Happy New Year 2024

Happy Williams New Year 2024! This year five Williamses are in five schools....

Kaela is 22 years old and studying hard at Pacific Lutheran University. She is majoring in chemistry with a minor in biochem and a minor in computer science. She is well on her way to being a scientist! This summer she worked on campus in the chemistry lab, and for the fall semester she was a chemistry tutor. She also works in the I.T. department at the help desk. She has three more semesters until she finishes her degree! 

Graeson is 19 years old and graduated from high school this past June. He's now attending Oregon State University and lives in a dorm on campus where he has made many new friends. He is majoring in kinesiology and working toward a coaching degree. He enjoys attending the many sports events on campus and cheering from the student section! His campus job is an intramural referee for football, and soon he will start with basketball.

Maezie is 16 years old and a junior in high school. She is involved in all things theater, with four theater classes and multiple stage productions. She enjoys being in the special dance ensemble for the high school musicals, and she had a primary role in the fall comedy play! When she's not at the theater, she's usually in the dance studio where she's taken classes for many years. And she also volunteers in the church nursery with toddlers.

Bryan is in his fifth year at North Salem High School working with career focused classes such as culinary and woodworking. He also helps with football, soccer and basketball games, and he's a driver for various field trips. This year he got to attend a conference for Career Technical Education professionals in Arizona! 

As for me, this year I left my job as a hospice nurse manager and entered a whole new career field in higher education at George Fox University. I work with nursing students in a hospital-like simulation lab, running clinical scenarios from the tech room behind the curtain.

Mom and Dad continue to keep the house running and the family functioning! With two college kids and one in high school, it's an ever revolving door with who's home and who's gone. We had a family vacation at the beach, playing lots of games and exploring tide pools. We enjoy our family time together whether it's two of us or five of us!

Merry New Year!

We are a little late on the annual 2022 Christmas update, but here it is!

Kaela is 21 years old and in her third year at Pacific Lutheran University. She is now a chemistry major which means adding a fifth year of higher education. She takes classes such as calculus, computer science, and physics - and she loves it! She lives in upper-class housing on campus and has three roommates in an apartment-style dorm. She works on campus at the technology help desk, and she does a lot of studying!

Graeson is 18 years old and a senior in high school. Unfortunately, 2022 has not been his favorite year due to multiple medical issues. He started the year with arm surgery to remove the plates and screws from when he broke his arm three years prior. The removal subsequently revealed an unknown infection on the hardware (and presumably on his bone too) which led to six weeks of daily IV antibiotics - fortunately mom-nurse was able to arrange for home infusions and all of our family learned the process. Then shortly after returning to summer football camp, after a whole year of intense rehab from knee surgery, Graeson again tore his recently repaired ACL as well as additional knee damage - which meant another knee surgery, this one more complicated than the first. He's now had two surgeries on his arm, plus two surgeries on his knee. Sadly, due to the extensive rehab, he was not able to return to football for his senior year.  He is currently looking at colleges for this fall, and hopes to make a decision soon!

Maezie is 15 years old and a sophomore in high school. She spends many hours at the dance studio and she is in all of the upper-level classes. She also teaches a class full of little dancers! She is involved in musical theatre at the high school, soon to be performing in the production of Mary Poppins. She now has her driving permit, and hopefully this year mom-taxi will be 100% retired!

Mom and Dad spend most of our time keeping up with (and feeding) three active kids! Bryan continues his job as a teaching assistant at North Salem high school, and Jill is still a hospice nurse manager at Providence. We were sad to lose Bryan's mom (Grammy) in October. And yet, we were also happy to be able to gather together again not only as a family, but also to spend time with extended family and friends! We recently took a family vacation to Disneyland and other theme parks - it's a little different to have 80 degree weather for Christmas! We look forward to making more family memories in the upcoming year!

Merry Christmas From Williams-Land

2021 has brought us many "adventures" although not exactly the kind of adventures we would have pre-planned...

