Trip to Oregon for my Mom's 80th Birthday

Kent and I were able to fly to Oregon on the 10th of March to help my mother celebrate her 80th birthday.

We flew out bright and early in the morning, and we had the rare experience of watching the sun rise from the air.

I made my mom a cake to her specifications, which was a chocolate cake with royal icing. We had the birthday party at my brother's house, who also lives in Oregon.

We decided it wasn't necessary to have 80 candles on the cake!

I made buttercream frosting for the layers inside the cake. It was yummy!

My sister from Massachusetts and my brother from Texas joined us for a dinner cruise that left from Portland, Oregon. Of course it was a rainy night. That's to be expected in Oregon in the spring.

A dinner cruise was my mother's request.

Since we went at night we didn't see too much out the windows except what was lit up.

Here's a view of all the family members who were able to join us on the cruise. We were only all together for about seven hours on my mom's actual birthday, since my youngest brother didn't fly in until Saturday afternoon, and my sister had to leave Saturday after the dinner cruise. I really regret that we didn't get a picture of just the original six family members.

Mom makes patchwork flannel blankets for all the great-grandchildren. She enlists my help whenever I visit so we can work together on the quilts. Below my sister, Jill, is helping to cut out squares. This shows what a loyal daughter she is, because she has no interest in sewing or much of anything domestic!

Here's the top of the quilt we completed while I was there.

My parents holding the bouquet of flowers my daughter, Lissa, sent my mom for her birthday.

My mom is proud of the fact she doesn't have to dye her hair at her age. It's a nice natural brown color even at the age of 80.  Her mother never had to dye her hair, either, but she passed away in her seventies. Happy 80th birthday, Mom!!

February Visit to the Colorado Carsons

I took a fun trip to Colorado in February to see Rachel and the kids while Tyler is in Afghanistan. I wanted to try to give her a little break from single parenting, and I had a great time with Andrew and Sylvia. It was a win-win!

Andrew wanted to play with the play dough every day I was there.

 He has an amazing array of cookie cutters and gadgets to shape the play dough.

Photographic evidence of Andrew playing with the play dough on three different days.

 Rachel wanted me to show her how to make cinnamon rolls, and of course Andrew wanted to help.

 All that experience with play dough made him a good helper with the bread dough!

Andrew helping his mommy clean the piano.

The weather was nice enough that we went on some walks.

One day we went to the Pioneer Museum in Colorado Springs.

 This was taken outside of the museum. You can see it was a really nice day, considering it was the middle of February.

 One of the places in the museum was set up like an old-time photo studio with hats and bonnets to wear. I think this is a fabulous picture of Rachel and Sylvia. Andrew didn't want to be in the picture.

This was in a room that had been used as a courtroom.

 In the children's room there was a teepee that the kids really liked to play in.

 Afterwards Andrew had some energy to burn,

 so he played out in the grass outside of the museum for a bit.

Here's Andrew playing with the car mat I made for him.

 They have a fun play room set up in the basement for the kids.

 I always love reading to the kids at bedtime. Andrew doesn't look too thrilled, does he? He liked being read to, he just didn't want to get his picture taken!

I was able to watch the kids while Rachel had a church meeting, went to some exercise classes, did some shopping and had a dentist appointment. I wasn't there long, but I'm so glad I could go and spend some time with that sweet little family. Rachel is an awesome mother and a wonderful homemaker.

Valentine's Weekend Trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Kent ended up having a four-day weekend over Valentine's day, since he had Friday off and Monday was president's day. We planned a trip for us to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It's a resort town (nicknamed the "Redneck Riviera") and we know several couples who go there every year, so we thought we'd check it out.

We headed out on Friday morning. On our way there we passed by the town of Carson, Virginia. We'd stopped there a few years ago on our way to North Carolina. We took some pictures of Kent posing in front of his namesake town.

 We didn't know if this was a home or a business, but we loved this house and would love to own something similar someday.

We drove through North Carolina and then into South Carolina.

 Myrtle Beach is on the Atlantic Ocean and there wasn't a direct road to get to it from the interstate, which surprised us. We took several small, winding two-lane roads.

 We checked into our hotel in the afternoon, and that evening we had tickets to see a variety show at the Alabama Theater. That's one of the things Myrtle Beach is known for, is their big theaters and elaborate shows.

The show we went to was a mix of patriotic, gospel and contemporary music, with some dancing and comedy acts thrown in. It was entertaining and professional.

The next day was Saturday and we headed to the beach area of Myrtle Beach. Below was one of our feeble attempts at a selfie. (Selfies should only be taken by the young!)

 We finally asked someone to take a picture for us. It was sunny, but still cold that day.

 We walked out to the end of this pier,

and took pictures of the resorts along the beach from there.

 On Sunday before church (it didn't start until 1pm) we went to a famous sculpture garden.

 We had a guided tour through the gardens.

 It was another sunny, but cold, day.

 This big old tree was so pretty, and full of Spanish moss. I always think of Spanish moss being found farther south, like Louisiana.

 The garden was full of sculptures collected by a childless married couple, who donated them to the public after they passed away.

 This was the largest sculpture in the garden, set in a pond.

We had a nice trip, but neither of us were overly impressed with Myrtle Beach and have no desire to return there. Especially since neither of us are fond of the beach. We headed back to Virginia after church on Sunday so that we could have the Monday holiday to work on projects at home.