Catching up....

Has been a few days...OK months.... since I posted something new here.   

Was a busy summer... hubby was gone a few times for his Logistics Chief duties on Incident Management Team #5.  And he missed a couple fire trips in order to attend the annual family reunion, and a special trip to the Oregon coast.

Had a great summer of gardening.  Hubby did most of the work, and I got to harvest the goodies.  Love it!!

I planted a crazy row of Zinnias.  You don't have to harvest them; 

we just get to enjoy the colors!

Volunteer sunflowers grew 10-12 feet high. I love the happy sunflower faces!

Looking west in mid-July.  Pumpkins in the foreground, 

with zucchinis next, sunflowers, tomatoes and more!

We enjoyed a great few days at Seaside with our daughters and granddaughters.  For hubby's 60th birthdayr, our girls booked a nice rental home a few blocks from the ocean in our favorite area on the northern Oregon coast. 

The weather wasn't great, 

but the time with our kids and grandbabies was marvelous. 

Both the little girls love to read, 

thanks to mamas and daddies who read to them every day.

We used to camp at Ft. Stevens, and had to make a nostalgic trip 

to the south jetty.  Was WINDY and cold, but still a wonderful place.

The day before we left, the weather broke and we got to dig in the sand, 

walk the beach and enjoy the beauty of the Oregon coast.  Awesome!

Now the holiday season is in full swing, and I have several fun projects queued up.  Can't share cuz someone might see... :)

My outside white lights are up, but not turned on. I do think it must be time!!

And we had our first dusting of snow... snow shovels are out and firewood is waiting on the front porch.

Thanks for visiting!!


  

Community Days...

Once again, we helped out at the Community Days parade by checking in floats, antique cars, clowns, high school bands, dancers, military tanks, etc etc.  A busy morning, and then a quick hike down onto the parade route to sit with our daughters, and granddaughters.

Saturday night we got together with a bunch of the kids our girls grew up with, and enjoyed chasing after the next generation!  How blessed we are!

Milestone birthday...

Company is arriving and food and flowers are stacking up. 

My MIL turns 80 TODAY - and her kids have planned a big shindig and celebration Saturday.  She will have a great time visiting with all her family and the other folks joining us for lunch and visiting.

Old friends from Kansas flew out for the occasion and surprised her this morning... happy tears from all!

~M

Christmas lovin's

Has been GREAT having kids and grandkids here for Christmas.... Just think, last Christmas one daughter was pregnant, and this Christmas we have two sweet, sweet granddaughters to snuggle!  Lucky lucky us!

The house is quiet again....no burb cloths or flannel blankies on the back of the couch.... no toys repeating the same silly song again and again. No babies to hug or trade high fives with..... No dogs underfoot...no early morning baby hand-off so mama can get some more sleep.  bummer!!  


I need to look at January's calendar and figure out when we can make the trip over to see kids again :)


I am blessed!

Christmas past.. Christmas future

Here are the felt Christmas stockings that my mom made (Dan, Melinda, Meghan, Erin) and the ones I made. (Mark, Nick, Makenna, Ada)  Sad to think of the family milestones my mom was not with us to celebrate.

My stocking is over 60 years old; Dan's was made in 1979, the year we got married.

I used trees and a campfire for Nick's, partly because they went backpacking on their first date, and they still camp and hike as often as they can. 
Ada's tree - decorated for Christmas - kind of matches her dad's.

Mark loves to snowboard, so the mittens and snowflakes seemed appropriate on his.  Makenna has a snowflake like her dad, and glittery Christmas ornaments.

Getting ready for Christmas!

Yesterday we went to the first of hopefully a number of Christmas-themed gatherings.  Spent the day with my hubby's side of the family, at a lodge on the way to Snoqualmie Pass.  Always lots of little kids, and always lots of noise and commotion.  This year one of my two grandbabies was there... albeit too little to participate much in the commotion. 

Ate too much, and enjoyed watching the little kids - my MIL's great grandkids - open gifts.  She always finds a fun gift that the kids immediately start playing with.

Our Christmas lights are on outside. I put them up in the snow two weeks ago... and of course now the snow is gone and it is much warmer.  Oh well... I was glad to get them up to enjoy!  Tree is ready to assemble.... hope to get it up and lights on it tonight.

Here is a project I finished up recently... Warren-family stockings for the two new granddaughters.  YAY!!

Sew fun!

Now that I have two granddaughters, sewing has become even more fun!  I created some fun things for their rooms, and have been working on a few little projects. 


Here is M's quilt, nearing completion, with notes from family and friends.



A sweet sweet message from Auntie M.



Here is a dolly that E. made as a school project in 5th grade....
now dressed to match her daughter's nursery!

Been making some diaper/burp cloths.... kinda fun!!



 

Fun print!!  I found the tutorial on Prudent Baby.





Cousins...

I LOVE these pictures....what fun times are ahead!

Gra-a-a-ndpa.... Let me play with her!

Look... I can pat her head!

