Thanksgiving 2013 - California

 We had Thanksgiving at the church in Eldorado Hills, California.  I was so excited to see everyone - Jason and family, Nate and family, Casey and family (except Jenna and Dalton in the hospital), Charity, Malcolm, their Uncle Morris, and some friends of Jason and Ashley.  It was great to get together.  

This is Weston with Adalei in the background, above.

 Casey helping Benson and Weston.

 Audrey was patiently waiting for her dinner.

 Weston, Adalei, and Paisley were having so much fun together.  They were so cute.

 Casey feeding Allison with Benson on the left and Audrey on the right.

 Spencer was having fun instead of eating!

 Cute Brielle and Elijah!

 Uncle Morris, Misty with Isaiah, and Nate - the tables were decorated so nicely.

 Benson and Allison - slowly eating.

This was dessert!  Benson was done!

The food was delicious!  Everything was great!  I loved Charity's salads (traditional and broccoli) and her pumpkin pie.  She made a berry pie that disappeared before I got a bite.  I loved Ashley's sweet potatoes!  I could have eaten the whole thing!  Yum!  We enjoyed a marvelous feast!  I was just grateful that I could be there with the family.

#11 Grandchild

Dalton Jake was born barely before Thanksgiving at 11:58 pm.  I was so excited to see him and have him arrive.  When Casey texted me this picture, I cried with joy.  He is such a handsome little boy!  He weighed 8 lbs 6 ounces and 20 inches long.

 Casey took this picture of Dalton and Jenna napping.

I made this fleece blanket for Dalton.  

I stayed a week after he was born to help out.  It was like being in heaven for me to spend this time with Casey, Jenna, and the precious children.  I am such a blessed grandmother!

Isaiah in Vancouver (11/26/13)

 Nate and Misty came up with the kids to take Isaiah to a pediatric specialist in Beaverton.  I took off work and watched the other kids.  We had a fun time together.

Isaiah was so cute in his new frog hat!

 The morning after Isaiah's doctor appointment, we went for a walk to the water bagel shop.  This was such a cute picture of the family.  It was cold but we had a fun time.  

Here we are having bagels.

 While Nate and Misty were at the doctor, Adalei, Brielle, Elijah and I had a good time.  They colored, painted, and did crafts.

 We left Vancouver and I drove with them to Sacramento for Thanksgiving!  It was so fun!  We had a great time.  We stopped in Redding for the night and finished the trip Thanksgiving morning.  Dalton was born that night and I could hardly wait to get to Sacramento to see him!  This picture was taken at the hotel in Redding.

Here's a picture of Isaiah playing with the toys while we stopped in Grants Pass along the way from Vancouver to Sacramento.

It was so nice of Nate and Misty to invite me to drive with them so I could spend extra time with their family.  It was wonderful and a dream come true for me!  I'd rather drive with them than fly any day!

Time Out for Women 2013 (Portland) - November 15-16, 2013

 I really wanted to go to TOFW this year but didn't want to go by myself.  I was so excited when Ashley said she'd come up and go with me.  She was only here 4 nights and 2 days.  (Arrived late on Thursday night and left very early Sunday morning.)

We had a busy two days planned and had a great time.  We started off Friday morning with a breakfast of biscuits and gravy at Arleta Library Cafe in Portland.  Yum!  It was good.

 Next we went hiking up to Pittock Mansion and had a scenic view of Portland.

 It was a beautiful hike.

 We finished hiking before it started to rain.

After the hike, we went for a massage that was only $20 for an hour.  It was quite the experience.  They didn't speak English so that made it interesting.  I don't know how to describe the actual massage either but it was the most unusual massage I ever had.  We laughed and laughed after it was over.  It was relaxing though.

Friday night we ate Scottish fish and chips from a food cart in downtown Portland before going to the evening TOFW event.

 On Saturday we had water bagels for breakfast and then dim sum in downtown Portland for lunch.

