Sights of Pennsylvania

Here's my family - my dad, 3 brothers, their wives, and children that live in PA. It was great to see all of them. I had such a fantastic time visiting them last year that I decided to visit them again this year. Now I've had such a great time this year, I want to go back again next year.
Garrison works for my brother Lance. They sell and deliver hay. I was amazed at how huge these hay bales are. Garrison is leaving on a mission next week. I'm sure he will be a great missionary.
The house above and below is the famous Fallingwater house near Mill Run, PA. It was designed by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright. It was very interesting to see with the stream flowing under the house. The balconies are so large that there is the same amount of space inside as on the balconies. It would be fun to live in a house like this.

Above is a picture of a restaurant where we had an old colonial dinner in Bedford, PA. They sold the pewter dishware and it was expensive. This is a picture of my brother Gary and his wife Venus. They took us on the trip to see Fallingwater in SW PA.
The house above is where my grandparents lived. The house has been vacant for some time now but my brother Lance farms the farm land.

Below is a picture of the welcome to the Hershey's chocolate factory. Thanks to Gary for wanting to go here because I had a really fun time on the tour and buying candy to take home to my children/grandchildren.

Gary again.... I'd love to be invited to a chocolate meal like the one above. It was cute. Below is another picture of Gary and Venus. Gary was joking about who the monkeys were.....

Above is a shot from the factory tour at Hershey's. I loved these cows singing. I think it was to convince us that chocolate is made from milk and therefore good to eat! Below shows the production for the day and we visited in the morning. I found it amazing that so much chocolate candy is made there.

A shot above of a mill in Fulton County, PA. Below is a picture from Philadelphia - This art was made to celebrate in 1976. At first glance it is a clothes pin. However, it is really two people kissing. The metal piece is really a "6" for 76. I thought this was really unique.

Above is the shop in Philadelphia where we learned how to make authentic Philly Cheesesteaks and they were sure good! I think I gained a few pounds enjoying them. The recipe is as follows: on a soft bun, put mayo, Cheese Wiz, grilled lean beef thinly sliced, grilled onion, mushrooms, and green peppers. Gary made the one below and it tasted just as good as the one in Philly! Thanks to Gary for taking us to Philadelphia and Lancaster - it was wonderful!

The picture above is of my dad and his sister. Gary took me to visit Fern in a rest home. I was sad that she didn't remember me this year.
We also went to Lancaster but I didn't get any good pictures there. The Amish don't approve of having their pictures taken and I just couldn't feel comfortable doing it. We ate at a smorgasbord and enjoyed soft pretzels. We also saw them making pretzels by hand at one factory tour. I also bought some Amish cookbooks because they had recipes like my mom used to make - apple dumplings, corn fritters, etc. I want to put a little cookbook together with recipes from my childhood. This final picture was taken on our 2nd trip to Fulton County. It was a fantastic trip and I had a wonderful time! Thanks to my wonderful family!

Snow from Coast to Coast - PA to WA

During my recent trip to PA, it snowed the day before we left. Then, the morning after I got home, it snowed here in WA. It felt like I brought the snow with me. I love the snow and just wanted to share some of my pictures with you. The snow is so beautiful when undisturbed.
This is a picture of my youngest brother Lance above and below. The morning after the snow, he promptly got up and went and cleaned driveways for everyone that lives in the town of Marks. I was amazed at his act of service. I'm sure his many neighbors are grateful for his help. Below shows him taking his girls "sledding" in the snow. We didn't "sled" like this when I was a little girl. They were having a blast!

I just loved the beautiful sky after the snowfall. So peaceful..... Below is a picture of my nieces, Lance and Irene's daughters - Paige, Maggie, Emma, and Lindsay. They had so much fun in the snow and I thought they made a cute picture.

Above is a picture of the snow at the creek where we used to fish and swim when I lived at home. Below is a picture of the house I grew up in. My brother Lance lives there now.

Lastly, this is the picture of the snow from my house in Vancouver the morning after I got home from my trip. I just love the beautiful snow and wish it would snow here more often but only when I don't need to drive in it!

My Visit to Grants Pass

I was in Grants Pass recently to visit and had such a wonderful time. Adalei was playing with this hat and looked so cute that I had to get out my camera.

Two loving sisters above - Elijah below. He loves stuffed animals. Adalei took this picture of him.

Cute Brielle above and below...... a happy picture and a serious picture of her.

Little Elijah was really on the move. He was climbing every chance he got. He was so proud of himself to stand on this toy. I was always afraid he'd fall and hurt himself so he was always looking to see if I saw what he was up to. Below is a close up picture of him - his looks have really changed since his first hair cut!

A cute mother-daughter picture above. Adalei took this picture of me below. You can see I was happy and enjoying my visit.

