Sunday in Surrey

Sunday began by going to Surrey Alliance Church. We saw Jaxton's good buddy, Bly, who was born 7 weeks to the day before Jax. Pastor Ric gave a great message on the body of Christ and we shared the Lord's Supper together. We ordered in from Noodle Island - one of Aaron and Shay's favorite eating places just up the street from them. It's Vietnamese food and very good. Shay and I had hair cuts while Grampa babysat - he's getting good at this! After a short rest, we headed out to Dallas and Donna's - about 20 minutes away in Aldergrove. We had a great supper and visit with all of them minus Lee-Ann who is away in Mexico on a missions trip. Jason is off to Ambrose College in Calgary next weekend, while his girlfriend Bethany heads back to Trinity Western. While Gramma held Jaxton, everyone else played Boggle - all trying to beat out Doug who still reigns as Captain Boggle! Even Katelyn did a great job! We met Dakota - Ginger's puppy that Dallas and Donna will now keep to breed and her new "boyfriend" that D&D were dogsitting for the weekend. Riley is the white lab and Dakota is the golden one. All in all a full and good day. And of course, one more picture of Jaxton and Mommy!

3 more sleeps until Aaron's home

I don't know where the days are going, as apart from holding Jaxton, we're not doing a whole lot! I baked some cookies and muffins for the kids and Shay and I made a fast trip to the mall while Grampa babysat. Both baby and Grampa did fine! Aaron is back in a few days, so we're all looking forward to seeing him.

Check out Jax's shirt and shorts. One of many purchases at Carter's kids' store in the states.

Aaron's birthday without the birthday boy

Here we are in Surrey - home of Aaron, Shay and Jaxton - on Aaron's 28th birthday! Our first born. He spent the day in Haiti with his youth group and we had a wonderful supper with his Lead Pastor and family - Ric and Corinne Strangway, Ashlin, Ethan and Avery. We're so pleased that our kids can learn from great people like the Strangways. They're made of quality stuff and model such ministry hearts. They also kindly share their gift of hospitality with us every time we come.

Couldn't resist

Another walk today in this great sunshine and more cuteness! Our daughter-in-law Shay is a great mom!

Day 2 with our grandson!

He's one happy little guy. I think he looks like Shay although with certain expressions I see Aaron. I took him on a short walk today - sure is a great stroller - a far cry from what his father was pushed around in. I love the picture of his cute, long, frog -like legs!

That's grampa's hand with the ice cream cone - thankfully Jaxton was sleeping and didn't give in to the temptation!

Here he is!

One adorable little boy!!! Stay tuned for more when he's awake.

Tomorrow is Jaxton day!

We said goodbye to Lincoln City, OR and starting making our way north along Hiway 101. First stop was the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Pictures weren't great because of the glass, but it was most interesting to watch them make cheese. They're also famous for their icecream, so what you're seeing is their sampler bowl of 3 flavors - Tillamook Mudslide, Marionberry Pie and Mountain Huckleberry & just so you know, all were excellent! As we continued north, the next stop was Cannon Beach. We walked on the beach and made it almost to Haystack rock - their famous landmark. They have a street full of quaint shops, so I had a quick 15 minute look. Seaside was the next stop on the tour - although I should say it was a moving tour, as we didn't get out of the car here. The long promenade dividing the beach from the town looked inviting though. Then we stopped at Astoria's Columbia River Museum - that was definitely worth it! Fascinating stuff on the boats and the coast guard - their training spot in the US because of the difficult conditions that exist at the mouth of the Columbia - they make 300-400 rescues/year! We said good bye to Oregon, but I hope we can go back some day.

We're now in Everett, WA - just north of Seattle. Tomorrow is Jaxton day!!

Rainy 30th anniversary day on the Oregon coast

Today is our 30th anniversary! We can't believe it's been that long. God has richly blessed us and we feel like His loved and spoiled kids for sure. It has rained and been foggy all day, but we didn't let that stop us from exploring. We headed south to Depoe Bay right after breakfast where we saw whales spouting from the shoreline. That's also the world's smallest harbor and we took the picture of the fishing boat heading into it. We veered off the hiway for a piece and stopped at some other cool spots - Devil's punchbowl, which you see in the pictures, was carved out by the tides when they come in - also saw more whales spouting there. Then we headed further south to Newport and walked along Nye Beach where we're standing with my dripping, straight hair. After rinsing off my sandy feet, we headed to the harborfront in this city. There's a winding street with old houses, stores, and restaurants. We ate at the famous Mo's - made famous for their world renown chowder. I'm not a chowder lover, but this stuff was excellent. It was right on the water, so we watched all sorts of boats come in and Doug spotted a sea lion. Afterwards, we watched on the pier as a fellow loaded his crab cage - not sure if that's what you call it, but he loaded it with chicken wrapped with bacon, dropped it into the ocean and then we waited for 15 minutes and sure enough - he pulled it up and out came some crabs.

We headed back to Lincoln City where we decided to do some outlet mall shopping to stay out of the continuing, misty rain. I seem to gravitate to the baby stores these days! Then, because we loved Mo's so much at lunch, we headed to the Mo's in Lincoln City and enjoyed more fish and another GREAT place to watch the ocean - we weren't disappointed, since we got to see seals playing out in the water all meal long! Pretty great way to spend our day. We'll be checking out the hot tub shortly!

Aaron's safe in Haiti

With all the media coverage on the hurricane in the caribbean, we're so grateful that Aaron and his youth team are safe in Haiti. They had heavy rain, but they were safe and sound in their host's home. You can check out his blog at www.haiti2007.spaces.live.com if you're interested. God is doing some great things for this group already! Shay is holding the fort at home with our sweet Jaxton. Only 3 more sleeps and we get to see him!!

God's beautiful creation!

Wow - quite a day! Left Yakima, WA for Portland and the coast this a.m. The Columbia gorge was beautiful, especially when we got off the interstate for about 15 miles and went along the scenic route. This is where we stopped at the waterfalls - Horsetail and Multnomah - gorgeous stuff! Then we hit Portland and after a few wrong turns, found Powell's Books where we browsed for an hour - it's HUGE! Doug found a bargain book - trains of course! Then we tried to stop at the open air market, but could not find a parking spot, so continued on to the Hawthorne district for lunch at Palio's coffeeshop. I loved it and the area. Check out the pics of us in front - I could live in that area of wonderful old homes and quiet, tree lined streets - the stuff of reflective walks and chats with neighbours. Then, we backtracked and went through Washington Park - pretty amazing, high up park in the city. We stopped at the rose garden of thousands of varieties of roses - my favorite flower, so I loved it. Then, we left the city for the winding road down to the coast. We arrived in Lincoln City early evening, found our hotel and headed out for a Mexican food supper - my husband indulged me. The hotel is great - thank you airmiles! Did a short walk on an ocean boardwalk before dark. Check out the tsunami warning in the hotel room!