Christmas at the Shepard's 2012

 Clark loves him some Martha Washington Fan. I didn't realize I had gotten him mid chew but he is happy as were we all!

 We gave Clark a Leap Pad for Christmas. Here is Mommy playing with teaching Clark to use his new toy.

Ticket to Ride is my current favorite game. Not just because I won by several trains last night. Look for yourself!  I want to play again today but I can't get any takers.

Mom/Grandma/Great Grandma's 93rd Birthday - 11/24/12

Mom's 93rd birthday was spent in very sunny and warm Mission Viejo, CA with Phil, RuthAnn, Ana, Mark, Kristin, Rick & Franny.  We toured Mission Viejo, checking out the consignment store, WalMart and Costco, and Lake Mission Viejo.  We had a delicious, by request, ham dinner with candied yams, bean casserole, stuffing (left over from T-day), birthday cake and pie, if needed.  The cake was a white cake with fluffy frosting with coconut.  RuthAnn did a fabulous job of the cooked white frosting (making sure as she cooked the sugar mixture that it "threaded" and was done at just the right time - with the birthday girl's expertise coaching).  She received the Snoopy Christmas glasses and various other clothes items. A very blessed 93rd birthday!

Bob's Birthday Card Contest

Bob opened his cards this morning at breakfast. He was very impressed with all the entrants. Two of them had 3D effects and one an olfactory surprise (very stinky) from Julia and Paul. Bob awarded the Best Card of 2012 prize to Mother's entry, which had a 3D fish on the inside and bright colors all over. T's entry got a big laugh because of the sour look of the lady on the front of the card. A card from our neighbors, John and Donna, was particularly timely since Veronica continues to bring us "gifts" of geckos, birds and rats (yikes!).
We're going to a P.E.O. potluck this afternoon, scheduled not for Bob's birthday (surprise, surprise) but because we've got a special guest visiting the chapter. So we'll wait for Bob's birthday dinner until our friends Carol and Bob arrive later in the week.

Emmy!

Sweet Emmy wearing her first hoodie.

St. Josef's Winery

Paul and I had a wonderful day going to fruit stands, out to lunch, checking out the Outlet Mall and winding up at St Josef's winery in Canby of all places. We missed seeing John and Alexis but other than that it was a relaxing and fun day.

Things They Are a Changin'

Here is a picture of our new counters and backsplash. Not a great picture maybe but I was focused on getting the cookbook in the picture. The cabinets are newly installed. As of about an hour ago the doors are on the bottom 3 shelves on each side. They look GREAT.

Quilt News (Optional Reading)

Just finished this quilt today to send off the Paul's nephew and his wife whose baby boy is now a few days overdue. Mother's favorite color is brown so that explains the color choices...the longhorns on the back are a surprise. This is the quilt I was working on the same day our tile backsplash was installed. Tile, fabric, we were both doing the same thing. 

A Lot of Bull

For the second time in 2 weeks the cows got in the horse pasture behind us. Today this fella was about 10 feet behind our fence. Paul took this picture standing in our backyard. Not to worry, we made friends and are playing Hide and Seek below. I'm just out of the frame but see if you can find Brewster. 

Tater Harvest and more!

We had the best day today. We all picked potatoes which we later had for dinner. A squirt gun fight broke out with everyone leaving wet. I just want to mention that holding a camera or even a baby does not prevent you from getting wet. In fact, being a baby didn't keep you dry either. Between the air show above us, the slip and slide in the grass, games and the hot weather we had so much fun. We have a great family!

Farmer Julia

Here are my very first potatoes! I had so much fun digging them out....it's like a treasure hunt! I'm leaving the rest to do with Clark. We tried one and it was wonderful. Now I'm off to buy overalls like any good farmer.

Bragging on Amelia

On Saturday Amelia was in charge of the first ever regatta fundraiser for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in Portland. There was a sailing race, photo scavenger hunt, cocktail time, dinner, auction and prizes. They raised $28,000 that day and Amelia was thrilled with the results of her long days and nights preparing for this. We are very proud of her.

Mother enjoyed her time with Emmy and here they are looking eye to eye! Wonderful.

The Baby Whisperer

Paul's super power is putting babies to sleep. He does not shy away from fussy babies, instead he gently rocks them to sleep. More than once a baby has been passed off to him to comfort. Here he is with baby Emmy. Another satisfied customer.

Emmy Ruth Porter

Emmy was born today, May 1st, at 4:08pm. She weighed 9 pounds 10 ounces and is 20 inches long.

Love,
Auntie & Uncle

Arizona and Savannah's 8th birthday

Last night in Arizona we went to San Tan Flats - country music, great burgers, and fire pits to make S'mores. Couldn't ask for anything better. Fun time with Brian, Danielle, Drew and Ayden.
Arizona style baseball - Giants vs. White Sox - Ayden ran the bases after the game and got a baseball. Great game.
Savannah with her cake.
Sponge Bob Square Pants Cake and Crabby Patty for Savannah
This is Savannah at Rockin' Jump where she had her 8th birthday.

Clark is 3! Almost

Clark's birthday is April 20th but with baby sister coming soon he celebrated today by going to Pump It Up Junior with his friends and family. Here are some early pictures of the birthday boy!

Everyone had a wonderful time on the slides and bounce houses, then with the chocolate cake and presents!

Julia and Paul's Adventure in Hawaii

A free scrapbooking design by Smilebox

Bitty Booties in Kona

I have been working on booties for 3 pregnant friends...all of which are having boys. Alli got some booties from a friend of hers who got me started. These cute little booties are not easy because they are so small. Still they are cute. I'm going to finish about 12 pairs and then sign off on these so look fast.

Kona Happenings

Jeanie and I went to quilting then out to lunch for her birthday. Jeanie has a solid group of friends and this was a fun lunch. Of course afterwards some of us went to the quilt store so that was icing on the cake .....well, there was no cake actually. I made her a spice cake for her birthday and it was yummy.

 Here are pictures of Jeanie winding the warp on her reel, but of course you knew that. 
 Here I am sewing on the lanai. This is paradise!

 See if you can spot Paul inching over the rocky shore to get out to snorkeling. Hint: he's not in a gang even though he's "claiming" colors.

As you can tell, we are warping the loom before we load the heddles. 

This is my first experience downloading pictures onto my notebook then off to the blog. I didn't have editing software so hopefully you can see what you need to see.  We are having a great time with Jeanie and Bob. Aloha!

BREAKING NEWS!

Just wanted everyone to know that Michael got his permit yesterday! He had to try very hard but he is very focused and this is a great step for confidence for him.

YIPPEE!! I'm sure Grandpa Rick will take him out driving!

CONGRATULATIONS MICHAEL!!

Oregon Coast

This is the Astoria Column depicting the Lewis and Clark trail in pictures. We also drove the 4 mile bridge across the Columbia River into Washington. 

We are at the end of the tourist part of Seaside and standing at the Beach. It reminds me of Pismo Beach in CA. We had fish and chips and checked out the house we are renting with the kids in August.

The drive home on Highway 26 was beautiful.