Oregon III

What? You want more Oregon pictures? Oh, alright. If I must. Just to please you. But this is the last time.

Joseph and Ethan at Oswald West beach.

Me and my little Linkies. It's not the most flattering picture but you don't mind, do you? Better not.

Who can hop across the log the best? Haha - this is sooo Nuttall.

Ethan and his family spent some time making the perfect river crossing.

Well, that's it for Oregon. It had been almost two years since we were there last and it was great to get back. And, as always, it was great to see Ethan's family again. I think it was just what Ethan needed to sustain him through his last semester of school. That's what we're focused on now. Getting done with school and what to do after that. What to do?

Oregon II

And more pictures:

Oregon

We loved it and we miss it. And so we share more pictures:

Christmas Toys

A few posts ago I mentioned Ethan and I were making Christmas gifts. Last year I made felt food for Libby, but beyond that, Ethan and I have never made toys before. We had a lot of fun (even though we worried they wouldn't be finished for Christmas) and were pleased with the results. The kids seemed to be pleased as well.

Ethan made these things:

A carrying tote for Lincoln and a set of building blocks made from the trunk of last year's Christmas tree and a felled branch from a tree in our yard.

A wood rifle for Hudson.

I made:

A felt needle book with . . .

embroidery floss and needles inside. She says she loves this gift and having it makes her feel like a teenager.

Two bags for Hudson to keep his new hammer and nails in. I freezer paper stenciled a hammer on the hammer bag and nails on the nail bag. I should have picked a different paint color - it looked brighter when I bought it.

And I made this fort kit for all the kids based on this one I found online. The kit comes with two sheets, a handful of clips, clothesline and some suction cup hooks. One of the sheets has a casing on two side with clothesline through it (the light colored sheet you see in the picture). The other sheet has looped ties stitched to each corner and side.

It provides hours of fun.

We spent quite a lot of time selecting just the right toys to give the kids for Christmas but I'll have to wait for another post to tell you all about that process.

Christmas Decorations

One of my favorite things about our Christmas holiday was our Christmas decorations. A couple handmade garlands and treasures found on the beach were all we needed to make the beach house merry.

Maria made a garland by hand knitting some yarn during our long road trip to Oregon.

Here it is displayed on the mantel.

Another garland was fashioned from strips of fabric, tied together. Driftwood, small rocks, feathers and shells were gathered from the beach. We simply tied hemp string around them to make ornaments.

Several pieces of driftwood delivered a happy message.

The perfect topper for a Christmas Beach Tree.

It was so much fun to create our own Christmas decorations and it made the season all the more jolly.

Oregon: Top Ten

We went to Oregon for Christmas, where Ethan's family lives. To accommodate the growing family (all of Ethan's siblings would be there for the holiday as well) we, as a family, rented a house close to the beach. It was amazing and we have many fond memories. I've had a hard time deciding what to share with you, hence the delay in posting anything about the holidays. But I'm ready to begin, and I do so by sharing with you my top ten favorite pictures.

And here they are, in no particular order:

More coming soon.

A New Year

We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. I will soon post pictures of our wonderful Christmas vacation. Here's a quick preview: