Jingle Bells

Three Little Ghosts

Once upon a time, there were three little ghosts. They lived on an island. It was Halloween and it was 7:00 at night. The little ghosts went trick-or-treating with their little ghost friends. Then it was 8:00 at night after they had gone to their friends' houses. Then they wanted to get home; they knew the way. They took the path with nut trees. They found paths. They all had coconut trees. They didn't know which way to go. So they tried to go back, but they only got more lost. It was then 9:00. They forgot which path lead home. Tree after tree after tree they got more lost. They were too lost, but then they found their way home! The End.

~ told by Will, age 7

*added note: I believe this is the first story he's told that didn't contain trains!

Happy Halloween, everyone!

10 Year Anniversary Trip: Goats on the Roof

One of the first questions I asked some of the locals was if there were any Farmer's Markets around and most suggested the small town Coombs, so we took a drive. There was a block of shops and novelty gifts stores for us to browse through, but the Farmer's Market was really not a typical Farmer's Market. Sure, there was lots of fruits and veggies, but most of them had stickers on them... like you'd find in a grocery store. Disappointing.

HOWEVER...

There was this great little store called Goats on the Roof. The decorations were fantastic!

Inside was a wonderful assortment of food from all over the world. Plus a fresh pastry counter and a fresh bread counter.

There was also a wide assortment of local cheeses and fresh jerky. There were toys, too! Oh, the wonderful wooden toys! Jeff and I had a blast checking out all the options! We decided on three little pop-guns and huge wooded dice to bring home for the boys. I took this picture to remind me of the cute swords and shields that would be so easy to make!

I just can't explain the assortment of foods, novelties, soaps, etc that this little store had to offer. It was one of my favorite stops on the island.

And then of course, when we walked outside, the goats had come out so I could get a picture!

Yep, honest to goodness Goats on the Roof! :)

10 Year Anniversary Trip: Nannoose Bay

For our 10 year anniversary, we took a trip to Vancouver Island, BC. We stayed in a resort on Nanoose Bay. The tide came and went each day so we decided to take a trip down to the bay to see what we could see. :)

We had a fun days of exploring and saving starfish! These pictures are from two days of playing out in the bay.

Here is a shot from the shoreline; note the log in the front... at the end of the post, you'll see the same log while the tide is back in. (Such a difference!)

Jeff saved about 10 - 15 starfish during our exploration!

(The purple sand dollars are still alive.)

Jeff dug up this huge clam!

And wanted to open it

But that clam wouldn't let him... and neither would I. I told him if he wasn't going to eat it, that he shouldn't open it. Such a party pooper!

We decided that this guy is a red sea anemone with all his little "feelers" retracted.

Jeff saw a huge shell and tried to pick it up, but it didn't easily come up from the sand. That was because there was a HUGE SNAIL still inside!!!

A blue heron having lunch:

And a bald eagle!

And another bald eagle (War Eagle, that is!) {grin}

And the tide back in early in the morning... BEAUTIFUL!

Christmas 2008

Our poor tree. The boys have mutilated it this year. We opted for no ornaments after they broke my strand of "cranberries". The only ornaments on the tree this year are the ones Will brought home from school and the few we received as gifts prior to Christmas. Again... poor tree.


We left a frosty mug of soy milk and some cookies for Santa. A pile of carrots for the eight reindeer and a red apple for Rudolph, per Will's request. :)



Santa sure did work some magic on our tree! It sure looks beautiful now! :)


He and the reindeer enjoyed their cookies and left a thank-you note behind.


He stuck three swords in our tree...


And loaded the boys with presents!


We had some friends and family send us money to get the boys some gifts and I thought this would be the easiest place to let them see what they got the boys. :)


From Deborah to Nathan:




From Deborah to Will:



From Deborah to Wittman:

(The truck is a combo gift from Deborah, Jeff & me.)



From Nana & Grampa to Nathan:


From Nana & Grampa to William:



From Nana & Grampa to Wittman:



A few highlights from Santa: