It's a race to the beer!

Can you guess who won!

On the beach

Here is a picture of us on the beach with the turtle. I bet they get their picture taken alot.

Well, the Stromers made it!! Here is a picture of Terry and I on the beach with the turtles. This beach is just down from our rental house and is perfect for snorkeling. We also bought a fishing pole and have been trying to catch a fish to eat. Hope it is a tasty one.

Hawaii and the Butlers

The Butlers on the beach in Waianae. We have flown to Hawaii to help celebrate our Grandmothers 90th birthday. We are staying in a rental house and up the beach from us is a beautiful little swimming cove good for snorkeling and the turtles like it too. We shared the beach this day with two large sea turtles and they could have cared less!!

New snow on the river

Boy, oh boy, we have definately gotten the snow this year. Yesterday was one of those weird weather days. We woke up to 40 degrees and melting snow, dripping eves, by the afternoon it was still warm but the wind had picked up and was blowing things all around. Over night the temp dropped to about 24 and we got another 2-3 inches of snow. But today the sun was shining and things were so bright and sparkling, I couldn't help but run out with my camera to capture the beautiful winter scene. Hope you enjoy it too!. One view is north facing off the deck and the the other view is east facing off the deck and shows our "castle" rock formation (a basalt outcropping on the top of the ridge across the river from us).

If you would like to have a closer look at the pictures you can double click on the pic and it will enlarge to fit your screen.

Turkeys in the yard

The snow has also increased our bird feeder population to include some very hungry big birds. We have a herd of 9 Turkeys that come to eat! And boy do they eat!

Snow in Georgia!!

Patrick thought he was getting out of the snowy weather....but think again!! Since Patrick has been down in Marietta it has snowed twice!! He text'd Melissa a picture of his little Tercel with a snow covered windshild with the word LAME written across it. He was not thrilled. At least it will help fill up the resevoirs so that they will have some water for next summer. Wish I had a picture to send.

Eagle on the rock

Just out messing around looking for wildlife and snapped a picture of an immature bald eagle resting on a rock. We have had quite a bit of snow here on the river thanks to El Nina so we frequently see the elk herds down near the water. There have also be many sightings of cougars trying to catch dinner! The poor deer have to really keep on their toes.

If you look close at the bottom right hand corner of the picture where the eagle is still resting on the rock you can see another bald eagle coming in to check things out. As the eagle flew over, did a loop and headed across the river the resting eagle decided to join him in flight. I didn't get the greatest shot of his takeoff but it wasn't too bad. They are such impressive birds to watch and we are fortunate to have so many of them winter over on the river.

Heading South

On January 2nd Patrick and I headed out with the little Toyota Tercel packed to the roof......we were heading to Georgia and warmer climes!! Patrick will be attending Life University in Marietta Georgia. We had the trip planned for 4 days travel. First stop Las Vegas. We stayed on the strip at the Excalibur and walked with the throngs of other tourists to see the sights. We watched the Laser light show on Fremont Street, and the fountains at the Balagio. Next morning it was up early...hit the breakfast buffet and then on the road. Next stop was Alburquerque New Mexico. 3rd night out was Little Rock Arkansas, and fourth night we were in Marietta. We didn't get lost much. Only had to retrace our steps a couple of times. The weather was excellent, about 70 degrees! I had to buy me some flip-flops and take off my wool socks! The pictures are of Patrick on Hoover Dam outside of Las Vegas, and then pics of outside his new "home" in Marietta, and one of Patrick and Jeff and Karen. Jeff and Karen live in Gainesville Georgia about an hour away from Marietta. They are dear family friends who have know the kids since they were born. It is great to have friends who live near!

New Years Eve

As we have done for many many years we once again celebrated New Years Eve with a bon fire and fireworks. This year it was so cold outside that our Champagne froze in the bottles and came out in hunks! We couldn't get the bonfire lit so we huddled around our small fire pit to roast homemade marshmallows and thaw our champagne. The boys (Terry, Patrick, Rush and Mark) went on the hill and took care of the pyrotechnics. It was a great display and everyone still has 10 fingers and two eyebrows each!!! But no pictures to share.

Preparing for the New Year

The kids all made it home for the weekend before New Years Eve. We had a bunch of snow so we made snowmen. The kids decided it would be a crime scene, so they made three snowmen with a variety of wounds and weapons. Not exactly festive but very funny. Patrick thought this would be the last time he would get to play in the snow for awhile since he was moving to Georgia after the first of the new year. More to come on that subject later!

Christmas Dinner at Emily's house

The girls are helping fix Christmas dinner. Because of the busy work schedule over the holidays we decided to celebrate Christmas in Boise where all the kids were. The kids decided on an Oriental Christmas dinner. We had a great time. As you can tell by the size of the feast, we didn't go hungry. The menu included lumpia, california rolls, fried rice.