November

November started with Brittany and Holden returning home to Texas;

10 days later I left to go to Texas to stay for 10 days while Nick was training in another state. We spent the time visiting the PX, playing at the playground, seeing the sights of El Paso, visiting the hospital (for hours!) for Britt's doctor's appointment, and hanging around the house. It was so odd to leave here where it was cold and raining to go there where it was in the 70's most days. I went from wearing sweaters and coats to short sleeves and flip-flops!







Even more odd, when I returned home it was freezing and snowed the next day!;




Kelsey bought her first car, a 1965 Ford Mustang! It needs a little work like a new paint job and some minor repairs but it runs. The biggest issue is that it is a stick shift and Kelsey has to learn to drive it;




We had a nice Thanksgiving at my sister's house here in town. I really like only having to drive across town!

October Wrap-Up

October was a fun month!


The girls were out of school for a couple of days so Kelly took time off work and we went to Rilea for two nights. We took a walk around the camp, visited Fort Clatsop and took a long nature walk along the bay, went out to the jetty where the waves were breaking over the jetty, drove around Astoria, flew wooden airplanes off the Astoria column, drove across the bridge to Washington and back and introduced the girls to "our" new pizza place. We took the long way home down the coast stopping to take in the scenery at the top of the mountain looking down at Manzanita, drove through Sand Lake, checked out the Cape Mears lighthouse and octopus tree, stopped at the Tillamook Cheese Factory and had ice cream, drove along the bay out to Netarts, found the house my grandparent's used to own, fed the fish at the hatchery, climbed the dunes from Tierra Del Mar to Pacific City and came home;

Kelly and I got to spend our "favorite" holiday together (Columbus Day, when he has the day off but the girls have school!);

took a couple of trips to the VA with a stop-off at IKEA;

Brittany and Holden came later in the month and stayed for a couple of weeks;

Kelly, Lindsay, Brittany and Kelsey went crabbing and caught ONE keeper. They gave it to some other people there since it was pointless to bring home one crab. Chloey, Shelby, Holden and I met them at the beach and went to lunch at Galluccis;

Kelsey made an awesome Halloween cake;

Brittany made Holden a lion costume and he trick-or-treated our block (much to the delight of the neighbors who've seen my girls grow up), stopped at Uncle John's and finished the night at my parent's house. (and I didn't get any pictures)

All in all, October was a good month!