MERRY CHRISTMAS

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!  The other Tulls are spending Christmas day with the Sciaccottis, Andi and Clark are spending Christmas Day in Spokane.  Jay and I are lucky to spend Christmas Day with our favorite granddogs, Lucy and Sally.

 Sally peeking through the stairs.

 Lucy says WHERE IS MY MOMMY AND DADDY?

Sally discovered herself in the mirror - who is that cute dog?

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

 Alexis' first Christmas!

Here is the Tull family all together to celebrate.  That makes my heart happy.  I love my family.  We had fun making memories.

NEW ADDITION TO THE FAMILY

We have a new granddog, Sally.  She arrived at the Tull/Mather household last week and they spent the weekend trying to adjust to having a new puppy in the house.  She was adopted from the Tacoma/Pierce County animal shelter. 

Meet Sally, our new granddog.

 Sally in her new kennel.

 Sally on her new bed.

Lucy sharing her bed with her baby sister, Sally.

We look forward to meeting her this week when the family comes to Portland for our Christmas celebration.

DECEMBER IN REDMOND

Jay and I just returned from a mini-vacation/getaway in Redmond Oregon.  Our friends needed a house/animal sitter for a few days so we loaded up the truck and drove over to Redmond.  It was a great excuse for a mini-vacation.  Roy had to work in Puyallup Washington for the weekend.  Mary wanted to spend a holiday weekend with her family in Yakima Washington.  Whiskey, the horse, Huckleberry Hound, the dog, Dingo, the dog, and Rufus the cat were happy to see us.

We left Thursday mid-morning Mt. Hood before things could freeze up.  It was absolutely beautiful!  Here is a picture from the truck.

 You can almost see Mt Hood in the distance.

 We woke up Saturday morning to six inches of blissful snow.   Here is our truck parked out in front of the house.

 This is the view from the dining room.

This is the view from the family room with the barn/shop in the background.

  The sun came out and we had to get out.  We took Whiskey for a walk around the mile loop in the neighborhood.

Roy and Mary came home on Monday.  We stayed one more night and then headed back to Portland on Tuesday since another storm was due to come in on Wednesday. 

Time to go home and get ready for Christmas with our family.  Thank you Roy and Mary for letting us have a mini-vacation.  Your home is so cozy and we also love Wilma, your neighbor.  Thank you for decorating the house just for us!  Loved the time we spent with the two of you also!

G-NINNIE WEDNESDAY

When I arrived this morning, Alexis was up bright and early and crawling all around the house.

After she woke up from her first nap, she ate her breakfast (wheat cereal and 1/2 of my banana) and then topped it off with her bottle.

After breakfast, we decided it was such a nice day, we should go for a walk in the neighborhood in the red wagon.  So we got bundled up and took a long walk for about an hour.

 Joey wanted to go with us, but then changed her mind after a block or so.

 WHEE!

 This is another park in the neighborhood.

Here we are in the front yard after our walk with the penguins and the Charlie Brown Christmas tree.

Alexis played for another hour when we got back and then took a long 2 1/2 hour nap so she was rested up by the time her mommy got home from work.  This G-Ninnie had a very fun day.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JORDAN

Today is my nephew, Jordan's 17th birthday.  I can remember seventeen years ago rushing my sister to the hospital to deliver.  It seems like it was just yesterday.  My how the time flies.  What a wonderful young man Jordan has grown up to be.  He is making us all proud of him - a wonderful person inside and out, a great athlete and great potential to become whatever he wants to be in life.  I love you Jordan!

TURKEY DINNER WITH THE TULLS AND SCIACCOTTIS

We spent the day with the other Tulls and the Sciaccottis eating a wonderful dinner prepared by chef Bryan.  Turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, yams, green bean casserole, rolls, cranberry sauce - the whole nine yards!  So tasty, but the best part was the company - so good to spend the afternoon/evening with Bryan, Vanessa, Alexis, Michael, Teresa and Joey the cat.  Jay and I had a wonderful memorable time.  Thank you and I am thankful for such a wonderful family.

 Table setting with pretty Christmas dishes

 Baby Alexis table setting

 Gramma Teresa and baby Alexis

 Papa Jay and Alexis

 Vanessa and Bryan doing preparations for dinner

Papa Michael

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CLARK

Happy Birthday to my son in law Clark.  We celebrated his birthday last Tuesday in Tacoma with him and Andi when we drove Lucy home after spending an entire month at our house.

It was a short trip and Jay got to show off his plumbing skills by replacing a pipe under their kitchen sink that had frozen and burst while they were off on their Thanksgiving adventure in Portland and Eugene.

Friday, Vanessa, Alexis and I spent the day doing a little Christmas baking.  A fun day making memories.  It was our 2nd annual for Vanessa and I.  We were missing Andi, Teresa and Sandra for the mother/daughter bonding time.

G-NINNIE WEDNESDAY

My favorite day of the week!  I have not updated my blog for a couple of weeks.  I hope to go back and update later.  But no time but the present to get started again.

Made some memories with my granddaughter Alexis today.  She was especially happy and cute today.  Vanessa said to give her some cottage cheese, so I did and she liked it.  Is this really my granddaughter?  Yes, glad she is being exposed to all different kinds of foods and experiences.  Her parents are good at making sure she gets to experience many things and make her own decisions.  They are great parents and just want the best for their daughter.

My good friend Linda Studer came over with a lovely gift for Alexis.  We have been meaning to get together for a long time and it was a perfect late aftenoon visit.  This was the first time she got to meet Alexis.  Linda is a gramma also and has four grandchildren of her own.  Unfortunately, she has to travel a lot farther than I do to visit them.  She travels to Eugene and Medford on a regular basis to get her fix.  Which makes me all the more thankful to be close to Alexis.

After my playdate with Alexis, Linda and I went to meet some previous co-workers for some adult beverages and happy hours tasty delights at the Riverview on the Sandy River in Troutdale, so it was a short drive to get there.  A fun time was had by all!