We started out the new year with five Williamses working/learning from computers at home. Bryan was the first to go back to work in-person at his high school, though initially without students. In April, Graeson and Maezie were able to go back to in-person high school two days a week, with remote learning the rest of the week. Kaela continued remote learning through the end of the school year, then returned to in-person learning at PLU in September. Jill has found it more convenient to work from home, so I've now made a permanent transition (I still go to the office in Portland occasionally). 2021 also brought us a variety of weather adventures including a severe ice storm which damaged trees throughout much of the city. Later, we experienced summer temperatures that reached 117 degrees, totally unheard of in our area. We've also had multiple random medical adventures including two knee surgeries only ten days apart. And we lost Jill's grandma/GG who was age 101.  But life carries on, and our adventures continue!

Kaela is entering a new decade and is now 20 years old. She is in her second year of college, attending Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma. She lives in the dorm with a roommate and they became immediate friends. She also has a campus job working at the help desk inside the library. This past summer, she lived with Aunt Laurel while attending CNA classes - she is now a Certified Nursing Assistant! And next fall, she will enter the PLU nursing program.

Graeson is 17 and in his junior year of high school. During his sophomore year, football season was delayed until spring, and he was ecstatic to have made the varsity team! Unfortunately, he twisted his knee on the field and what we thought was a minor sprain, ended up as a full ACL repair. He had knee surgery in July, followed by extensive rehab and physical therapy. He was unable to play football for the current season, but he remained part of the team by assisting at practices and filming the games from the booth. His recovery is going great, and he plans to return to football for his senior year. This school year, he was accepted into CTEC (career technical education center) in the culinary program - he attends McNary high school part-time, and CTEC high school the other half. He loves the integrated learning approach, and he plans to further his culinary skills at school and at home!

Maezie is 14 and a freshman in high school. She continues to be very involved with dance, and this year she's at the studio more than she's at home! She's in a variety of advanced level classes, and she also helps to teach two classes for younger dancers. She was happy to be able to have a recital this year, and she performed extremely well! She also is involved in high school theater, and she has been part of the ensemble chorus and dancers - and she loves it!  (Mom and dad are counting down to when she can drive herself to all of these practices....)

Bryan and Jill spent the year surviving all of our "adventures" - including Bryan's knee surgery, just ten days after Graeson. His was a meniscus tear and a quicker recovery, but they both had to take turns using the ice machine for their knees. And then there was a brief period where I was the only driver in the house. We took a family vacation to the coast this summer and had a great time together. We've also been spending some quick weekends at the coast with no kids!

We are looking forward to new Adventures In Williams-Land in the upcoming year - we hope there's less unplanned adventures and more planned ones in 2022!

Williams Christmas 2020

Merry Christmas from the Williams family!

Last year at this time, we were on a family vacation to Disneyland! We took a two week trip and had a fantastic time - we celebrated Kaela's senior year and her 18th birthday, and we made amazing family memories!  We were so glad our timing was during Christmas because...shortly afterward, 2020 came and we know how that changed everything.

Kaela's senior year was not what she had dreamed of - starting in March, so many things got stopped, rescheduled, delayed, or cancelled entirely.  Our school district offered seniors could be done at the end of March, but Kaela had some college-credit classes she wanted to complete.  She continued with online classes until June, and we waited with anxiety while graduation was in peril several times.  We finally got to have graduation in August and a successful open house celebration as well!  She graduated with many honors, awards, medals, and cords - a hard earned achievement!  A few weeks later, she began attending Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma and wanted to live on campus in the dorm.  Again, many last minute changes were navigated but finally she arrived!  She is majoring in Nursing and minoring in Spanish. Though no roommates were allowed this year, Kaela enjoyed her own dorm space and taking walks around campus.  Since all her classes have been online from her dorm room, she's made the decision to move back home for the second-half of the year.  She will be a PLU student from her own house!