Adalei above looking so sweet. Below is a picture of me at the Harry and David store in Medford. I got lots of goodies and gave more than 1/2 of it away to my family. I loved the moose munch with cranberries and white chocolate the best. Yum! I hope to visit this store again and be able to go on the tour.

Little Elijah again on the move - he turned his toy basket upside down emptying the toys then pushed it over by the bar stool, crawled up on the basket to the stool and then on to the counter top! Again, he was looking to see if anyone noticed. I had to take a picture before we rescued him!

You can't really tell but this was a huge burrito that Kade got for dinner the day after he had 4 wisdom teeth removed. Dr. Tanner did an excellent job on the surgery and Kade seemed to be doing quite well with the recovery.

On my last morning there, it was a chilly 34 degrees but we went for a walk. We had a nice time and I walked off a few calories from my Harry and David binge!

A Visit to Grandma's House

Nate, Misty, and family came to visit for a few days last week. I was so excited to see them. We had a great time together.

We made pancakes with smiley faces and they were loving the blueberries.













Little Elijah's curls are growing back!!!





Elijah was having so much fun with his dad bouncing him on the exercise ball.

Paisley's Party & Grandchildren Photos

It was 28 degrees in Roseville but we went for a short walk. Weston and Benson didn't mind the cold. They are so cute in the stroller together.


































































Benson was so cute crawling in and out of the oven drawer. He was content for a long time in the drawer. He looks so cute with his two little teeth showing.
































































We celebrated Paisley's birthday early so I could be there. Ashley made an awesome chocolate peanut butter cake.





















Paisley and Weston had a great time playing together.

Charity is the Best!

One of the many reasons I love to have Charity come home to visit me is because she is always helping me improve my organization. She has such great insight and great ideas.

I have had a hard time keeping my craft room clean and Charity realized that I didn't have a place for everything. So, we bought this new cube case and it is terrific. Now I have a place for everything and everything is staying in its place so much easier. Thanks Charity for solving my messy craft room problem! You are the best!











This is the new bench that you will find right inside my front door. Out went the shoe rack when we bought this. I put this bench together myself. We found it at Home Depot. It is super. Now my guests can sit on the bench to take their shoes on and off and then I have the cubes to hold some of my shoes. The bench even comes with the cushion. What a deal! I'm hoping this will make it easier for my guests to leave their shoes at the front door when they come to visit! Charity what a great idea. It matches my living room perfectly and is working out great. You are the best! Thanks so much for your help.

A Quiet Christmas with Charity

It was so fun to have Charity come home for Christmas. We had a great two weeks together. She got some much needed rest and relaxation and we enjoyed the holiday season.

We had some great menus for Christmas eve and Christmas day - cranberry chicken, yummy potatoes, a special brussel sprouts recipe, pomegranate salad, caramel apple cheesecake and a cranberry pear tart.

On New Year's Eve we made coconut shrimp and mango creme brulee - they were both super good! We really enjoyed ourselves and it shows on my bathroom scales!

This is a picture of us by the new Christmas tree. Charity had the great idea of getting a smaller tree and I love this new tree so much better than the one we've had since the kids were little. This tree is perfect and I'm so glad I downsized!

You can see one of my many Christmas gifts in the picture above - Jason and Ashley got me a fabulous blu-ray DVD player! What a surprise and I love it! They are so good to help me keep up with the latest technology. They were so generous to also sent me a gift certificate for Kindle books! I'll be using that soon!

Charity brought me a suitcase full of presents - I couldn't believe how much she brought me - gloves, scarfs, pajama pants, shirts, fleece tops, hot pads with my chefs, a chef picture for my kitchen, a book, tons of beautiful jewelry, and so much more! Charity is so generous - she is amazing!

I love the calendar that Nate and Misty got me. It is full of fabulous family pictures and must have taken a very long time to create. This was a special gift and I so appreciate it. They also sent me a gift certificate from Amazon that I will use for Kindle books or something from my wish list. In addition, they promised to come visit me and I'm excited about that and hope it will be soon.

Casey and Jenna were fantastic in shopping from my wish list! They bought me a new set of dishes with red so they match my kitchen decorations. I love them. They also got me a Taylor Swift CD that I listen to in my car everywhere I go - I have been wanting that for a long time. They also remembered and got me my favorite chocolate covered cherries from Harry & David's! They also sent an awesome family picture that is in the living room proudly displayed. There is one more gift and now I can't remember what it was - jewelry? (Jenna, please remind me......)

Charity and I shopped the after Christmas sales, went to Weight Watchers meetings, and visited the Grotto in Portland (one of the popular Christmas events). At the Grotto, we heard Michael Allen Harrison play the piano and enjoyed some delicious hot chocolate recommended by my friend Mo. I had a great holiday. Thanks Charity for making it so special!

I am so blessed and really enjoyed the holidays. The time went so fast. I'm now looking forward to seeing everyone I missed very soon! I'm going to California and hope to get to Grants Pass sometime this month.