Christmas Activities and dinners - 2007

Erin is not sure about this but Bodee is dang sure that this stuff is good.

Logan just being a good baby. It looks like this was probably "after" dinner.

Kris and Ben working on a word puzzle book at Erin's.

Davis having a fun time playing with Avery's toys.

The train table in the background is the present Avery and Bodee received from Santa. Pretty neat train setup.

CHRISTMAS 2007

Avery and I were playing Lazer Tag.

This was the dessert that I brought. It's a piece of chocolate cake, with real whipping cream that had candy cane pieces in it and choco. topping

drizzled on top and a small candy cane for decoration. It was very yummy and Christmasy looking.

The chef with the red hat is Jeremy and he is fixing up a plate of dinner for Bodee.

Just hanging out at Erin's waiting for dinner to be served.

We had dinner At Erin's and this is Avery trying on each of his

costumes. I think this one is the Power Ranger one. There is a whole box full that he just loves to wear and pretend with.

Just one on one time with Grandpa

CHRISTMAS 2007

Bodee feeding Logan - - with a little help.

The Garbage Can Drummers

These guys were awesome and even used the dustpan on the side to drum. Kris you would love this.

Best Western Anaheim Inn

This was out hotel right across the street from Disney gates. We had two rooms connected by a door so we could open and come and go when needed.

After the Bug's Life Adventure

Hangin' out with Mader

SITTIN' IN THE CUP

TAKING A BREAK

CALIFORNIA & BEYOND

This was just inside the Disneyland gates. It was such a sunny, warm day and

perfect for having fun with family. Loved every minute - except all of the

miles I walked.

Trip to Leavenworth Autumn Festival

These are some pictures from our trip to Leavenworth for the Autumn Festival. It is a real fun time with music and food and a parade. This is Dad waiting for the parade to start. There were some REd Hat Ladies sitting in front of us and they were fun to watch. Lots of people gathered to see the parade. Afterwards we bought us a bratwurst to eat and did some wandering. Dad remembered that he forgot to bring his tie and belt for his Sunday clothes so we hunted around for a thrift store and luckily found just what he needed for Sunday church. I think we were lucky because the thrift store was very tiny and really didn't have much to pick from. But the tie we found happened to be just the right color and the belt was just his size. We camped at a resort and it was completely full of campers and motorhomes. We actually had cable tv for the weekend - how's that for luxury? The resort was mostly just like a campground though and you got your firepit and table with your site.

Downtown Leavenworth at night, Dad eating breakfast in the camper and watching tv at the same time, Sharon sitting with the pumpkins waiting for the parade to start.

More parade

Eating gingerbread cookies at the Gingerbread Factory. It tasted soooo good and smelled soooo good.

This building was on a side street and it was so beautifully decorated I had to get a picture of it.

This is the grandstand in the middle of town where musicians perform all during the day and evening. There is always music going on and people dancing in the street. They actually have the street blocked off so you can wander back and forth. On the side streets are german sausage stands where you can buy lunch and snacks. The little children seemed to enjoy dancing right in front of the grandstand and even some adults were involved. It just makes for such a happy atmosphere.

This is the beer wagon. It was in the parade and pulled by horses. Here it is just parked in the street for people to take pictures by.

Dad and another tractor at the fruit market.

LEAVENWORTH CHAPEL Sunday morning we attended Fast Meeting here in Leavenworth. It was a very good meeting and enjoyed listening to the members' testimonies. You can see how low the clouds were. It had been raining that morning and everything was so fresh and clean smelling. Rain was definitely needed in the area.

It's a Tractor - of course

I told Dad to pick out something to stand by for his picture and wouldn't you know it would be a tractor. I told him to get up there and sit down but he didn't think the owners would like that.

Anyway - this is what he picked.

Roadside fruit market/pumpkin patch

We stop by this fruit stand every time we go to Leavenworth because they have so many fun displays and things to do and see. We visited later in the day on Saturday so it was a little cool by then and kind of windy. When we went inside the building to pay for our apples, there was a fire in the wood stove and it really felt good. I just wanted to pull up a chair and stay awhile.

Avery had been playing with the Legos - - which he really loves. We made space ships here. It was fun to scatter the Legos out on the table and play together. He said they have Legos at his school and he really likes them. Cute smile, Av!!

The Oreo Kid

This is Bodee after the Oreo snack.