Graeson had a successful freshman football season playing cornerback, and mom was happy he had an injury-free year!  Unfortunately in his sophomore year, football season has been postponed - so far, it's scheduled for February. In the meantime, Graeson has been doing home workouts and trying to prepare for the upcoming season.  He and dad had planned to train for their third degree black belt in taekwondo, but that too has been put on hold.  He has maintained connections with his friends, and for a time he was able to go to to church youth group in person; otherwise he attends a sophomore guys group via Zoom meetings.  Graeson has also taken on the role of dinner chef, and does the cooking multiple nights a week.  He recently turned 16 and after a year of driving practice, he finally has his license!  Now his focus is applying for jobs, and saving up to buy his own car.

Maezie enjoyed being at middle school last year without her brother there!  Then at the exact middle-of-middle-school halfway through seventh grade, distance learning became the way of the world.  She is now in eighth grade and attends class via "synchronous" learning two days a week from her home computer, and self-learning the other days of the week.  She is doing a fantastic job with online learning, despite missing her friends in person. Maezie has continued with multiple dance classes, and she has been able to go to the studio in person for most of the summer and fall.  Unfortunately last year's recital was cancelled, but parents were able to watch the final dances in costume within the classrooms.  She is a teaching assistant for a class of little dancers, and she works hard at being in some of the more challenging level classes!  Maezie also helps with making dinner, but her specialty is baking - tarts, cupcakes, desserts, and even macarons!

Mom and Dad have been adjusting (and adjusting again) to the many changes thrown at us this year.  Even before the pandemic, we made a major change when after 17 years as a stay-home-dad, Bryan went back to work!  He had already been volunteering with a teacher friend in the woodworking class, so when a position opened he applied and was chosen! His official job is CTE Liaison (career technical education) at North Salem High School. He worked a few months directly with kids, then worked from home through distance learning last spring.  Now he goes to the school and helps teachers with various projects. Jill continues to work as a hospice supervisor, now at the Portland branch for the past two years.  Recently, I've shifted to a home office several days a week, and I commute to my work office less often.  With four people working on computers at home, ironically Bryan is the only one who leaves the house!  But we still find time to squeeze in coffee-car-dates now and then.

We are hopeful this next year we will be able to try again for family vacations, sports, and in-person school! And most of all, we hope to keep our connections with many of you - maybe even seeing you at some in-person occasions!

Blessings,

Bryan, Jill, Kaela, Graeson, Maezie

Merry Williams Christmas 2018

This year the Williams family has been busy as usual...

The Williams house has two teens and a tween - Kaela will be 17, Graeson is 14, and Maezie is 11.  And we have officially left elementary school behind!  Maezie is in 6th grade and Graeson is in 8th grade, both at the same middle school; and Kaela is a junior in high school.

Kaela spent spring break in Mexico on a church mission trip building houses - she got really good at hammering nails straight!  Throughout the year she serves in children's church by teaching second graders. At her high school she is a member of National Honor Society which recognizes high grades as well as service projects. She is involved in theater, both acting as well as lights/sounds/tech.  She is now driving (gasp!) and recently got her first job at a day care after school.

Graeson is growing a lot and was ecstatic when he passed up mom a few weeks ago!  He is the lead percussionist in jazz band and has learned several different instruments.  He was selected for leadership class at school, and takes part in various service projects - he is also a "big brother" to one of the young sixth graders.  He serves in children's church with dual roles as tech support and small group leader.  He is in his eighth year of taekwondo, and he also plays football and runs in track.

Maezie is doing great in middle school, even when her brother tries to embarrass her!  She plays trumpet in the intermediate band, and she sings in choir.  She is very active in dance - this year she is taking five different dance styles, and she loves all of them!  She too serves in children's church, and she helps with the kindergarten kids.  We even had one event this year where all three kids played in the same band concert!



