Pumpkin Patching

Some good friends of Becky's live very near our home, the Roloff's. She was not only friends but neighbors of the TLC family. Well I am pleased to say that we are now the new friends/neighbors of the Roloff's and the kids and I decided to pay their farm a visit and pick up some pumpkins while we were there. We left the house on Friday afternoon, it was so sunny and warm, nothing at all what I anticipated for pumpkin picking in Oregon. We drove through a rural part of Hillsboro to the farm. It was so picturesque. It almost seemed like a painting in certain places. Once we arrived we were greeted by a friendly Amy Roloff and proceeded to the pumpkin patch where the kids and I were determined to find perfect, plump, pumpkins. An hour later we carried out four pumpkins and headed home. Once home, the pumpkins, that seemed average size on a huge farm were larger than expected. No worries we had dad carry them up stairs! We are looking forward to carving them up and giving our pumpkins perky personality.

Monday Morning

As many of you know fall is hands down my favorite season. I love the mild weather, the changing scenery and now the beautiful foggy, cloudy, rainy mornings. Something I have been quite unaccustomed to growing up in California. A typical morning begins with Gary (our cat) who I think fits quite nicely in the Northwest, lounging on my window sill. If you look from my deck you will see dense fog followed by a light rain as the sun begins to rise. It has been breathtaking! I am looking forward to days curled up by the fire with a good book and something fabulous baking in the oven!

5th Grade

Today is my day off, it feels like all I ever do is work! I went to help out in Aidan's class this morning. I was reading essays about monsters! When I got home I was thinking about being in 5th grade again, my teacher was Ms. Gonzales. She was a fiery Vietnamese lady. I remember doing those types of assignments. They were so much fun. "Look I will give you a reward just for being creative!" I thought about some old friends too. Life was so carefree back then. I want my kids to look back at these years as carefree, but it is surprising how aware they are of current events locally and globally. I couldn't possibly tell you what was happening in the world when I was 10! Is a carefree childhood still possible? I would like my kids to look back at evenings spent wrestling and playing board games, nights cozied up in bed reading The Mouse and the Motorcycle. I want them to have that knowledge that no matter what was happening in the world around us that they were loved and safe. Time will tell if their memories of childhood seemed less carefree and if school days were jaded somehow by the influx of news and information.

Seaside

This weekend we wanted to see the Oregon coast. We left after church on Sunday and drove about 1 and a half hours to Seaside. It is a charming little old beach town, with an array of taffy shops, arcades, cafes, and plenty of quirky people to keep us entertained for the day! When we arrived I literally gasped when I saw the beach. I forgot how fortunate I was living so close to the ocean before. (What can I say, I will always be a Southern California girl!) The kids saw the white capped waves (it was quite windy and rainy when we arrived) and quickly realized we wouldn't be playing in the water. They were disappointed. They also love the beach. We walked along the beach and found some washed up crabs, cool shells and some swings, so it was still a great time. We are looking forward to checking out another beach city called Astoria, which is about 20 miles north of Seaside. It has an extremely deep port, I believe it has to do with the Columbia River draining into the ocean right there. We have so many opportunities I want to enjoy as many of them, as often as possible. LIVE LIFE the way God intended. Wherever we end up I will be blessed to be with my family, living, loving, laughing, crying, each day spent with them is such a tremendous joy!