2009 12 29 Snowboarding! Yeessss!

Lisa really knows how to win the hearts of the boys. Snowboarding is soooo cool and was a huge hit! Not only did they spend the day taking lessons, but Eimhin and Lisa took them back to the mountain that night for more! Snowboarding in the dark. They were absolutely exhausted when they returned home - practically unconscious! They will remember this for the rest of their lives - and so will we. Many thanks Lisa and Eimhin. Great job!

2009 12 28 A Royal Feast....crowns, prizes and games! Cheers Everyone!

2009 12 26 Our Tubing adventure at Snoqualmie Pass

Brrrrr! It's really cold..













Peyton in tow!













Justin at the ready.....

















Lisa, Eimhin and Peyton waiting their turn.
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Catch 'em Papaw!













Papaw and Justin - great smiles guys.
















I think you got him boys!


Yep! they did...

2009 12 25 Let's open the presents!

Let's see.....it was a very Wii Christmas! Stocking were filled with all sorts of candy and treats, but best of all we're having a great time together. Sorry Mike and Heather couldn't be with us this year. Maybe next.....

2009 12 25 The Boys are Here - Yea!

The boys did well on their first solo flight without mom and dad. During the flight they won the hearts of the flight attendants - they are good boys!

2009 12 25 Merry Christmas! Joy to the World! Peace and Love!

Merry Christmas and peace and love to all! We miss our family very much, but have a joyous reunion scheduled later tonight. Peyton and Justin will join me and Joe, Lisa and Eimhin in Seattle for an extended Christmas celebration.

We will miss Heather and Mike... :-( But they must work....and we are happy they have jobs to go to.

Several days ago, when Nancy visited Heather, Mike and the boys in Indiana, they created this unique gingerbread house and snowman display. It was great fun and the house smelled terrific.

We are in Redmond, Washington with Lisa and her boyfriend, Eimhin until New Year's day. We will fly to San Jose del Cabo, Mexico until April - we're headin' south for the winter with the other snowbirds!

Happy New Year everyone.

2009 12 24 Dinner Christmas Eve

It takes all day to prepare - and it's gone in 20 minutes. Our menu consisted of roast turkey and dressing, roasted root vegetables with gravy, fresh cranberry sauce, butterflake dinner rolls, lovely wine and a delicious white chocolate mousse with berry coulis. Yum! Another lovely Christmas Eve dinner - and with our family too...all the better.

2009 12 19 Lisa's first Cookie Exchange

We're enjoyed many delicious treats! All homemade and all very tasty - calorie free too! ;-)

2009 1 06 Sweet Dreams! - they're so good when they're asleep!

The boys gladly gave up their beds and camped-out in the living room so Mimi could have a comfy sleep. They're so good.....especially when they're asleep. Sweet Dreams!

2009 11 20 Oceanside, CA

We've enjoyed warm sunny days in Oceanside. Nightly temps dip into the 40s but morning quickly warms and we're able to wear shorts and t-shirts. Not bad! That's our plan. The beach is a few hundred steps away from the coach, so we really enjoy being close to gorgeous golden sand and beautiful blue water. There is a little cafe across the street where we grab an occasional lunch.

We're have really enjoyed California, but we look forward to our upcoming visit with the kids over the holidays.

Nancy is soon going to Indiana to visit Heather for her birthday - and to see Michael, Justin and Peyton. Shortly after she returns we'll put the bus in storage and head to Lisa's to celebrate Christmas. Justin and Peyton will join us in Seattle - so we'll all be together for a visit with Aunt Lisa and Eimhin.

We are heading south to San Jose del Cabo after the New Year and plan to spend the winter on the beach, watching whales go by and soaking up the sunshine.

Drop us a line and let us know how ya'll are doing.

2009 10 25 Oceanside, California

We moved a little further South to Oceanside, about an hour north of San Diego. We're enjoying lovely weather, warm sunny days and cool evenings. A short walk through the RV park and you're at the beach - life is good - too bad the kids are so far away :-(

2009 10 10 Malibu

We've been in Malibu for a couple of weeks and have enjoyed every minute of our stay. The weather has been lovely and we really like being so close to the beach. Today's skies are overcast and folks in the area are hoping for a bit of rain. We wouldn't mind as we have managed to avoid rain for months now and the car is quite dusty - might save us from a trip to the car wash.

2009 09 30 Santa Monica Pier, Beverly Hills and Hollywood!

We just had to check out the Santa Monica Pier, Hollywood and Beverly Hills. All the glitter, all the young wanna-bees hanging out waiting to be discovered....you may have visited or read about these famous places, but we just had to go and see them for ourselves. The Chinese Theater, the Walk of Fame, the TV Studios, Rodeo Drive, fabulous hotels, chic restaurants and hip clubs - all so exciting! We didn't see any stars, but I'm sure they were there somewhere!

Our weather was simply gorgeous and the beaches even more gorgeous. To top it all off we get to got hear the history of these amazing cities!

We took the hop-on hop-off bus tour of Santa Monica, Hollywood and Beverly Hills. We took a second tour that encompassed a drive-by of the homes of the stars. We viewed the estate where Michael Jackson lived and died, the hotel where Janis Joplin died, the club where River Phoenix died....OK, OK..OK...enough about drug addicts and death. There is a common thread here......do too many drugs, ya die!

We also saw homes where Friday the 13th, Halloween and Nightmare on Elm Street were filmed. We saw the estate where The Godfather was shot. We saw towering apartment buildings that are home to the likes of Lindsey Lohan and Cher, and Estates belonging to Tom Cruise and Dr. Phil. There were so many names dropped you couldn't begin to remember them all - in any case it was interesting to see where they live - at least part of the time.

We enjoyed our tours, but were ready to get back to our bus on a little slice of heaven along the coast of Malibu.