, although we just lost one beloved tree, the normal cycle of life continues.

Not to be outdone, the maple in the front yard showed its colors, too. Good thing I didn't have to wait any longer for a nice day to grab this shot. It had already lost a lot of leaves. I do love the carpet of colors our front yard achieves this time of year.



And just for good measure, some up-close-and-personal shots, too good to pass up.

 

Happy Fall!

Band Season 2013

Emily joined Color Guard last Winter, thinking it might be something she'd enjoy doing. Boy, did it fit the bill. It combined marching, dancing, and throwing, required grace, a sense of rhythm, and dedication. Lots of dedication. And lots of practice. By the time Winter Percussion season was over, she was exhausted, but she was also hooked.

Here's a link to a video of the Indoor Percussion show last Spring.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9ExenOP7mA&feature=youtu.be

Fall has come and gone, and she's now completed her first Marching Band season. What I've discovered and never realized, is that Marching Band is not about half time at football games.



It's about competition. Serious competition. These kids give everything they have to this art. They put in long, hard hours in heat, rain, wind, mud, and anything else Mother Nature throws at them. They come home exhausted and reeking of sweat. And they learn, not just the routine, not just the drill, not just the show's choreography and the music, but about teamwork and commitment and support of one another.

 

 

    

    

    

Here's a link to Sunset's Championship performance, Full Circle, for the 2013 Marching Band season:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k04qyANMQsY

Sunset is blessed to have such strong faculty and staff that make the band program what it is. And parents do their part, too. In fact, the band program couldn't exist without the volunteer efforts of many, many parents.

But, in the end, it's the kids that make it happen. They give everything they have for this thing they love. Emily has made new friends, gained tremendous upper body strength, and now sports killer calf and arm muscles!

At the end of the season, Marching Band members are treated to a Banquet given in their honor. Emily was honored to be the Color Guard member chosen for Best Performance. Good job, Emily!