Shriner Winter Social

We had a fancy Shriner Party this month that we were able to attend... it seems more and more difficult to find an excuse for the super fancy party clothes to come out to play...but this sure fit the bill! I've been waiting for the perfect event to break out this dress and here it was the Winter Social. We had a really nice time and I guess this will get me through another year in jeans and t shirts... LOL. =)

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year...

4 Generations...

Jason meets his great grandma

Here's a picture I wanted to share from last year... this is 4 generations of my family... my Grandma, my mother, my sister,and my nephew... grandmas first great grandson.

Thanksgiving 2012

April and her boys, Kevin and Jason

George tickling Jason's ears =)

Happy Thanksgiving!
We did our family celebration yesterday.. since George has to work tonight it makes it easier, he doesn't have to rush off to work or for a nap right after dinner. We had a fairly full house this year. James and April and of course the nephews came, Mom and her friend Roberta, George and I and George's Mom Claudette. We had a great time. George was able to get Jason to play...he's been too shy most of the times he's seen him so this was a special treat! Grandma got to hold her newest grandson Kevin.

Grandma holding Kevin for the 1st time

Kevin trying to stay awake to see what all the fuss is.

I just wanted to take a minute to say how Thankful I am for all my friends and family...they can make me crazy but they make life better. Appreciate those loved ones in your life, even the difficult ones, they are only on loan to us and we never know when they may be gone.

Happy Thanksgiving.

The Great Grandbabies

 So here are the Great Grandbabies of St. Louis... Rylie the Princess.. she looked soo adorable in her little princess gown and sparkly shoes...


Little Haley bug in her pretty little dress. She was awful cute and just sat back watched everything that was going on..

and Cassie in her party dress and black shoes.. which are her favorite.

Grandma's 90th Birthday Party

 There was Family... Grandma and her boys... Uncle Charlie and Uncle George.

 There were Grandchildren and great grandbabies =)
Jenny holding Cassie, Grandma holding Haley, and Maddy holding Rylie.



And of course there was Cake!

Here's the family...we had a good time and a nice visit with Grandma.

Little Cousin Cassie

Oma Becky and Cassie

 So I was able to go back to St. Louis for Grandma's 90th birthday bash, and along the way I also got to meet my Cousin Jenny's little girl Cassie for the first time. Here's "Oma" Becky holding little Cassie....




Here's proud Momma Jenny with her little girl... Cassie was practicing twirling that night... very cute. =)

Then it was dinner time here's her Daddy Nick and Oma at the little table eating with Cassie.. she was very adamant about the specific chairs that everybody sat in.. they needed to be exactly where they belonged! =)






And of course Pop and Cassie.. he's not wrapped around her little finger or anything LOL =)

The new and improved Barr Family...

    So as promised...here's the new Barr Family photo... Love Jason's smile in this...he's just soo cute... and of course Kevin is a little doll...

 James, April and Jason, and new little Kevin... hiding in the shadows... it was a beautiful day and I was up there dropping off some baby things the Bairds had shared with James and April... but the bright sunshine was just a touch more than Kevin's eyes were really ready to handle..but we made it quick and the pictures turned out well..

The Brothers Barr...Kevin & Jason

Kevin in Daddy's arms...

Meet the Newest Nephew

Here's the newest member of the Barr family... I am pleased to introduce you to .... Kevin Michael Barr.. he was born 8/22/12 weighing in at 5lbs 14oz and 18 inches long...

Look at those little feet! It's hard to believe that only 18(ish) months ago little Jason's feet were that size!!

Jason and Daddy... Big Brother is looking forward to picking on and protecting his little brother..kitty...LOL... sorry inside joke.. when Jason met his little brother he started patting him on the head and calling him kitty.. =) 

Kevin Micheal Barr

Auntie and nephew Kevin... Uncle George wasn't able to come up for this visit but he's looking forward to spoiling this nephew just as much as Jason!

Photobooth..

George just found this set of photo booth pics in the saddle bags of the bike... I had almost forgotten about these.. they turned out really cute! We had gone over the beach for a day trip and stopped at Gallucci's Pizza in Lincoln City for dinner before heading home and they had a photo booth there.. and FABULOUS Pizza! We had a nice day at the beach, some yummy food and ended up with some cute, fun pics of us.

Rest in Peace Dear Friend.

