Snow

More December 2016

"Snow" is also a relative term.

Ellie was so excited to see some snow when we were in Portland.

Can you see it?

Schools were closed the next day.  😉

(Granted, the roads did become icy and unsafe.)

Here is "snow" in Seattle.

...and then we went to Spokane.

 Can you believe how beautiful these flakes are?

Wow!!!

....There wasn't much snow in Cut Bank when we were there,

but enough to go sledding...

...kind of...

Snow always makes a drive through Glacier Park even more breathtaking...

...if that's possible...

I personally much prefer looking at snow to being in it.

Ellie, of course, must be in it.  Just like with the waves and the sand. 😉

How about you?

Home

December 2016

"I'll be home for Christmas..."

"Home" means different things to different people.

When you're traveling around the country with no place to call your own,

you really start to think about what it means to "go home."

  We currently have no place, but we do most definitely have home.

First of all, we have this...

We are so thankful that when we're together, we're home.

We really do enjoy being all together.  Whew.

And then, there are the ones making our great adventure possible...

They really are our super heroes!

...and our home.

"Home is where your mom is."  Really.

💜

...and it looks like home definitely involves sitting around a table playing games...

😉

We are so very thankful for the family and friends who are our home.

There is no way we could include photos of all of the coffee dates,

cookie-making, sledding, and more sitting around a table

playing games, baking, eating, or just chatting....

(Well, we could maybe... but that would make this post way too long...)

So... here are just a few more photos of our "home."

To all of our precious friends and family, pictured and not pictured...

Thank you so much for being our home.

🏠 💕

...and just because these guys are so cool...  😉

December in Oregon

Astoria/Portland

Dec 2016

Even if the blue sky in this photo was rare,

it was appreciated any moment it showed up.

We stayed in Astoria for a week at the beginning of December.

Astoria is a beautiful town, rich in history...

and best enjoyed in the summer.  😉

It rained almost the entire time we were there, of course.

We definitely knew we had left sunshine and palm trees and were back "home."  

But honestly, this was probably one of Brie's favorite weeks...

Can you tell why from this photo?

The girl loves her birds!  ...and there were so many to watch! 

We all particularly enjoyed the Buffleheads.  What a great name, huh?  🐦 

It really was such a blessing that we got to stay where we did,

watching the water birds and the big ships, and catching a sighting or two of sea lions.

When there was a break in the rain, we would hurry out to try to get in a walk along

the magnificent Columbia River.  Or... walking in the rain isn't so bad...

We went for a rainy walk one day, motivated to pick up these lovely treats

from an espresso stand down the trail...

...and on the way back to the hotel, there was a big truck in a parking lot next to the trail,

pumping sewage out of the ground and into the truck.  There was a hole in the tubes somewhere along the route, and sewage was spewing into the air, making a mist that was heading right for the path ahead of us.  We had to run for it, holding our noses and covering our treats.
I'm pretty sure we got past the area before the mist hit.  😬

(We couldn't make this stuff up.  Seriously.  Gross!)

Tim had a rough couple of weeks.

  He had a yucky cold and did a lot of driving in the dark and the rain on winding roads.

He's a trooper, though, and loved the school kids and his family well through it all.

...and he took us to these fun places on the weekend...

There is something just awesome about the Oregon coast in any weather.

...and we always love learning about Lewis & Clark!!!  & Sacajawea!

We enjoyed our visit to Fort Clatsop!

...where the Corps of Discovery was also a bit discouraged by the weather...

"From the 4th of November 1805 to the 25th of March 1806, there were not more than twelve days in which it did not rain, and of these but six were clear," lamented Patrick Gass in the spring of 1806."

https://www.nps.gov/lecl/learn/historyculture/fort-clatsop.htm

I think they would agree that this area is best enjoyed in the summer time.  ;)

Beauty and history abounds in this area... You just gotta bring your own sunshine in December.