Stephen and I made time for a Christmas date and got to experience a slice of our quirky city. First, we drove over to Milwaukie along the east side of the Willamette River to see the Christmas ship parade. When we got there, a bonfire was roaring on the river’s edge, and we stood watching… Read More PDX Christmas Date
When looking for Christmas events in the area, I instantly knew I wanted to visit Ft. Vancouver over in Washington. Having grown up near Prickett’s Fort in WV, my family and I would often visit the Revolutionary-War-era stockade for their Christmas event. Each year they served wassail and molasses cookies–a favorite of mine! So, a… Read More Christmas at Fort Vancouver
I’ve been so busy doing nothing this Christmas break, that I just haven’t had time to blog! Early in December I had my wisdom teeth removed (finally!), and a friend of mine came over for two days to take care of me and the kids. Debbie is such a sweetheart to serve us so selflessly.… Read More Zoo Lights & Other Celebrations
The first weekend in December was GreenLoop’s holiday party. Since there’s only one other GreenLoop employee in Portland, he and Stephen (& all of us) were invited to Bend for the weekend to celebrate. Bend is an inviting mountain city in Oregon’s high desert about three hours southeast of Portland. We took the western/southern route… Read More Weekend in Bend
We made a memory and cut down our first Christmas tree this year. Furrow Farm is a cute little family farm up the road that we visited Thanksgiving weekend. The day was cold and a little rainy, but it felt like winter, so that was a plus! The kids were all bundled up, we pulled… Read More Cuttin’ Down Our Christmas Tree
Fall in Oregon is dazzling! This October has been dry, warm, and sunny–especially compared to last year. By now, most of the leaves are either gone or have turned brown, but it’s been a beauty of a season! We explored Sauvie Island (an island in the Columbia River) one weekend. Though it’s just across the river… Read More Autumn Activities
Summer vacation began with a bang as we hosted our housewarming party during a triple digit heat wave in late June. We enjoyed time with neighbors and friends from both church and school. Swim lessons were a staple nearly every weekday until mid-August. Silas finally advanced to Level 2. Hooray! Stephen attended weekly classes for… Read More Summer Recap
Cape Disappointment did NOT disappoint! It was a fantastic weekend with friends. Since this was our first family tent-camping trip, I compiled a packing list from this mom’s blog and added my own ideas too. I’m happy to say that we brought pretty much everything we needed–although I would definitely bring more paper towels, Styrofoam cups,… Read More Cape Disappointment Camping
Vegetable garden, that is. Growing up in WV, I would transplant daffodils and ferns from the nearby creek to decorate our yard. Several friends would gift perennials to add to my collection. But flower gardens became a thing of the past once I married. Working full-time those first three years of marriage meant that I… Read More My First Garden
At the magic hour, we celebrated God’s good gift of family with a photo shoot at Portland’s Laurelhurst Park. The golden light filtering through the stately old trees dappled the park in beauty. Our photographer, Nick Varady-Szabo, helped us relax in front of the camera by asking us to sing silly songs with the kids and… Read More Into the Wild of this Grace