Guess who was in the Times today?

Our little jaunt to Manzanita a couple of weeks ago turned out to be even more eventful than we had expected. While visiting the Bread and Ocean Cafe, we were approached by a very nice woman named Julie Keefe. She is a freelance photographer for The New York Times and was taking pictures around Manzanita for the travel section of the paper. As we gazed longingly at the cases of breads, pastries and frittatas, she snapped a couple pictures of Jasper. Go here for the whole story. It is wonderful to see that others view Mananita and the Oregon Coast as a haven and feel the need to shout it nationwide!!

stacking trees

This was a little craft project that Samantha and I did today. It was easy, fun and provided instant gratification (which I was needing at the moment). To make one of your very own, go here to find very thorough and easy to follow instructions.

Oh, happy bed day

The ride home from school today was quite uneventful; a rainy day with not much to see outside. The three speed bumps we always seem to bounce over just didn't feel as big and even the geese, which usually are playing baseball at the park (according to Jasper), failed to show up for practice. The afternoon seemed like it would be a long one.

As we turned onto our street, we immediately noticed a large white truck parked in front of our house. "Could today be the day?" I said as the children sat upright in their boosters and tried to catch a view through the water spotted windshield. The day we had been waiting for for the past 2 months had finally arrived.

The drivers from Cotton Cloud Futon were just as excited to get Jasper's bed off their truck as we were to receive it. A big boy bed for a much deserving little one who was only inches away from both ends of his toddler bed. The bed we chose for Jasper was a solid maple Arts and Crafts style bed from Pacific Rim out of Eugene. The workmanship and wood quality are the first things you notice about the bed, but for us (3 Pacific Rim beds later), we love the fact that we are supporting a local business and that all their furniture is made with minimal environmental impact. It feels good to support a company with a conscience.

As soon as the bed was together and made, this is what unfolded next....




May you all have a beautiful slumber tonight!!

dinner with friends

"before"


"after"

6 parents craving adult conversation

5 recipes to prepare

4 friends from school with hours to play

3 sorbet choices

2 extremely tired children

1 story before climbing into bed

Jasper's one wish

Jasper was overjoyed when his good friend from school came over to play. He had been saying for weeks that he was "wishing in his heart" that his friend could come see his house. After a morning of making apple cider (a game they play with blocks), reading in their fort, playing with Gak and a satisfying snack, Jasper hugged his dear friend goodbye.

What a magical connection these two have. A budding friendship that will be fun to watch in the coming years.

Giving Thanks, again.....

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday. We were all greeted at 9am with coffee and tea from Steph. What a wonderful beginning to a full day of cooking, baking and great conversation. At the end of the day, we gathered as a family and talked about the things we are thankful for. It didn't take long to realize that we have some wonderful people in our lives, an amazing school and so many great memories together as a family.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

Giving Thanks

We have always encouraged the children to create thank you's for kind gestures or gifts given. We are not perfect and sometimes that card or picture does not get made. Although, when we do give thanks to our friends and family, a handmade treasure is always well received and so much fun to make.

These cards are thank you's for anything surrounding Jasper's birthday; whether it was a celebration, a gift or simply someone stopping by on his special day. Each of the fabric scraps were chosen by Jasper with a certain person in mind. Pink and yellow for his teacher, blue and pink for Grace and so on. What was so impressive to me was how Jasper seemed to know which colors people would like. With more cards to make , I leave you with our progress so far. Have a beautiful day!