OUR HOME AWAY FROM HOME

this is the view from the back deck

this is the outdoor fireplace - we love sitting by the campfire - SMORES!

this is the front view of the a-frame cabin

We recently acquired some recreation property in Crescent Oregon and it seems to be our home away from home. It is centrally located for lots of our favorite outdoor activities; hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, campfire watching, wildlife viewing, just chilling out reading a book or doing absolutely nothing!

G-NINNIE WEDNESDAY

Wednesday is my favorite day of the week. You can guess why. Alexis has such a special place in my heart. She changes every minute, hour, day, week, month and I have a hard time keeping up. We were blessed to spend some time with her this past weekend. What a cute pie! I even rode in the back seat of the FJ with her - she was in the car seat right next to me. We had a great time!

On G-Ninnie Wednesday this week, Auntie Carol and Cousin Sydney came out for a play date. And she did not disappoint! We had a lots of fun learning how to play her new piano. We call her Schroeder now. We even went for a short walk down the street to a neighbor's garage sale. Hoper her mom and dad do not mind me getting her addicted to garage sales at such an early age.

SHARING G-NINNIE WEDNESDAY WITH PAPA JAY

It has been probably almost two weeks since Papa Jay has seen baby Alexis, so he decided to spend G-Ninnie Wednesday at the other Tulls with us. I was hesitant to SHARE, but remembering I was taught that it is always good to share so I agreed. Actually it was a very fun day. Why doesn't he come out every Wednesday?

When we arrived she was just eating breakfast. Bryan and Vanessa had to wake her up after a LONG sleep. After the parents went to work, we played for a little while before she had to go take her first nap of the day. When she woke up, changed her diaper, ate a little rice cereal and drank her bottle, we loaded up the stroller and away we went for a long walk in their neighborhood. We were gone for about an hour and a half. We love all the walking trails. Alexis loves being outside and looking at the trees, flowers, and houses, but she must of got tired cuz she fell asleep before we got home. A little cat nap, then played for a while then took another long nap. While she was sleeping, Bryan came home for a quick lunch and then back to the office.

When she awoke, Papa Jay took her outside to swing in the hammock and also lay in the grass. She loved it! She took another nap to rest up for her mommy and daddy to come home. Bryan and Vanessa came home after a long day (Vanessa had to drive to Salem and back today). They both looked very tired, so we got out of their hair for the evening.

WHAT A FUN DAY!

Happy 4th of July!

We just got home from spending a long weekend with Andi, Clark and Lucy. It was so relaxing. Saturday morning we got in the car with our coffee in hand. A two hour layover at Cabela's in Lacey on the way. We arrived at Andi and Clark's house just in time for Andi to fix us a nice lunch of turkey sandwiches, greek pasta salad and fresh fruit. Yummy! The spoiling is just beginning. Andi had played tennis in the morning and Clark had played golf. The afternoon was spent just relaxing, drinking wonderful spirits. Dinner on the grill consisted of fresh salmon with pesto and an assortment of veggies and watermelon. Let the spoiling continue. We slept in the master bedroom with a flat screen tv to help put us to sleep.

Sleeping in on Sunday was very nice, coffee in bed. Clark played golf again in the morning and again in the afternoon. We just hung out. Love this bed and breakfast (taking lessons from her mother?) - breakfast, scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausage, toast and fruit. Andi and Clark's neighbors (the ones who brought me flowers on mothers day) are remodeling their house, so we got the tour. It is coming along great and it was fun to talk about house projects. I am grateful they have such a good neighbor. Dinner on the grill - marinated tri tip steaks, chicken breasts, asparagus, fresh fruit. Fruit pizza (pictured above) for dessert. Just before it started to get dark we walked down to the top of the hill that overlooks Puget Sound to watch the fireworks. They were fabulous. We also were able to view some fireworks towards the Seattle area across the sound.

Monday morning we got served breakfast in bed! Breakfast sandwiches and fresh fruit and of course, coffee. If they are not careful, these house guests will never leave. After laying around for most of the morning, we finally got up, go showered and headed down to Olympia for the day to explore many antique malls and see the sights there. We drove around the city and around a small lake. It was a beautiful day. Ooops, I forgot my camera in Tacoma, so we had to drive back to get it. After a long day of driving and just goofing around, we headed home to Portland.

Here it is Tuesday morning. Waited for my coffee to be made and served to me in bed, but didn't happen. Looks like a beautiful day, so went outside to drink my coffee and water my garden.

That was sure a nice relaxing weekend. Thanks to our hosts in Tacoma.