Hmmm.... she is still pretty little .... I wonder when we can play?

Sweet sweet grandbaby has arrived!

Has been a rocky few weeks for me, and I am just the grandma! 

Daughter M's high risk pregnancy ended with her spending 2 1/2 weeks on bed rest in the hospital, battling high blood pressure and a number of health issues, all related to her pregnancy.  Docs were stymied more than once....not a comfortable feeling!

She was a rock star, and went into labor just shy of 37 weeks. Baby A was born healthy and much faster than expected, and with no anesthetic for mom, which was M's desire. 

We were on our way over to the west side, expecting the "several days" of labor that had been predicted.  What a SURPRISE to get a text message and picture - "Meet your granddaugher!"

Then the drama picked up, as mama lost a LOT of blood, and was hustled off to surgery for an hour and a half. 

The PROUD new daddy bonded with baby A, holding her skin-to-skin against his bare chest, and making phone calls to let family know what was happening. 



Brand new!



Little A is a doll.... big enough and healthy enough to not need any special care. 



One week old already!



Recovery continues to be difficult for mama... as the pre-pregnancy health concerns are lingering longer than expected.  Add in some hormones, and little sleep.....yikes. 

Eventually they willl look back on this time... and realize they survived.  Baby A will be bigger, smiling at them, and capturing their hearts even more.

I am one proud, happy grandma!

Grandbaby's been here!

Great sunshine-filled weekend with younger daughter, her hard-working painterly husband, and happy, happy grandbaby.   Miss M, her mom, and I hung out in our just-barely-warm-enough pool....her blue full-length swimsuit is SPF 50 :)

One... two... three.... JUMP!



Hollywood!  :)



Grandpa is introducing Miss M to a big black steer,
who is slightly curious, and mostly stand-offish.

Family time at Ocean City

Can't get enough of that grandbaby!  She looks squished but was loving the ride :)



Lovin' that little girl!



Meg, Nick, Mark and Cashman sihouetted in the sun

Gimme that spoon... and that yummy apricot!

Been absent a bit....

...so here is a quick post of grandbaby pics.  Hopefully more time to write later today. 

Surprise!!!

Aren't I a cutie??

Some random photos of sunshine, shadows and summery vistas...

We planted this tree about thirty years ago.....
Love the weeping look and the evening shadows

My kids found these FUN FUN FUN cut-outs about ten years ago. 

They make me smile every time I see them!



Sun and shadows on the pool fence.

 

Shasta daisies I planted from seed many years ago... purple salvia - love it! - in the front.

Sweet grandbaby!

Little Miss M and her mama are here visiting. Selah weather has been cooperating, and we are all sporting a bit of suntan...except of course for the little miss... sunscreen, hat and spf swimsuit kept her safe and non-pink!

Lots of fun pics.... will share a couple....

Reading But No Elephants, a favorite from mama's younger days





Intent on turning pages





Cutie pies!!

Such a happy kid!!  (blurry but happy!)



Grandbaby is a-comin'

My daughter and grandbaby are headed this way for a long weekend.. can't wait!!!  Weather was HOT..and now it looks like that time in the pool may have to be delayed. Wind has picked up and it is supposed to be much cooler tomorrow.

Will be great to spoil them for the weekend!

And grandbaby number two is just over a pound, nearly a foot long, 23 weeks in the womb..... and moving up a storm.  Will have to start bugging her parents for a name :)

Pool time...

I had so much fun "water walking" in my little Doughboy pool on Sunday, that on Monday  I made time to uncover the pool and spend some time striding against the water.  Felt really good after a long day fighting battles at work.

Filling the pool last year after kids and spouses
helped stretch the new, clean, bright new liner.

Water temp was not that warm - 71 degrees - but once I got in and moving, it actually felt great!  I am going to check with the pool folks and get the pyramid-shaped solar heater.  A few more degrees of warmth would make the pool that much more enjoyable!

Wore my grandma necklace today... LOVE IT cuz my granddaughter is so precious, and another precious one is on the way.

Hard to picture I am a grandma.... grandmas are OLD.  :)

Kids came.. kids left....

Had a great weekend with both daughters, both husbands, three dogs and little Miss M!

The family photo shoot went off without a hitch... and hopefully both daughters got great family pics for their own use.  Lots of visiting after "The Picture," with BBQ-ed hot dogs, good eats, and gathering of "nuts" (acorn caps) by the many little guys and gals - the great-grandkid generation.

I can hear Miss M "talking" when I look at this picture!

The little one is a bit blurry, but what a priceless picture!



And.... changing the subject... the garden is looking pretty good!

Three rows of potatoes in front, and then WW sweet onions, and tomatoes beyond that.

Volunteer sunflowers we tranplanted in a row along the fence.

Future birdhouse gourds!

First day my gazania bloomed... gorgeous color!
The bloom closes up when the weather turns cloudy!

Beautiful geranium.....  Thanks to Master Gardeners!

Take care, ya'all!!