Time Flies!

Well, so much for my idea of updating my blog monthly.  It’s been over three months since my last post.  Being retired, I thought time would pass more slowly and leisurely and I’d find myself with lots of time on my hands.  Hasn’t happened that way.  Instead I’ve discovered that time flies and it flies pretty darn fast.

Multiple events have occurred since my last post:

• Thom and I went on a weekend trip to Ocean Shores, WA.  I loved it, but Thom found it to be a bit too foggy, gloomy, and cold weatherwise.  It made walking on the beach easy though because we were the only ones there visiting a multitude of seagulls and pelicans.
• Since Thom and Jim’s birthdays are both in September, we celebrated them together at our house.  Thom’s 60th birthday and Jim’s 36th.
• October brought the celebration of Simone’s birthday; and, of course, Halloween.  Our first Halloween in our new home; and we had probably 30 trick-or-treaters.  It was fun.
• On our way to San Diego, we spent a couple days in Carpenteria (near Santa Barbara).  We had a lovely time walking the beach in Carpenteria and visiting Santa Barbara.
• We attended our niece’s wedding in San Diego.  Briana and Zac were married on 11/11/11.  It was truly a fairy tale wedding.  The highlight for me was that all four of us siblings (me, Larry, Lisa, and Linda) were together and that rarely happens.
• While in San Diego, we got to see Craig, Brenna, and Charlotte.  Charlotte grows as quickly as time flies.  It was great to go to Gymboree with them and watch Charlotte play and learn.
• We visited Dave and Joy in November; and had a lot of fun watching Davey and Katey playing soccer.
• Thanksgiving was celebrated at Mom and Dad’s home in Yuma, AZ.  Lisa was there also; and Larry came by.  Since Briana and Zac live in Yuma, we also got to visit them for a bit in their home there.
• December was filled with fun.  We went to a nearby tree farm and got our first ever fresh cut Christmas tree (a noble fir).  We invited the grandkids over to help decorate it.  Christmas day was spent at Jim and Becka’s home.  The grandkids got a beautiful piano from Jim and Becka which they were absolutely thrilled with.  Then, of course, we had the joy of listening to them all take turns playing.  All the kids, with the exception of Sophie, play very well.  Sophie will start taking lessons in another couple of years.
• January found us driving back to California to attend the wedding of our nephew, Tim.  Tim and Tracy Lynn were married in Hesperia on January 7th.  It was a beautiful wedding.
• Back home again, we woke up to a blanket of snow at our house on January 15th.  Everything looked so pristine and white and peaceful and gorgeous.

Clicking on the links throughout this blog will take you to pictures of the different events.  I must say that I am loving it in Oregon – the rain, the lush green pines, the clouds, the hills, being able to see the grandkids and Jim and Becka more often . . . it’s all I dreamed of retiring for and it’s a dream come true.

There you have it.  I would tell you that I’ll blog more often, but I’ve said that once before and we know what happened . . . three months later.  Ah well, I’m sure you know . . . time flies.