Paisley's Birthday - 2015

 Paisley wanted doughnuts for breakfast to celebrate her 7th birthday.

 I shared a peanut butter/chocolate doughnut with Jason and it was delicious!  Yum!

 Then we went to a yard sale.  Spencer loved his $5 batman.  Audrey got a $1 stuffed animal puppy.  Paisley got a $3 jewelry box.

 Paisley quickly filled up her new jewelry box before her party started.  She was dressed lovely for the Hawaiian theme birthday party.

 They started off the party playing limbo and then learned an Hawaiian dance.

 Paisley had 15 friends at the party.  Ashley served croissant sandwiches, chips, fruit salad, and lemonade.

 Allison, Audrey, and Dalton were enjoying their crab-shaped croissant sandwiches.  Black olives were the eyes.

 The birthday cake was three layers.  I had a piece of the coconut layer - delicious!  It looked great.

 Paisley had a pinata for the final event. 

 I got her some Legos for her birthday.

 I also got her this sparkly white hoodie and some other clothes.

This is a book about getting ready to be baptized.

Paisley got a tea set for her birthday.  Casey and Weston had pretend tea with her.

On her actual birthday, we had birthday cookies for the final celebration.  She also picked the dinner menu - lemon chicken, roasted potatoes, green beans.  I was so happy I could be there to celebrate with her.

Battle Ground Lake, Washington - February 8, 2015

 Jeff and I hiked around Battle Ground Lake.

This winter has been so mild.  I've really been enjoying it.

Mt. Rainier National Park, Washington - February 28, 2015

 

It was about a two-hour drive to Mt. Rainier National Park.  It was so beautiful!  It is the most dangerous active volcano in the world.

This is top of Mt. Rainier. 

 It was so fun to see the snow!  

We drove up to the summit where there were lots of people skiing and snowshoeing.

 

 Jeff and I had a great time and really enjoyed the beautiful scenery.  I really enjoyed the day.

Nate and Elijah Visited Vancouver - February 26-27, 2015

 Nate came to Portland for a business meeting.  He arrived on Thursday night about 10 pm.  I made some pumpkin muffins with lots of substitutions so I was surprised that they turned out so good.  We all loved them.  I made another batch the next morning and sent them all home with Nate except what we ate while he was here.  We had pumpkin oatmeal and pumpkin nut muffins for breakfast.

 Nate had to leave at 9 am the next morning to go to his meeting.  We drove to Lacamas Lake for a few minutes before they left.

Elijah was excited about the plane on the lake and was hoping I'd buy one for him!  It was a short visit but so fun to see them while they were here.  Nate and Elijah - thanks for coming!

Valentine's Day Gifts 2015

 Paisley made this Valentine and gave it to me!  I love it!  I'm going to decorate with it next Valentine's Day also.

Weston surprised me with this beautiful picture and the heart for Valentine's Day.  It is so pretty.  I'm going to decorate with it next Valentine's Day too.

I'm such a lucky grandma!  I sure love my grandkids.

Charity also surprised me with some Valentine's gifts - a very nice work bag, a tea bag holder, and two beautiful scarves (fleece - blue and animal print).  I love them!  She also gave took me to get a massage which was great!

For Valentine's Day, Ashley made heart-shaped pizza.

For dessert - chocolate!  Yum!  She made the adults chocolate lava cake.  I ate mine so fast I forgot to take a picture of it!

Nate and Family Visiting Vancouver - February 5-7, 2015

 Nate, Misty and family met me in Beaverton, Oregon for dinner at Sweet Tomatoes on Thursday evening.  I picked up Bryce (Elder Plessinger) and his companion and we all enjoyed a lovely dinner.  It was so fun to get together.  Bryce only remembered seeing Nate once a couple of years ago when Nate and I were in Philly for Nate to get his Fellowship award.  It was nice that they could get acquainted since they are cousins.

 Friday morning it was raining but we went to the Portland Zoo and had a great time.  Traffic was really bad so we didn't get to stay as long as we would have liked.

 There weren't many people there so that was nice.

 We enjoyed watching the monkeys.

 The penguins were fun too.

 Elijah, Brielle, and Adalei at the penguin exhibit.

 Nate had dental training so Misty and I took the kids to Dizzy Castle in Vancouver after the zoo.  Adalei went down the big slide.

 Isaiah on the little slide.  He is starting to talk more and I was just thrilled to hear him.

 Elijah had fun with the balls.

 This morning (Saturday) we went to OMSI and had a good time.

 Isaiah at an exhibit.

 Isaiah, Brielle, and Adalei learning about nanotechnology.  It was interesting.

 Elijah at another exhibit.

 Elijah at a mirror that distorts.

 Adalei floating the ball on the water.

 Isaiah was loving it.

A brief walk along the Willamette River on the way to the car.  A tree fell on Nate's house so they headed home after lunch.
It was a fun visit!  I'm so glad they could come to see me.

Lincoln City, Oregon - January 31, 2015

This is Drift Creek Falls near Lincoln City, Oregon.  I hike 3.3 miles here and back from the trailhead.  It was a beautiful hike.

 Then we had a relaxing walk along the river at Lincoln City.

 It was so beautiful with the sun shining.

 I had clam chowder and a cabbage salad at Mo's for dinner.

 I walked 3.3 miles on the beach and my feet felt great the next day!  Yeah!

Columbia River Gorge - January 30, 2015

I went up the gorge to see the sunset on Friday evening.  It was so beautiful - the river, the clouds, the sunset.  Doesn't seem like the middle of winter.

Columbia River - January 24, 2015

I had a lovely lunch with my friend Linda at Beaches, then we went for a walk along the river.  It was so beautiful.  

Hike to Lucia Falls - January 3, 2015

Jeff and I went for a hike at Lucia Falls on a chilly January morning.  It was beautiful.  Then we drove up to Mt. St. Helen's.