Destination: Christmas

We spent Christmas this year in Seaside Oregon with Jason's parents Marvin and Judy, and his grandma, Connie.  Since our flight to Portland International was cancelled due to a combination of wintry weather and broken de-icing machines, at the last minute we decided to make an excursion of it and travel up the Pacific Coast.

On Saturday the 20th (the same day our flight was cancelled), we drove 2 1/2 hours to Windsor California which is located in the heart of Sonoma County wine country. Dean and Jane loved sharing a king size bed (it made a great trampoline) and having their own room.

We departed early Sunday the 21st for the Redwood Forest. Wow, was that spectacular! There are just certain things you need to see before you're pushing daisies and the Redwoods is certainly one for that list.  You hear stories and see pictures but until you see with your own eyes you will not appreciate it.

It was rainy during the time we spent there, and that seemed really appropriate.  Better yet, because it is the off season, we essentially had the entire forest (at least the stops we made) to ourselves.

After spending a couple of hours in the forest, we high-tailed it out of there because we had some serious miles to cover.  After several more hours of driving we stopped for the night at Gold Beach in southern Oregon.  We stayed at the Gold Beach Resort and had ocean views and nearly the entire resort to ourselves.

The next morning we got another early start up the Oregon Coast. By 1:00 p.m. we reached Newport Oregon where we stopped at the Oregon Coast Aquarium.  That was a lot of fun too, and the kids loved making faces at the octopus and sharks.

After the aquarium and three more hours on the road we finally reached our destination in Seaside Oregon.  We arrived early evening and just in time to celebrate Jason's birthday.  After a birthday meal, song, and dessert, the weary travelers called it a night.

The next few days in Seaside were spent enjoying the views, walking the beach, and enjoying the company of family.  On Christmas Eve we went to Haystack Rock where Dean had a blast exploring the tide pool for starfish.  The rain and clouds broke just for the time we were there and made for an amazing late afternoon.

Christmas morning was great. It actually snowed for a couple of hours at our resort! Dean loved his presents, particularly his Nintendo DS.  Jane was sick with what was later determined to be the flu and ear infection, and so her excitement was tempered.  But grammie and poppie loved watching them tear open their gifts.

After a final day of relaxing with family, we headed back to Cali early on the 26th. Because the unusually snowy weather continued, we were forced to drive south along the Coast until Newport and then we cut over to I-5 at Corvallis, Oregon and continued south. Although we drove through snowy conditions at several locations, we never needed to put our chains on, and believe it or not, what had taken us more than two days to do by coast, we we were able to return home to sunny and dry Roseville in a single day.  Yes!

Christmas Decorating

Decorating for Christmas

Summer Memories

Busken visit August 08

Campbell visit June 08

Jason's parents visit June 08

Throwing Jane off the rocks. She loved it and begged Jason to do it again and again.

Fourth of July and The Bradshaw's house 

Here are some summer photo highlights.  I lost our camera on the park trail last week and so no new photos of soccer and fall have been taken.  

First Day of School

Dean is now a 1st grader.  All day school has finally arrived for me, I mean Dean.  He absolutely loves school and his teacher, Mrs. Kissick.  He is already making lots of new friends and is asking for friends over almost everyday.  

Jane also got ready for school by dressing herself.  We sure got a kick out of her striped socks with pink plastic high heels.  

This past weekend was the offical start of the soccer season.  Dean had the best time as well as his teamates.  This fall has gotten off to a great start.

First Family Camping Trip

After years of deliberation, we finally took the plunge and braved the California wilderness as a family; yep, Sarah and Jane went too. The destination: Wench Creek Camp, a beautiful lakeside campground along the Union Valley Reservoir, about half way between Placerville and South Lake Tahoe. Sarah's brother Jason and his wife Mea joined the excursion as well.

After selecting our campsite and pitching our tents, we "hiked" by van to the eponymous creek to swim in the frigid waters and climb around on the enormous rocks. We even combined activities and jumped off some of the rocks into the water.

After we finished with the creek and rock exploration, we returned to our campsite where some took in an afternoon snooze but the more adventurous of the party swam in the reservoir and built sand castles.

Eventually we all worked up an appetite, so we cooked hot dogs over the fire and ate 'till we got full (except for Mea, sorry!). Of course, we managed to save enough room for a s'more or two.

I mentioned pitching tents earlier, and Jason made the executive decision that all four Shermans would sleep in the 2-man tent instead of the family-sized 7-man tent that a friend had loaned us. Apparently Jason did not want to jeopardize the weekend's good will and fun by trying erect a tent that could easily end in frustrating defeat. While not necessarily comfortable, we did all manage to fit into the smaller tent, and I think a couple of us actually got some sleep.

Sunday morning we awoke to pancakes and hot chocolate, compliments of Jay and Mea. After poking at the fire a little more, we broke camp and headed for home. But before we even left, we were already talking about where we were going to camp next time (albeit with a new tent)!

More highlights: Dean tried his hand for the first time with a pocket knife, and Jane had her very first s'more.

You're Very Smart (As Told by Sarah)

So Dean, Jane, and I are driving in the van, and

Dean says, "Look Jane that's a Kindercare over there," and

Jane replies, "Yes, that's right Dean Thomas, that is a Kindercare. You're very smart."

Pomp and Circumstance

Dean "graduated" from kindergarten today from Sargeant Elementary School. Dean and his classmates recited the Pledge of Allegiance, sang a couple of songs that incorporated sign language, and then they received their diplomas. Additionally, each graduate got to say his name (Dean Sherman), tell his favorite thing about kindergarten (raising the baby chicks), and say what he wants to be when he grows up (a baseball player). Even Jane was proud of her big brother. Now it's on to first grade. Way to go Dean!!!

Don't Cross Jane (As Told by Sarah)

So Jane and I are playing on the floor telling each other secrets and I say,

"I've got a secret and you can't tell anyone,"

and she says, "ok."

So then I whisper in her ear a secret and she looks up at me as says,

"I'm going to tell everybody."