What have we been up to lately, anyway?

I know, I get busy with other things, and the blog gets ignored. I will fill your plate with new pictures though. We had a great weekend on the coast - Lincoln City and then down the coast to Florence for the Super Bowl Game.

On Saturday, it was nice-ish, so we headed down towards Depoe Bay to this hidden beach area off Highway 101. The beach there is covered in sand and pebbles, but has some agates that you can find! (Stay tuned for pics from this beach...we went back on Sunday.) {We didn't have our camera out on Saturday, sadly.}

Saturday night, we turned in early. {It's really tough to get both those kiddos down and it makes you get sleepy trying to make them sleepy.} On Sunday, Deacon came up late morning so we took him to our favorite spot. {Even the dogs love the ocean water!}
Casey in mid-shake...it doesn't matter how cold the water, she is in it every time! Here's Deacon and Hil, out enjoying this lovely spot with us!Love this shot, had to add it. =)

MacKenzie came too with her new boyfriend, Mack. (They are both named MacKenzie, pretty funny ey?) He's a nice guy, we approved. heh, heh

Here's Cody playing in the seafoam.

I try to not touch the stuff, but Cody loves blowing these "bubbles."

It's pretty thick stuff, and there was a LOT of it.

Here's Brian posing with Codes. I don't think he had his shoes off on this day or I'm sure this photo would have caught him playing in it with Cody.

Poor Deacon was trying to get a shot with Cody, but Codes must have though "Unca Deacon" was trying to take him away from his beloved foam. Done with the foam and heading off to wash it off in the water. Here's Caitlin, sitting off on her lone rock. I wish we could have caught her walking up to it. She was pretending she was Godzilla or something, tossing all the rocks in her way off to the side. (Can you see the two rocks towards the bottom middle of the pic? She had tossed these aside and tried to pick up the rock she is sitting on. It was rather funny, but she wouldn't reenact it for me to take pictures. Bummer.)Cait-o was brave enough to jump off this log to her Daddy who was standing below. I think her brother is ramping up her competitive nature. She's now getting gutsy like Cody has ALWAYS been. I miss my cautious little girl (sometimes). {Though I'm really proud of her too when she battles those fears of hers.} This is me, throwing a found stick for Casey. I'm telling you, your arm would fall off before this dog would get tired of chasing whatever you throw for her. She SEARCHES for sticks as soon as we get to the beach. She tends to be good at finding one too.

Cody making use of our sand toys.

Abby standing guard??? ha, ha {Doesn't it look like she's thinking, "What you lookin' at?"}

This was a great time. The sun was shining, little wind, and family abound. As Caitlin likes to say, "It was a great, great day!"

Chicken soup for the Dad deprived

Sometimes the thing that really hits the spot is a taste of a memory. While I was growing up, my Dad always made soup...the best soup around and that's no joke. It helped that his mother, Grandma Nabozny, made the best doggone homemade noodles this side of Poland. Well, before my parents came to visit us in November, I found these really great noodles ~ Made in Germany ~ at the Cost Plus store. They're somewhat close to Grandma's in size, but nothing can truly compare with noodles that someone you love has painstakingly made from scratch. But, they might be the closest I have found for my chicken soup.


Well, I went to the local market (not the huge chain store where I always buy WAY TOO MUCH, just a little grocery store that has good produce prices) and picked up some carrots, celery, leeks (I love them, and only use onions when I have to), and parsnips. The parsnips remind me the most of my Dad's soup. For some reason they are like sweet carroty potatoes (or something along those lines). My Dad adds them sometimes and it makes a difference, truly. Here was my masterpiece:

It certainly was as good as it looks! Yum!

Oh yeah, and Dad, I found this at that same local market. I haven't tried it yet, but I'll be thinking about you when I do! hee, hee

Out with the old...

Deacon came and helped us with our shower, which had been broken for quite some time. (Sorry Mom and Dad!) He fixed the shower, then he so generously helped us pull out our old sink (notice the chipped, rusty drain and extra hole) and faucet (you could never really efficiently turn the water on and make it the temp you desired). He helped us put our new sink in (which we purchased months ago) and gave us this really nice Moen faucet (because the replacement faucet we bought truly was a piece of junk cheapie). Thanks Deacon! Look how great it looks now!

and thank goodness for in with the new!

Ahhh, it's like we're living in a hotel! heh, heh, ha, ha