This year we experienced some unexpected changes as well.  Jill accepted a new job in Portland - still with Providence Hospice but a different team and a bigger role.  Shortly after starting the new job, Graeson broke his arm during a football game which resulted in an ambulance, emergency room, and eventually surgery too.  And in the middle of all of it, Jill's dad was unexpectedly diagnosed with widespread cancer, and two weeks later he died at home on September 24.

But throughout all of our crazy chaos we have spent plenty of time together - some of it is attending kid events, concerts, games, or performances.  Our family vacations were in Victoria in the summer and Seaside in the fall.  We also have Friday family nights doing various fun stuff like baking, playing games, or watching movies.  And sometimes on family nights, we just....rest.

Christmas 2017

Merry Christmas!  Here's what the Williams family has been up to....

We are in a very busy season of life with three kids who are active, over-achieving, energetic, social humans--while parents are trying to keep them fed and clothed (particularly challenging with growth-spurt adolescents)…all while managing the family schedule and keeping the gas tank full.  We are in our second year of three schools--high school for Kaela, middle school for Graeson, and elementary school for Maezie.  Fall season is especially busy with football, marching band, dance, and school schedules—but so far, we haven’t forgotten a kid somewhere!  But amidst the craziness, we make it a priority to spend quality time together: planned vacations, Friday family nights, ice cream trips, or just one-on-one time in the car.

This year we went to Victoria, Canada for our family vacation—a new experience going out-of-the-country!  We drove part of the distance, then onto the ferry to cross the water, and straight into the harbor of Victoria.  We toured the parliament building and learned about Canadian government and their relationship within The Commonwealth.  We especially enjoyed having high tea with lots of delicious treats!  We also rode around the city on a double-decker bus, toured a historic castle, and explored the butterfly museum too!

Our other adventures throughout the year were closer to home.  In August, we got to experience the once-in-a-lifetime total solar eclipse.  Our house was right in the path of totality so we had a neighborhood eclipse party, watched the build-up through our special glasses, and then got to take them off for the two minutes of total darkness.  It was quite the thing when birds stopped singing, bugs came out, and stars started shining.....at 10 in the morning!  Also this summer Bryan and Jill celebrated our 20 year anniversary by spending a week in Seattle with no kids, thanks to Grammy for babysitting!

Kaela will turn 16 on Christmas Day, so she's been spending this year behind the wheel with her driver's permit (gasp!) and gaining driving experience with parents.  She's also been active in marching band, basketball pep band, theater, and high school youth group. Graeson is now 13 (two teenagers, ack!) and he is a busy boy!  He is a second-degree black belt in taekwondo, and he played some new positions in football this year; he also ran on the track team this past spring.  When he's not doing sports, he plays percussion in jazz band, and he's also enjoying a cooking class at school. Maezie turned 10 this year, and this meant getting her own kitten.  She's very active in three dance classes--jazz, hip-hop, and contemporary--as well as school choir; she also decided to try beginning band and she is playing the trumpet.

So when we are not doing all this, we are....sleeping.  We are a happy, busy, fun, and love-filled family!

 

Happy Williams New Year!

Happy New Year 2016!

So we didn't get a Christmas letter out by Christmas.  So I haven't blogged in over a year.  So blogging seems to be a fading trend, now that social media has taken over.  But for the sake of chronicling the Williams family antics--and for my 96 year old grandma who loves a mailed paper version of Williams-Land--here's our 2015 update!

It's been two years since we started the transition of moving to Salem for my new job at Providence Benedictine Hospice (catch up on that journey a few blog posts down).  Though it was an initial adjustment, now we are fully settled into valley life--rains, heat, floods, droughts, and all!  Over the years, much of our family has ended up in this area, so we enjoy having cousin time with the extended family--and we still make regular visits to Klamath Falls to visit the old folks at home.