Greenbluff Saturday and donuts

We went to Greenbluff yesterday to have lunch and get a donut and some apples. It was their first weekend to be open so the traffic was very light and we had good parking places. We got us a bbp'd pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw and drinks and then walked up to Harvest House for a freshly made pumpkin donut. They are so yummy and hot! This picture shows the area just outside of the Harvest House building and they are cooking donuts here. The smell gets you every time. Just ask Mindy. From there we went to another orchard - Seimers - and bought a couple of sacks of apples and some cider. The next few weeks will be busy times there as they have a corn maze and a castle and train rides. From there we went to the shop and picked up Dad's trailer load of aluminum siding to take to Cory's place. Stopped at Costco and got a couple of pizzas to share with them for dinner. Jake and Matt were gone for the weekend but we visited with the other boys and had some dinner too. They had just gotten back from the Father/Son outing and so Grant and Scott had lots to talk about. It was a nice day - cool , but we had sunshine. I would have taken more picts. but the batteries gave out. Darn.

Rockin' at the Rockin' B Ranch Show

Dad and I are sitting at our table watching the musical show and eating BBQ at the RAnch. It was a real fun evening.

THE PLUM TREE

This is our little plum tree. We have been waiting for this day - prunes to pick. It really outdid itself this year and we will enjoy the canned fruit this winter. For such a little tree it really did produce well. The birds were enjoying the plumbs too so I hung a couple of old cd's on the tree to scare them away. I read that this really works. I haven't noticed any birds around the tree so maybe it did. Anyway, I decided to go ahead and pick the fruit and can it.

Tree branch with prunes hanging on for dear life. You have to look close but they really are still there.

Bowl of plums from our tree. I actually picked four bowls like this and there are still plums left to pick. They could have gone a little longer because some were a little green but the birds were having a hayday and some were dropping on the ground. Thus, I decided it was time to pick.

A Jar filled with plums

The Finished Product

These are the prunes after being canned in a hot water bath - cooling on my counter.

The Lake Roosevelt Cruise Boat

After getting off the Keller Ferry we stopped at the rental docks. They have these big houseboats to rent for cruising up and down the Columbia River. Two of them had just docked and their guests were unloading their gear. There are black carts you put all of your stuff in to take up to your car. We asked if we could go on board to look one over and the guy said it was okay. ( Actually, there was a long line of these boats all docked and ready to rent. ) These pictures show what we saw and it was fun to imagine taking a cruise on one. Dad thought it would be fun to do a family weekend on one until he saw the price. ha ha For a 3-day weekend it costs $2000 and you can have up to 12 people on board. He still thinks it would be fun. You have to reserve by December in order to get a boat and the down-payment is $500. Well, we can dream can't we. I suppose that isn't too bad considering the days on board and the fun you would have. However, I am not sure if just camping isn't just as fun.

The slide that starts on the upper deck and you slide into the lake. Looking at the dining and kitchen area from the sleeping quarters. It is really nice inside and quite roomy. I can see where it would be fun to stay for a short amount of time but you would need to have activities to do plus swimming. The boat can dock at the various dock sites and camping areas up and down the River. The Columbia goes for a long distance so that makes it nice for cruising. They have a map of the area that you are allowed to go and the different places you can stop at. There is an upper deck for sitting and also that is how you get to the slide .

The sleeping area. Three queens, 3 twins.

Standing at the door this is the view of the dining and kitchen area. There are two hide-a-beds on either side also. It is equiped with all pans and utensils. You just bring the linens and food and people. That is Dad on the left looking over the rule book. There is a video class that you take beforehand to learn how to drive the boat etc.

Labor Day camping at Tiffany's Resort on Curlew Lake

This is the campground where we camped over Labor Day weekend. We drove up on Friday and stayed until Monday afternoon. It is a nice resort with room for Rv's and has cabins to rent also. It is one of the campgrounds on Curlew Lake. ( We had been to this Lake in 1970 when Cory was a year. That particular campground is now closed. ) Tiffnay's was very clean and they had boats to rent. We didn't haul our boat this time so renting was a good thing for us. It is three miles from Republic so we were able to attend church on Sunday. There is a branch in Republic and they have a nice, small chapel to meet in. We enjoyed their Fast Meeting and Sunday School. There were about 60 members present. After church we ate our lunch that we brought with us by the park in town and then drove to Tonasket, Omak and Okanagan - just for a drive. No fishing on Sunday but we did eat some fish for dinner that some people had given to us. They had caught some from the dock and saw that we werent catching any so they gave us two. How nice!

Saturday Fun

Dad is getting the fishing gear in the boat so we can go fishing. It's a beautiful day and just right for fishing but we didn't get too many bites. That afternoon Dad went out again and then after dinner we fished from the dock. There were quite a few people fishing on the dock at night. It's pretty nice out there because it's lit up and there are tables and benches that make it convenient.