George Hands in the spitfire Jan 2011

The brothers George Jan 2011

It is with a heavy heart that I write this post... on August 7th, George's best friend George Hands died.They were like brothers and talked almost every day on the phone and often more than once, and frequently for hours.. (had to change the phone plan to make sure they could talk as long as they needed...especially during football season! lol!)
 I only got to meet him once, he came out to Oregon for a visit in January of 2011... I have never seen George so happy!! They were like kids playing hooky from school or something.. it was really something to see. And makes me smile every time I think about it.
 I know that George misses him greatly..and the next few months especially are going to be hard..football season is upon us after all.. and they were the best armchair coaches the New England Patriots ever had!
 So..if George seems a little off when you see him please know that it's not a reflection on you..he's just got a big piece of his life that's missing.. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers...
And make sure you hug your friends and family and make sure they know how much they mean to you, because the number of your days isn't guaranteed.

Butterfly visitor 2012

I had to share this beauty... We had just come home from playing Sunday.. we were walking up to the house from the back driveway when this little beauty fluttered around and caught my eye... I was able to get in the house and grab my camera for a couple of pictures. =)

I have only seen one little dragonfly this year so far but this pretty makes up for it. =)

Flowers 2012

 Last year I planted a little "window" box of Lavender and placed it on the little gazebo in the back yard... Here's a small sample of what bloomed this year... It has an absolutely wonderful smell... I love sitting in the back yard in the gazebo and smelling the lavender and gardenias... I planted some honeysuckle this year also...it's not very big yet...but it will be~

Here's one of 10 fushia baskets I have hanging in the yard! I finally was able to successfully "winter" some baskets from last year (completely by accident...albeit a happy one!) so I ended up with way more baskets than I usually have.. hopefully next year I will be as lucky!!

This is the wisteria that we planted in 2007... it bloomed for the first time this year!! I was sooo happy! This was literally a stick when we planted it...really... no root ball...no dirt... just a stick packaged in some sawdust... and now after 5 years of waiting it finally bloomed. =)

The camelia in the back yard. This one used to be in the front yard but we moved year before last to the back yard.. I wasn't sure about it since last year it didn't do very well... but this year it's covered in beautiful flowers.. so it must be happy enough.

Here's the little patio that George did last year... complete with my little swing and some pretty hanging baskets... I love to sit out here and drink my morning coffee on the weekends...or in the evening just relaxing... it's one of my little happy places... 

Fun night around the Fire Pit

 So.. after talking about these fire pit/ chimney things for the last 3+ years we finally decided to break down and buy one... So after a bit of assembly by George... we had our first fire in our new wonderful fire pit... in the rain.. well... not quite rain, but sprinkles... We set it up in the front driveway so we could hide at the entrance of the garage just in case the skies really opened up... but it wasn't really needed..

and there was fire!! the first time lit!

This may not literally count as a sunshine break..due to there being no sun...but sunshine really is a state of mind... so I think it counts in the metaphoric sense.. it made my brain feel sunshiny.. =)

Our friend Lydia came over to try out the new fire holder... and make smores.... Yum!

Bandit wants Smores.... he's feeling left out! spoiled dog any way!!! =)

Happy 4th of July!!!

 Happy 4th of  July!!! Hope you had a safe and happy 4th.... I tried my hand at taking some pics of the fireworks that were going off across the street and around the neighborhood...however with it being a last minute idea and I didn't take the time to grab a tripod...they are less than stellar! =) Oh well... they still are kinda cool... Had a lazy holiday..we went for a little putt-putt ride with Josh so we could get out and he could get some practice... and had a nice quiet (other than the sound of fireworks booming in the not so much distance) evening til George went to work.

Anyway... We hope you all had a fabulous 4th and that in the spirit of Independence Day you find yourself free of any shackles that are or were holding you back.

And of course... a big Thank you to all those that fought and fight for the freedoms we have. God Bless you.

Teaching Josh to ride...

So George is teaching his friend Josh how to ride... here's Josh trying on his helmet... 

Here's George and Josh discussing basics... getting ready for the first riding lesson... after having washed the bikes and getting them all pretty.

So we went for breakfast and a little ride on Father's Day.. here's Josh in the parking lot after breakfast.. heading out for the ride.

Josh and his new love... =) George created a motorcycle monster! LOL!!

On the way to Astoria ~ Mt. St. Helens & Seaside

Geroge at the Mt. St. Helens lookout.

Mt. St. Helens

We stopped at Seaside to walk around and kill some time before checking into the motel.

There was a really cool little mall area that had a bunch of fun shops and this carousel. This is one of my favorites, there was also a really fun ostrich!

Like I said we had a beautiful day and sun was soo bright and the water soo blue and the sand was blinding white.. you would think we were somewhere much more exotic than Seaside!

This one is a bit out of place but I wanted to share one picture of Mt. St. Helens.