Chirstmas in Lincoln City, 2008

So, for Christmas this year, instead of doing the normal bustle to buy gifts people don't need with money we don't have, my family decided to go to rent a beach house, instead! We all headed out there Wednesday morning, and after a long and eventful drive, we arrived a bit after 5pm. The house was wonderful! It had two bedrooms with comfy queen-sized beds, in which Mom and Ed, and Sandi and Tony stayed in. Paul and I and the boys got the third bedroom, a full bed bunked with a twin on top. It was quite the adventure in finding the proper setup for comfy sleeping, for the 4 of us. Alicia and Anna kindly took residence on the couches, and later Alicia borrowed our aerobed. The back deck had a beautiful view of the lake, with a huge hard for our boys and mom's two dogs to run and play in. Poor Hobie did an overzealous jump onto the mini-dock, and fell in on the first night! Paul rescued him, and he was much more careful the rest of the stay.We did not bring a tree with us, but thanks to a lighted fake plant and Alicia's ornaments and mini-lights, we had a festive enough centerpiece for our Christmas stay.
We of course gave the boys gifts, and they loved their giant chewies. They were over 2 feet long! It was a challenge to carry them around and chew on them, but they were up for it.

In addition to the giant chewies, they each got a stuffed toy. Gaius got a little stuffed green reindeer, and Hobie got a new wubba. A wubba, if you don't know, is what we call Hobie's stuffed rooster that he likes to suck and knead on. We have spares from Target, just in case!

After a good breakfast, we all sat around to open gifts. Instead of the usual assortment of gifts, everyone just gave something that was their favorite to the rest of the group. Such as the wonderful Smartwool socks Aunt Sandi gave, the Produce Saver mom gave, and Paul brought beer and Cranberry bliss bars (from Starbucks). It was a really great way to share little things we love with everyone, and was just as fun as when we do lots of big gifts! =)
On Friday, we took the boys to a beach up the way to play. It was cold and windy and rainy, but they had a blast! Gaius even still ran to the water and laid down! His favorite...

Us on the beach.

Paul fetching the boys.

Friday evening, we all sat around and read books or did crossword puzzles. It was great fun!

We even built a fire in the fireplace, which Paul and Hoban loved.

Gaius wasn't too fond of the fire, but loved the pillow mom and Ed brought!

In the end, it was a wonderful trip. Everyone had a chance to do their own thing, and we had lots of time to hang together as a family. Since it was no one's house, we didn't have anyone feeling like they had to be the hostess. We all shared cooking duties, and even had two boisterous games of Cranium! It was one of the best Christmases I remember, and even more because it had nothing to do with the presents. I love my family and thank them again for a wonderful holiday.

Let it Snow!

So, as most everyone knows, we are in the thick of the snowstorm in the Portland area, it having started late last night and hasn't stopped even as of now. If anything, it's actually picked up speed! This is a shot of the cross street by our house, at around 11am.

And this is down our cul-de-sac.

Well, with this much snow and winter weather, you know Paul couldn't stay home and just watch it. So we headed out for the day to run errands. We first tested the Subaru, which did great! Then, Paul chained up the Cherokee (for safety, and to be ready for a trip to the Airport to pick up Uncle Tony tomorrow!).
Once the Cherokee was chained up, we headed to the dog park to take the boys to play! Of course we had to get them out there. They had a ton of fun! The snow was blowing a bit, kinda stinging our faces, but it was very beautiful!

"Daddy! I lost my ball! Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?"

"I've still got mine!" Good job, Gaius. =)

Snow-covered Hoban.

"Will you throw it NOW, mama?" If you look close, you can see the frozen water/ slobber on their faces and stuck to their whiskers!

How can you not love that face??

A beautiful snow-covered tree, with pine cones in the park.

It's harder to see in the darker sky and snow coming down, but the sidewalk is completely snow-covered and level with the grass now, compared to earlier!

You can't even tell where the sidewalks, driveways, and lawns begin or end! These were taken at 4:30.My Firefighter Guy, getting ready for his 12-hour shift.

I'll be sad if so much beauty is lost so quickly overnight, with the freezing rain that's supposed to hit around midnight. I hope there's still some left to enjoy! Well, I'm off to make some hot chocolate and watch the flurries swirl around my window. And to check the back porch, since the snow is piled up to ABOVE the door frame!

4-Wheeling the V8!!

Sunday, December 14th, was our first wheeling run since Paul has swapped the engine in his Wrangler. He took his 4-banger manual Jeep engine out, and dropped in an automatic Dodge V8. I was so proud and amazed. He had to convert parts by hand, rebuilding things to make the Dodge engine work with the other Jeep parts.

So after about 11 months of work, we finally headed up to Brownscamp to stretch its legs.

We got up there at about 9:15, and hit the trail at 10am. Our first course was Firebreak Five, an easy but fun warm-up. Here's trees right before we began.

There's a rock garden part way through Firebreak Five, and here's a shot of Paul driving the Jeep through the rocks.

Next, it was on to Crushers. Which as you can see from the sign, is only for the real man-rigs. This obstacle will eat you up and spit you out if you're not built for it.Even Paul, with his bad-apple Jeep, got tossed into a small tree. No permanent damage, though Hobie does go to check on his papa.

The Wrangler, along with another rig that joined the run, up at the top of Can Opener. (The names of these runs just crack me up!)

As we drive through these trails, there were tons of snow-laden branches hanging down in our way. They would bash across the dashboard, covering the Jeep with snow. We had to keep clearing the wipers! This pic was through the windshield as we're driving!

Of course the boys came, and they had the biggest blast! Here they are, tearing along the trail.What outdoor trip would be complete without a giant stick?

We made it out safe and got home just before 8pm, Hoban having slept on my lap the whole drive. It was great fun, VERY cold, and I'm really glad I got a chance to hang with Paul and his great group of wheeling guys. I'm also extra very glad that he didn't try to take me in Kevin's rig, which had no top OR windshield! Talk about hard core!!