November 27th PM

Thursday evening~~~~ We stopped at the Casino on our way to the beach house for a sandwich and a few slot games. We arrived at the beach to find Cindy, Erik and the boys there. We will have our turkey dinner tomorrow when Dee Dee and her family gets here. We always drive into Tillamook to do the sock sale at Fred Meyers early Friday morning. The kids go for the socks, Kent goes for the free donuts and coffee and Sharon always finds lots of good buys and also the free donuts. As soon as we get back home, we start making the stuffing for the big bird. Kent is in charge and he makes it with Sharon his prep cook who does all the chopping of the onions, celery and giblets. This bird gets more TLC from Kent than any bird cooked on this wonderful holiday and the end result is always superb. Cindy makes the best apple pie and Sharon is in charge of the mashed potatoes and the turkey gravy. Mrs. Costco makes our pumpkin pie, but this year it was left in the refrigerator in Salem. We called Gary who was staying at our house to tell him to eat it, as it would be old by Sunday when we got home. Finally about 6:00 we have our Thanksgiving dinner and it was delicious!!!! Saturday night we adults drove to Niehalem for Chicken and Joe's at the tavern, it is a must to do every trip to the beach as the chicken is the best ever!!! Sunday we always have pancakes for breakfast and we share the Sunday paper around the table. Next we start stripping beds and cleaning house before we head home to have it ready for our next stay there. The time sure flies when we are at the beach having fun.

November 27, 2008

Thursday~~~~Today we cooked our big Thanksgiving day breakfast for Sharon's family, our friend Gary Albert joined us for breakfast this year. there were 20 of us, so we started frying the bacon and making the sausage gravy pretty early, the kids like a lot of bacon. Next we do the French toast and hash brown potatoes and keep them in a warming oven. Around nine the guests start showing up and we gather in the kitchen visiting while we cook. Of course we can't all fit in the kitchen at once, but they come and go. It is always the most popular room. Pammy is in charge of the Mimosa's and sparking cider for the kids. There is a lot of snitching the bacon while we finish making the scrambled eggs and the biscuits, no problem, as we made plenty!!!! Sharon makes several dozen cinnamon carmel rolls for the breakfast with enough to send some home with everyone. Ray had the traditional ugly candle this year to make a center piece for our Thanksgiving breakfast table, (picture) he had two Pilgrim candles to work with. The center piece was a real hoot, he had a small ship where he stood the two pilgrims by a big rock that had a Plymouth toy car sitting on it. Of course I am sure you know what that meant????? PLYMOUTH ROCK !!!!After we are done with the dishes, we gather around the big table and start looking at the ads for the big sale after Thanksgiving making lists of things people have on their Christmas list. We visit until about 2PM before the kids head home to get ready for a late Thanksgiving dinner. Kent and I load up our food and clothes and we head for the beach house where we stay until Sunday with Kent's two girls and their families. We are so blessed to have both of our families so close and tobe able to share this beautiful day with both of our families.

November 19 thru 26, 2008

Kent is busy back and forth to Portland with Doctor appointments and visiting his family and Sharon is busy deep cleaning the house, visiting the girls at the beauty shop, her kids and friends. We went to Rockaway Beach to the beach house to check on things and to go to Susie's Tavern for Chicken and Joes, the best in the whole world. We spent the night and came home the next day as we have shopping to do for our Thanksgiving breakfast and dinner. Nov. 26~~~~ Ray had the day off school, so he came and spent the day with Nonnie (Sharon) he loves my carmel rolls and wants to learn how to make them, so we made 2 and 1/2 dozen rolls. Ray did a great job rolling, cutting and most of all, eating them!!!!!! (picture of Ray) I made 2 dozen more for breakfast in the morning.

November 1 thru 16th 2008

This has been a very busy week for Sharon in Salem with no Kent. We talk on the phone several times a day and again at night. He will be heading home to Salem on November (7th.) This week I visited several of my former clients and went to the funeral of one of my very special ladies. The yard and storm drains had lots of leaves that I raked and cleaned up. I did a lot of cookie baking, babysitting Bodie and Blaize, Ray's swimming meets, and visiting friends. Each day was filled to the fullest as that is the way it is supposed to be and why I am home early ahead of Kent. Saturday (8th) Lisa and I went shopping together and Sunday 9th I went to Corvallis with Pammy and Jeff to visit the twins and go out for dinner. Wednesday (12th) afternoon Kent arrived at home, we spent a quiet evening home alone with a nice dinner and a movie. Thursday Kent went to Portland and Sharon stayed home and babysat Blaize and colored Breannas hair. (picture Lisa and Tress going our for dinner)
Friday (14th)~~~~Tonight we went to the Spirit Mountain Casino for dinner and a little slot fun.
We spent Saturday putting away the patio furniture and Sunday we went to Portland to Kent's grandsons ballgame and out for pizza with Cindy, Eric , Brandon and Nathan.

October 31,2008

Friday October 31st~~~ I (Sharon) have been so busy since I returned home on Oct. 27th as a surprise to all my kids. No one knew I was coming home and it was great fun to show up at their places of work or school and have them paged to the office and there I was. Kim and her family found out I was home when I knocked on the door to my house tonight dressed as a bum and trick or treated them. My kids planned an over night sleep over at my house for Halloween night thinking they could get me to come home for it, well it worked but I still surprised them by saying I wasn't coming. They all knew I was home of course except Kim and her kids and we really had fun tricking her when I came to the door dressed as a street person bum. I actually left and came back a second time acting really weird, then she and Mathew really got worried. They told me to go away leave them alone as they don't give out seconds. I pulled off my mask and told her she wasn't very nice to people wanting candy, she really was surprised. What fun we had watching movies, handing out more candy and just catching up on our visiting. The kids stayed up most of the night, but I had to call it a night about midnight. Being together with all of my kids and most of the grandchildren was really a neat thing to do for Halloween and we will remember it for years to come. The picture of our house doesn't show all the spider webs and spiders in them very well in the day light, it was real spooky at night. We had a pre Halloween party the night before when everyone came over and decorated and ate carmel rolls with coffee that I baked that day. The kids called Kim and told her they were at my house decorating for the party and she thought it was so funny that I wasn't going to be there. Later I called her and she was all excited telling me all about how the kids were at my house decorating for their party. I just laughed and played along with the joke knowing we had really fooled Kim.