Grandchildren

We had a little more time with family at our house when Thanksgiving was over.
Drew and Jesse playing on the stairs

Megan and Kristin enjoying Charlotte
It's so fun to watch parents play with their children :-).


Luke and Will














Awwwwwwwww, daddy gets a kis!
Hey, where ya goin'?











There's something about the back of little children's heads :-).
Big brother Billy wrestling with little brother Luke











Drew's turn to play with daddy
Betcha can't do this! Maggie the pretzel!

















That homemade clay keeps cropping up! Auntie Kristin is having fun with the gang.
Megan and Andy did this to be funny :-). They got "ugly sweaters" from Goodwill and had a family picture taken.











Papa enjoying our youngest grandchild, Charlotte.
She is a very calm and sweet baby (well, most of the time :-).

















Drew, Maggie and Billy came with Papa and Grandma to pick out our Christmas tree. They've never picked out a live tree before, so it was an adventure.
We traipsed around the whole farm before choosing the "perfect" tree.











Drew is throwing sticks for the farmer's dog (the same dog that Jesse played with last year when we got our tree :-).
Billy is helping Papa carry the tree to our car. We had a great time and enjoyed hot chocolate afterward!

Spending Time at the Coast

Before leaving to go back to Salem, I spent some time with Will and Julie in Garibaldi and Barview. I can never get enough of the coast...especially walking down on the boat docks.











Billy, Will, Drew and Maggie



















Will

















Feeding gulls at Barview (they ate out of Will's hands)
The kids thought it was a lot of fun! Julie stayed in the car with Luke because the wind was crazy!














This was the view of the end of the jetty!
Before heading home, we stopped south of Tillamook to see the elk...kind of ironic since Bill didn't get his spike during the hunting season that just ended!

Thanksgiving

Our son Will and his family traveled from Utah to be with us this year for Thanksgiving.












His son Drew liked our stuffed animals.
Drew, Maggie, and Billy enjoyed some homemade clay.











We traveled to the coast to be with extended family for the holiday, and we rented this home in Bay City.
Our daughter Megan, her husband Andy, and their children Jesse and Charlotte stayed there as well.















My mom came up to say "hi" and to enjoy the grandchildren. This is Jesse and his Great Grandma Griffin.
Our daughter Anne and her husband Matt stayed at my mom's. This is early Thanksgiving morning, and they are dipping caramels in chocolate! I went down to Mom's early so I could get the turkey in the oven.















There were so many of us this year, that we decided to rent the Bay City Hall. Chris and Bev were kind enough to do that for all of us.
We all made contributions toward the decorations, and they were very pretty.











There was lots of good food!
Even the little ones enjoyed their meals (this is Peyton, my grand niece).

















Some of us had difficulty choosing which dessert to try!
We had some fun crafts (notice, the adults are doing them too!)

















... some fun games...
...a little music...











...and more of that fun homemade clay!
We even managed to gather for one big family picture. Notice all of the homemade turkey hats!!!












A few of us braved the cold and walked to the nearby park. This is my grandson Drew.
Candy was on the other end of the teeter totter :-). How do you like her hat?!
















Billy decided that sliding down the skateboard ramp was pretty fun.
Maggie wasn't sure if she wanted to try it, but Ashlynn said, "You can do it!"












Maggie quickly got over her fear!










This scene was repeated many times. I'm surprised they didn't end up with holy pants!
Several others stayed at the hall to visit and to keep warm. This is my nephew Derek and his daughter Laynie.
















After picking up the pieces and finding everyone's things, Jessica is ready to go home.
Families sure are great, and it is wonderful to have the opportunity to gather together!

Three Years of Learning, Growing, and Fun!

Bill and I were recently released from our positions in the Salem Young Single Adult Branch of our church. Not only did we meet and grow close to many young single adults, but we got to know and enjoy the wonderful people we served with. We were involved in this service for over 3 years, and it was a sad day when we had to say "good-bye" to everyone. However, we plan to keep in touch with as many people as we can. We will always remember the great times we had and all that we learned from this wonderful experience!