Kaela is now 14, which is the same age I was when Bryan and I started dating (gasp!)  But so far, no future husband is hanging around and she likes that just fine!  She is in 8th grade and her last year of middle school--she plays the flute in advanced band and enjoys cooking in her catering class at school.  She is in a special advanced math placement doing online classes in a 10th grade math level!  She auditioned for a teen theater company called SKIT and she will soon perform in the play The Pink Panther Strikes Again.  Kaela also loves babysitting and working in the toddler class at church.

Graeson is 11 and in 5th grade--his last year of elementary school.  He loves being active and especially loves sports!  Two years ago (9 years old) he became a black belt in taekwondo--since then he's continued to train and will be testing for second-degree black belt soon.  He also played tackle football this Fall (no concussion this time, phew!) and his team made it to playoffs, ending in second place for their division.  He is in beginning band learning drums and percussion; band is at the middle school, so he rides the bus with Kaela in the mornings.  This year he also was able to have his own dog--Cosmo and Graeson are good buddies and they both wear Beaver jerseys too!

Maezie is 8 years old and in third grade at the same school as Graeson.  She has lots of giggly friends and she loves school!  She and Daddy walk to school together or sometimes ride bikes.  She takes two dance classes--jazz and tap--and also danced in a worship performance at church.  She loves clothes, shoes, and anything sparkly--and she especially loves shopping! She has even given Mommy some fashion advice from time to time.  Maezie enjoys spending quality time together, especially one-on-one, so we play a lot of games, read books, work on crafts, and watch movies.

Bryan and I spend most of our time driving kids, feeding kids, watching kids' games/performances, and coordinating kids.  We do limit the activities on our schedule, but this year nothing seemed to match, sync, or coordinate.  But everyone successfully accomplished their activities, and mom and dad still managed to squeeze in some date nights and kid-free time too.  We had some great family vacations in Birch Bay and Seaside, and some trips to Bend and Klamath Falls too.

We are looking forward to another year of Adventures in Williams-Land and we anticipate lots of fun family memories in 2016!

Christmas 2014

Merry Christmas from Salem, Oregon!

This year has brought a lot of changes for the Williams family.  One year ago we had just begun our journey of being a long-distance family:  I (Jill) was living in an apartment in Salem, working in Mt Angel, and traveling home to Bend on the weekends.  Bryan and the kids were still in Bend, and we would alternate weekends traveling back and forth.  By the grace of God, this arrangement only lasted four months, and by March we were all living under one roof in our new house in Keizer (just north of Salem).  The kids started their new schools after Spring Break--it was an adjustment, particularly for Kaela in middle school--but they all made friends easily, have great teachers, and are all excelling at their appropriate levels!  We've had lots of family outings to explore our new location and what it's like living in the valley instead of the high desert.

Kaela is turning 13 this Christmas Day--a teenager ACK!  She is very excited and has been reminding us every day....for the last 25 days.  She is in 7th grade at Claggett Creek Middle School; she is a TAG student and is in 8th grade math and other advanced placement classes.  Her favorite class is Band where she plays the flute.  She also takes a cooking and sewing class.  She loves science and she wants to be doctor someday.  She was active in theater before we left Bend, and she plans to join a new group here in Keizer after the first of the new year.

Graeson is now double digits--10!--and he is a very active boy!  He is in 4th grade at Keizer Elementary and he was elected as a member of student council.  He too is very advanced, especially with numbers, and his teacher has a challenge keeping him busy.  In May, Graeson accomplished three years of hard work in taekwondo and he is now a black belt!  He was the youngest black belt in his group--we are so proud of him!  Bryan has now also decided to join taekwondo.....which means Graeson is higher rank (but not at home!)  Graeson played tackle football this year, and he had an unfortunate concussion at his first game.  But he healed fully and was back on the field for the second half of the season.