We had a great time at TOFW.  

After TOFW was over, we went for manicures/pedicures and then for dinner at Beaches.  We finished the evening with a Red Box movie and Ashley left early the next morning.

It was so much fun!  Charity, Jenna, and Misty weren't available to come.  I'm grateful that Jason helped with the kids so Ashley could come.  I had a fantastic time and want to do it again next year!  

Ashley, thanks for coming and making fun memories with me!  It was wonderful to spend the weekend together!

Kids Dash - Grants Pass, Oregon (6/8/13)

 This was the second annual Kids Dash that Nate sponsored for Grants Pass.  Bridget and Misty were just chatting before the event started.

 Adalei and Brielle posed quick for this picture with their cousin Gemma.

 Sarah was putting sunscreen on the Adalei and the other girls so they didn't get sunburned.

 Brielle also got some sunscreen from Spencer.

 Nate and his staff recited the poem, The Dash.  It was great and touching!

 This boy won $100 for having the winning design for the t-shirts.

 Elijah was great in his race and may have also eaten the most Popsicles that day!

 Brielle ran really fast and enjoyed a Popsicle after her race.

 Adalei was so speedy.  She was one of the ones in the lead for her race. 

 Adalei got a Popsicle after her race also.

 No matter where Nate went, Elijah wasn't far behind.  He sure loves his dad.

 Misty and Sarah (sisters) - what beautiful smiles!

 This was the competition to see who could beat Dr. Tanner.

 Dr. Tanner came in #2, just barely beat by one of the high school boys in his ward at church.

 This is the boy that beat Nate in the race.  He won $50 in gift certificates to the Yogurt Hut.

Isaiah did great.  I don't think he cried once.  

I was so happy to be there for the race day.  It was hot and I got sunburned but it was a great day!

Brielle's Preschool Graduation (June 2013)

 Brielle saying good-bye to her teacher Patricia.

 Brielle receiving her diploma.

 It was a hot, sunny day!

 The family - Nate, Misty, Elijah, Brielle and Isaiah.  Adalei was in school so she couldn't attend.

A fun graduation gift from grandma!  It was so fun to be there for this fun event.  After the graduation, they served lunch.

At the Beach (October 2013)

 I went with my friend Sheila to the beach to help with a cleanup project.  It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed walking at the ocean.  We went over four miles in the loose sand so it was quite the workout.

 Cannon Beach, Oregon

Astoria, Oregon

The Great Bacon Race - Vancouver, WA (10/12/13)

I ran a 5k race last weekend and was thrilled to come in 2nd place for my age group!  I was really excited that I did so well.  Randy went with me and it was really nice to have him there.  We had free tacos, bacon, and chocolate milk after the race.  It was so fun.  I am excited to do it again soon!  

Here's my stats:

• Ran the 5k in  38 minutes and 33 seconds.
• Placed #2 out of 14 runners my age group.
• Placed #309 out of 627 runners overall.
• Placed #167 out of 400 women runners.

Here's the link for the race results if you want to see for yourself -

https://www.nspirelive.com/nspir3/raceresults.spire?raceID=705

September in San Jose with Charity

 I was in San Jose at the beginning of the month for training with my job.  Charity was so wonderful to arrange her work schedule to come and stay with me.  We stayed at this Dolce Hotel.  It was so beautiful with all the flowers.  We had such a fun time!

We had a divine dinner at Maggiano's on Santa Row.  It was so good!  What a great idea Charity had to go here.  We got enough food in one meal to have leftovers the next day and then feed some of the family when we went back to Sacramento for the weekend!  What a deal!

 This is a picture of Santana Row in San Jose.  The flowers were so gorgeous.  This picture doesn't quite do it justice.

 A beautiful picture of the river when we were driving back to Sacramento after my training.  California is so lovely!  

I had a wonderful time with Charity and I'm so grateful we could spend these three days together!