what can one do in brookings, oregon?

try not to get eaten by the bears displayed up and down the main drag.
try keeping up with the jones' & the town light displayjust walk outside in the morningfood. glorious food.
dress up like an angel.innkeeper,sheep,
or wiseman.get in on some ping pong action.play with christmas toys.

then drive 16 hours back home and try to catch up on sleep!

days of our christmas

this year bobby & i got car tires for christmas. i know, i know, that tops everyone's wish list.

i wasn't a very good sport at first (yes, i cried) and then i gave myself a series of lectures about the spirit of the season etc. etc. and decided that my poor sport self better do something about it.

thus unfolded our december. i knew i wasn't going to be able to buy much for bobby, so instead, i wanted to make every day in december just a little bit of christmas.

each day the advent calendar held a clue for the day's activity. notice the significant improvement to our ceiling fan fiasco...

the husband's first and very cold visit to the lights at temple square.

and much more- pizza, car cleanings, cheese balls, a night with my undivided attention and you tube, road trip snacks, caroling, nights at the movies- not captured with the lens.

merry christmas bobby! you even got me to watch willow, and you know i had a life long vow never to give in on that one!

its beginning to look a lot like an oregon christmas!

the drive to oregon was supposed to happen tuesday, but with a big storm about to blow in, and me not so much loving snow storms across nevada, we up and took off sunday morning. the more christmas the merrier right?

i felt like we were on the mystery route, surrounded by dense fog in the dark of the morning.

every once in a while, we'd ascend above the frozen tundra and see the beautiful day.

and then descend again...
the subie handled it well...and then there were cows,and stinson-faces,and frozen lakes of the woods with impending rain storms, a sure sign we were being greeted by oregon.alas, i have no pictures of the driving rain on the dark windshield, but i can tell you that we are here, and enjoying this non-white christmas.

besides, who can complain when i'm lying on a bed looking at this:

visions of wrapping caramels dancing in my head

i should remember when asking excellent cooks for recipes, to not only include ingredients, but detailed instructions, like, " be patient, you may be stirring for more than a half hour"

or, "be prepared to wrap those caramels for the better part of a movie or two!"

but alas, they were quite delightful to package up.
and deliver to friends.and hopefully they even tasted good!

bobby the builder

sorry for the sad face... he has a monster cold in this pic!

bobby has his last final of the semester today. wahoo! i thought it would be a pretty good reason to brag about him a bit. he has an itch to create.

he ordered this book earlier this year, telling me he wanted to be more creative. it was around the same time he ordered little tiny parts to make mini robot out of a computer mouse. who does that? bobby does that. pretty sure he is already creative.

this semester he came home giddy after making a pip squeak mini engine in class. it was a group project, but again, bobby had the itch to make it really good, and did most of it himself, enjoying every moment. pretty sure it will be on display at our house.

and the gem of all gems. his project for his history of creativity class. he dreamed up images of making the golden ratio go 3-D. he designed it all out- with dreams of making it a designer side table.
the budget got ahold of the designs, and it got scaled down a touch, but it turned out to be a great work of art for our shelf.

and maybe, now that i'm sure i described everything all wrong, bobby will get on here and explain it all himself, the right way!

and just remember bobby, the next time you wonder if you should really be in engineering- most people don't do this in their free time, let alone love it!

laundry lessons

does anyone else have their moments, when they do something they really know better and think it won't be a big deal this time?

i threw some new maternity jeans into the wash with some brights, darks, and *gasp a couple whites. i know, i know. what was i thinking? possibly that i was grouchy? and just wanted everything washed at the same time? especially since we have to give the dryer 4-5 rounds- not exaggerating here people- to dry a single load?

i admit it. i did it. and now i will pay the price. bad- can i repeat bad light blue dye job going on right now.

i have precious few fitting clothes, did i really have to learn this lesson right now? and on one of bobby's favorite, and cutest (strike that- most attractive) shirts?

lesson learned, let's hope. excuse me, i have buckets to attend too...

decking our halls

the hunt for the perfect tree is on.

this one might be her.

not only did she need her traditional
but we also added these childhood beauties!