Maezie is 7 years old and growing fast!  She is in second grade at the same school as Graeson, and also on student council.  She loves school and likes that we live close enough to walk or ride bikes to school.  After the big move, Maezie decided to try jazz dance classes and she LOVES dancing!  She also likes to play board games, read books, do crafts, and wear dresses.  This winter she decided to try basketball--and she has a pink and white basketball of course!  Maezie's favorite trip this year was our annual vacation at the beach--swimming, sand castles, aquariums, shopping, and of course....the ocean!

Mom & Dad spend our time coordinating schedules, activities, school, and sports.  Bryan continues his stay-home-dad career and spends his time doing house projects, family meals, and now taekwondo.  Jill is still working on the details of getting the Mt Angel hospice going, and in the meantime I've been commuting to Portland working with their hospice branch.  We hope to be seeing our own patients this Spring!  Together we make coffee dates a priority for kid free time, and sometimes our "dates" are a trip to Costco by ourselves!  But after 17 years and 3 kids.....it doesn't take a limousine to make meaningful time together.  We hope to keep in touch with all of you this next year--send us an email, write on our facebook, or give us a call!

Where DOES Mom Work Anyway?

Normally this blog focuses on family antics, but since mom's job is a part of the family's Adventures In Williams-Land, here's an update from the working world.  One day when the kids are grown up, they'll read this blog and say "OHHHH, now I get it!"

One year ago, we made the decision to prayerfully seek where God would open a new career door.  Williams Changes started happening, and our family began a six-month pre-planned process of changing jobs and moving to a new town.  We re-committed ourselves to continuing my hospice career as a God-given ministry, and re-committed to Bryan continuing as a stay-home-dad.  I accepted a job with Providence Hospice in the tiny town of Mt Angel with the plan to start a brand-new hospice with me in the leadership role.  We made a difficult but purposeful decision to be a Long Distance Family for the first part of the transition.  Mom worked in Mt Angel during the week doing all the background work for starting a hospice, and came home to the family in Bend on the weekends.  In record time, our house Sold...Now What? and we quickly were Moving Up The Moving.  We were happy to be back together again and start our new adventures together!  Mom had a beautiful country drive to Mt Angel--we had morning mommy-cuddles, and evening family time together.  Kaela even got to come to mom's work for Take Your Child To Work Day.

Kaela doing all mom's work for the day

A few months ago, our soon-to-be hospice was hit with a surprise road block when we discovered a severe wait-time for our Oregon healthcare license--the first step which would allow us to see our first patient.  After months of waiting and no end in sight, it was decided to temporarily move the hospice staff to other departments--all of my staff stayed in Mt Angel and worked for home health (similar to hospice work, but also different.)  I was presented with an opportunity to fill an interim need with the Portland branch of Providence Hospice--our Mt Angel hospice's big sister.  So in August I started commuting to Portland every day (one hour of freeway driving both ways) working with the "access" department of hospice.  The simple explanation is that this department is essentially Hospice Grand Central Station......it's where everything hospice starts and ends--and EVERYTHING in between!  Little did I know for the past 12 years, everything I had learned in my hospice leadership had been preparing me for this role.  As God would have it, I've had past experience with almost every aspect of this new leadership position.  So I was able to catch on to the faster pace, larger magnitude, and deeper responsibilities of a huge hospice.  Recently, I transitioned into a permanent position--at least for now--as our wait time in Mt Angel is likely to be a year or more.  And I'm loving this new position!

So my current schedule is on an earlier shift--I start at 7am...which means leaving at 6am...which means a 5am alarm clock.  (This is the one part I'm not overjoyed with.)  But I get home in the late afternoon in time for kid-taxi, after-school activities, family dinner, and bedtime tuck-in.  The kids think it's funny that I go to bed now at the same time they do.  We are having to adjust our gas budget for the daily commute, but the actual drive is not bad...especially in the early morning when the sun is coming up over Mt Hood.  And I love being part of the big hospice!  I even decorated my cubicle so my co-workers will understand my priorities....

"Dear coffee, I love you, that is all."

