{this moment}

Today I will join Amanda Soule for "this moment"...A Friday ritual. A single photo- no words, capturing a moment from this week. A simple special extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor, and remember.

A favorite place of ours.

A favorite place of mine...tide is high here.

"I want to come down there too, Dad!"

The tide was too high for beach exploration, but we were just as happy to explore the reef and pools of water. The sun was still shining and the fog is just beginning to come in. After a morning of soccer and Halloween Carnival this was a nice place to stop on the way home. Unfortunately there were no waves for surfing, but at least we tried.

Spencer takes a little ride

The boys make a monster hand, by filling a glove with popcorn and candy corn for fingernails.

While visiting Newport last weekend, we came upon a little fundraiser Halloween Carnival for the Nye Beach Montessori School. Full of crafts, games, haunted house, face painting, and horse rides. We had an unexpected fun time at the carnival. I am quite proud of how we just rolled with our day that Sat. after soccer we went to our favorite Nye Beach bakery for pizza and two little boys eating their lunch gave the event away and then we were following them just up the street for a little fun.

Happy Birtday Sarah!

With a family as large as ours (extended family), someone is always celebrating a birthday. This time we celebrated cousin Sarah. We had a lovely dinner at the depot with the girls and then met at Mary's house with the rest of the friends and family for cake, music, karaoke, and an 80's style attire. I just love how unique we all like to celebrate. Sarah's favorite era of fashion is the 80's she can pull off an outrageous sweater from the 80's and look great. I loved how Spencer performed for Sarah at the birthday, you can't see the 20 people watching him in the video. So Happy Birthday Cuz! I love having you as a friend and cousin!

Notice the hat...that is Spencer, I think it was the "fashion hat" that helped him find his groove tonight.

Spencer get down at the birthday party

What do you do when the kids are in school?...

I love this view of the dunes, forest, mountains, and creek.

Self portrait with the Rhododendrons.

Sutton Creek coming close to the ocean.

Sutton Creek from the foot bridge. I love the meadow in far ground, it used to be a homestead back in the day.

I have been taking advantage of the weather lately while the kids are at school and getting my self out in nature, exploring new areas and revisiting my favorites. Today I was solo but when I am lucky I get a friend to join me. The first few weeks of school I was rushing home after dropping kids at school to work on chores and home responsibilities, it took only a few weeks for me to come to the conclusion that this time was sacred to a mother and I should be using it differently...and so I have. I try to get on the trails, kayak, or with a friend while the kids are gone at school for that short three hour period. It has done wanders to my mood and feeling refreshed to tackle the home responsibilities. Thank you Tres for encouraging me to use my time more wisely.

Home grown, hand picked, and hand made an evening of goodness.

Our cener piece, though the apples won't last for long.

He carved those little pumpkins! not an easy task.

Loving the haunted house candy keeper! Oh the things you make from the recycle box! Can you guess what it used to be?

One of may all time favorite seasonal crafts...leaf rubbings. So beautiful each time, and so simple.

Loving this time creating together.

First timers to a pumpkin patch and a new waterfall, all in a day.

So many to choose from...

Without the help of the biggest brother, he decides to go for the smaller pumpins.

Just a few more pumpkins and we'll be set.

Down a country road, gravel, trees, and leaves.

A short hike to the waterfall, easily distracted by the creek running below the trail.

Silver Fall

We went to the Mahaffy family ranch and pumpkin patch, a new adventure for us. Quite a drive, but the motivation for me was it was located in a place I had never been. I love to drive along a state hwy that I have never been to, especially when it is along a river. The Coos River was a windy narrow and gorgeous drive. Just beyond the pumpkin patch was Gold and and Silver Falls State Park, which after that long drive was just what we needed too a little hike into the woods to see a waterfall 160feet tall! The temperature was quite warm this day, I could really tell we had traveled away from the coast. It may have still felt like summer, but the leaves were telling us different.

A close to home evening adventure...

Even Pancho stops to wait for the picture.

looking for the snowy plover nest...they look like two knuckles in the sand.

crab boat goes to the ocean.

loosing our light for the day, time to start heading back.

making a barge boat for a crab.

a boat just for a crab.

Short evening adventures after school are what really keep us going. I love that we live so close that we can jump in the car and be in a secluded and wild natural setting with in 7 minutes. I think this rejuvenates the boys, and me too. I love this particular spot, it seems like every time we come here it is different. The river, beach, ocean, and wildlife is always presenting a new face to us. We are excited to see what the river will be flowing like each time we visit. Sometimes it is slow and low enough to cross, but not tonight. We stay away from the edge and just watch and try to follow the crab shell on its boat make it back to sea.

Halloween box on a rainy Sunday evening.

Each new holiday brings out a box of keepsakes and decorations out of the garage and into the house. We have the most fun with the Halloween box. Tonight while darkness was setting in the outside play became inside I decided to get the Halloween decor and costumes out to play with for a while. We all had a great time seeing our things from last year. We noticed how several of the costumes just don't fit these two anymore and how new costumes will have to be invented. We put up our Halloween banner, added a few more skeletons to the walls, and decided where to put the spiderwebs and spiders. 

A Favorite Things Winery Fling...

King Estate Winery in Crow

King Estates

Grapes at Sweet Cheeks Winery

Grapes at Sweet Cheeks

A  veiw from the patio at Sweet Cheeks Winery

Yesterday I spent the day with 20 other women visiting King Estates and Sweet Cheeks tasting and drinking wine. We celebrated a friend's 30th birthday. We all brought a "favorite thing" and exchanged gifts over brunch and wine at King Estates. It was a wonderful day full of good laughs, yummy food and wine, and such beauty too. It was a real treat to join in the fun. Wine tasting at our local wineries has been on my list fun stuff to do for quite sometime.

Just waiting for the big one.

Ruben with friends Ian and Jonah

A constant...cast, untangle, cast, untangle. The joys of taking kids fishing.

A moment to remember forever

Ruben and Tres

Trees of Mystery in the Redwood National Forest

Zoe, Spencer, Ruben, and Megan standing on the boot of Paul Bunyan

Paul Bunyan and his blue ox Babe

Tres and the boys in the gondola sky trail

We would need a few more friends to reach our arms around this big beauty.

Tuckers and Albertys...family photo at the top of the sky trail.

More time with a line in the water, but no luck.