Someday....when it's in God's timing....I will eventually go back to Mt Angel.  But who knows--God might have a different plan in mind and if so, we'll walk through whatever that door is, whenever the door might open, and whichever direction the door swings.

Where Have We Been?!

So you might have noticed.....it's been five months since the last blog entry.  Sorry about that!  At the last posting, we were still a long-distance family and we were moving up the moving back there in February. 

This gigantic moving truck barely fit all of our stuff inside!

So the fast-forward version:  we found a perfect-for-our-family house in Keizer, just outside of Salem, and we all moved--together again!--during Spring Break (March).  The kids had a week of unpacking before they had to start at their new schools, then we waited until after the second week to re-introduce extracurricular activities.  Kaela had a rough first week at middle school--even though the kids at her school were very nice and welcoming, she missed her girlfriends from Bend.  But soon enough, she started making new friends and now she's right back on track.  Graeson and Maezie made the transition quickly, and Bryan was the fixer-upper-home-dad for several weeks.



The Williams family's new home in Keizer!

After we finally unpacked 1000 boxes (ok not really.....well maybe) we took some time to explore what's it's like being on the other side of the mountains and what its like living in the valley now!  We went to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival and there must have been 3 million tulips!  If you've followed our family blog for several years, you might remember we were actually there once a few years back....long before we ever knew we'd be moving out of our hometown!  Click here for that flashback.

We're definitely not in the high desert anymore!

One of our hesitations for moving the family in Spring was due to Graeson finishing his taekwondo schedule for obtaining his black belt.  Fortunately, the taekwondo gym (a-hem, it's technically called the "dojang") already had a partner-company near our new town, so it was an easy transition.  Graeson was able to continue his taekwondo training and after only three years, he is now a BLACK BELT!  All of the family came to Bend for the big event--we are all so proud of him!

After achieving black belt, his classmates now have to call him "Mr Williams".....or "sir"!

Shortly after, we made a trip to Klamath Falls to celebrate two of our very good friends getting married.  Bryan was a groomsman and MANY people in our lives have seriously never seen Bryan wear long pants!  And long sleeves!  And a tie for goodness sakes!  (Personally, I thought he was so handsome he might upstage the groom!)

Hands off ladies, this good looking man is already married!

To welcome summer, we tried out another valley-experience:  picking our own berries!  There are tons of you-pick farms, fruit stands, and orchards everywhere around here.  We took a bit of a scenic tour trying to find our first strawberry farm, but we eventually picked 30 pounds!  We had strawberry shortcake, strawberry lemonade, strawberry milkshakes, strawberry jam, chocolate-dipped strawberries, and more strawberry shortcake!  We paid for it the next day with sore muscles from the constant bending over--but our tummies were happy!

30 pounds is a lot of strawberries!

In June, Kaela celebrated her half-birthday with a girls night slumber party back in Bend.  She and three of her friends from Bend had a great time reconnecting, catching up, swimming in the pool, eating, watching movies, and staying up late (or, actually early).  Only six more months until we have a teenager in the house!

This Christmas girl is now 12 and a HALF!

Another benefit to living in the valley is that we're only an hour from the beach!  This just might be the best benefit of all!  We went for a day-trip for Mother's Day, and then we went for an entire week for a family vacation over the July 4th holiday.  It was great to leave the house at 2:00 in the afternoon instead of bright and early to travel all day!  We stayed in a timeshare condo in Depoe Bay and had a lovely relaxing time with perfect weather (usually unpredictable at the Oregon Coast), whale watching, harbor seals outside our condo, lighthouses, pool time every day, movie rentals, cheese factories, sunsets, and of course.....THE BEACH!  We all agreed, we want to live there someday.

Hello from the Oregon Coast!

Hopefully......it won't be another five months before the next blog entry.  And then there's the family photos and videos that I'm behind a year and a half.  I think we're too busy having family fun!